Youth Participatory Evaluation

Kim Sabo Flores is the founder and principal of Kim Sabo Flores Consulting. She generates collaborative projects that educate not only program staff but also their funders about ways that participatory evaluation can help to build organizational capacity.

• Preface xThe Author xiiiForeword by Naomi Ortiz xivPART ONE: FOUNDATIONS OF YOUTH PARTICIPATORY EVALUATIONCHAPTER ONE: AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUTH PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION 3What Is Youth Participatory Evaluation? 6The Benefits of Youth Participatory Evaluation 9CHAPTER TWO: DEVELOPMENT, PLAY, AND PERFORMANCE 19Development and Play 24Transformation of Totalities and Development 26PART TWO: DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING YOUTH PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION PROJECTSCHAPTER THREE: STARTING YOUR OWN YPE PROJECT 35Do Youth Really Want to Participate in Evaluation? 36Which Youth Should Participate? 37How Many Youth Should Be Involved? 38Should Youth Be Compensated for Their Participation? 38How Old Does Someone Have to Be to Participate? 39What Is the Value of Engaging Youth of Different Ages and Capacities? 40Can Young People Really Conduct Effective and Useful Evaluations That We Can Trust? 40Who Should Facilitate the YPE Process? 41What Happens When a YPE Project Is Conducted in a Program That Is Not Participatory? 41How Do We Engage and Prepare Additional Stakeholders in the Process, Particularly Those in Positions of Power? 44CHAPTER FOUR: DEVELOPING THE ENSEMBLE YPE TEAM 45Getting Started 46Moving from Adult Facilitator to Performance Director 47Discovering All That the YPE Team Members Have to Offer 49Performing the Ensemble 55Creating the Environment 60Monitoring the Ensemble 66Summary 72CHAPTER FIVE: DEVELOPING A YPE PLAN 73Articulating How Your Program Operates 76Formulating Evaluation Questions 86CHAPTER SIX: TRAINING YOUNG PEOPLE AS INTERVIEWERS 90CHAPTER SEVEN: TRAINING YOUNG PEOPLE AS CREATIVE FOCUS GROUP FACILITATORS 102Helping Young People Conduct Focus Groups 104Creative Group and Focus Group Activities 110CHAPTER EIGHT: WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE TO DEVELOP SURVEYS 117Hints for Creating and Administering Surveys 119Creative Approaches to Surveying 125CHAPTER NINE: USING PERFORMANCE AS A DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY 130CHAPTER TEN: USING JOURNALING IN EVALUATION 140CHAPTER ELEVEN: APPROACHING DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORT WRITING CREATIVELY 146Creative Approaches to Data Analysis 147Creative Strategies for Presenting Data 155CHAPTER TWELVE: ENCOURAGEMENTS 160Five Tips for Maintaining Your Performatory Posture 162Concluding Thought 164Appendix A: Tips for the Interviewer 165Tips for the Note Taker 167Appendix B: Tips for Conducting Focus Groups 168Tips for the Facilitator 169Tips for the Note Taker 170Appendix C: How to Determine the Appropriate Sample Size 171References 173Index 176

"… serves as a good resource for practitioners looking to engage youth in both evaluation and research." (Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, March 2008)