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Having just completed the lectures and readings, now that I have had the opportunity to reflect and process. My emotional response has ranged from despair to hope, but I feel incredibly encouraged by how the on going work and uplifting of our voices so the Black communities are not just seen but heard as well.
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We currently collect the following data: registration, attendance, administrative records, program notes, feedback surveys, and demographics for one of our programs. We could be collecting demographics (age, gender, residence, etc.) for all of our programs.
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Here is my attempt at coming up with a metaphor for a concept that I’m not very familiar with…
Evaluation is like a ship and stakeholders are like the ship passengers, without proper communication or engagement, we may steer the ship in any direction and arrive at a destination that the passengers didn’t wish to go.
Plus if the ship is going down, we probably want to let the passengers know and do some damage controls
It’s a bit far fetched but I tried 😅
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Organizationally, we are connecting with black youth locally to identify what we can do as a library to support their wellbeing. Personally, as a someone who identifies as South Asian, Prof. Vidya Shah’s presentation has challenged me to reflect on honorary whiteness and racial hierarchy. All this to say, a lot of unlearning and learning ahead.
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Thank you for reminding us of the importance of identifying our emotions during each lecture and ensuring that we take the time to reflect, process and regroup. As an Black educator I often fail to stop and acknowledge the toll Anti-Black racism has had on me emotional, mentally, spiritually, physically and professionally.
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Evaluation is like a key, because it unlocks the information necessary to fill out the gaps of your improvement process. Without that critical piece of evidence obtained through evaluation we are not able to understand the needs we need to address or the changes we need to make in order to deliver a successful program.
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The metaphors provided already are great!
One thought I had was that evaluations are like adventurous roadmaps. It helps to guide next steps, to take detours or to rewrite the direction as required. All roads taken have value, even if it was to learn that ‘we don’t want to go that way again.’ I added the descriptor ‘adventurous’ to encompass a ‘preferred’ destination/outcomes that are fluid, flexible and ready to respond differently as needed or as the data indicates.
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Great document – thank you
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Unfortunately, this link is not valid
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Everyone has made some really solid suggestions regarding good practices. I think that transparency about how and who was consulted in developing the evaluation has value as well. Being clear about the purpose, the rationale and what the intention for the data is. Confirm that the data will be available for sharing. All of these should of course be in ‘youth speak’, not in a diminuitive way but developmentally appropriate. Being prepared to address any questions is critical too, especially for youth who may have a higher level of interest.
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– Ensure that all the information is provided
– Explain privacy/confidentiality as applicable
– Explain the ability to withdraw from the evaluation program
– Explain the possible benefits and consequences of participating
– Ensure that if youth are too young to make an informed decision for themselves, that a guardian is involved
– Be ready to answer questions
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I believe that the real work begins from home. Parents sharing the rich and uniqueness of their culture and embracing their heritage and everything that makes them who they are; will inevitably impact their children to also embrace their blackness and all that it encompass.
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TONIGHT in Toronto: commemorate World AIDS Day at An Evening of Storytelling, hosted by Casey House and Women’s Health in Women’s Hands at the Toronto Reference Library. FREE tickets are still available, so be sure to get yours now!
Storytellers include HIV Advocate Muluba Habanyama and Community Health Leader (and former YouthREX team member!) Sané Dube. ❤
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December 1st is World AIDS Day.
Last month, YouthREX’s Princess Asiedu examined the effects of stigma on the mental health of youth living with and affected by HIV. She also explored themes shared by activist Mercy Shibemba during her keynote at our youth work teach-in on Black youth mental health; Mercy is an award-winning youth activist from the UK who uses her story of growing up with HIV to educate, challenge stigma, and inspire.
Read Princess’s reflections on REX Blog and be sure to watch Mercy’s presentation on our Knowledge Hub.
I also encourage you to revisit our webinar from February 2019, Supporting Youth Living With & Affected by HIV, and the practices we shared in our Research to Practice Report of the same name, in partnership with The Teresa Group.
We honour the work of young people living with HIV and those who work alongside them, today and everyday. ❤
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Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a Youth Rex presentation <strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Hacking Deficit Thinking
<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Reframing Strength-Based <strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Practices and Equity in Schools
A Youth Work Teach-In Hacking Deficit Thinking
Reframing Strength-Based
Practices and Equity in Schools and it was AMAZING!! It might have been in part that I had just had a long conversation with colleagues about the tone and mood in schools right now but it hit the mark for reframing the issues and put a fresh, positive and realistic take to approaching and supporting our students.One of the quotes that resonated with me from one of the presenter’s Dr. Bryon McClure was how the assumptions we hold create barriers for understanding our students. I can’t quite quote it directly and would sincerely encourage others to look for the opportunity to hear him speak.
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Hi, Sheila! This is a great question to ask. I’ll share one barrier that I’ve encountered as someone who helps sports organizations with their evaluations. Some of the groups I’ve worked with have specific outcomes they want to measure through their programs, but there is no sport-specific evaluation tool (e.g., survey) available for them to use. They often have to take validated tools from other fields (e.g., education) and try to change some of the questions to be sport-focused. Or, they create their own! This can be a barrier at times because they don’t always know if the tools they edited/created are measuring what they think are measuring. As we know, validity is important for evaluation!
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I agree with Traci that denial is big part of the anti-black racism, I would also add that ignorance is also a significant factor.
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I agree! the beginning to solving any problem, is first acknowledging that there is a problem.
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This also resonates with me. I see this with the Indigenous communities too. I need to relearn history in this land and need to seek out reliable, trust worthy sources. I have learned so much in this course already and know that I will be exploring other links on this site. So grateful to have this opportunity!
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This is so true! The education is so important. And also the understanding that a student’s response to a racial issue is not a mental health problem.
One of the things that I always make sure I am doing is bringing the youth’s voice in. Not what I think it is the problem, but what they are saying is the problem.
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Vanessa and Michaelene, I 100% agree. This information wasn’t shared in elementary or high school, outside of highlighting the positives of the underground railroad. Even as an adult, without this course, I would continue to be ignorant of important historical and current information that every Canadian NEEDS to be aware of. My eyes have been opened wider to ABR in our education system (specifically) as a result of this information. I work in the education system supporting the MH of students and I am so grateful to now have this lens to work from. I recognize and own my gaps in understanding and know that this learning is ongoing.
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The point about the right to withdraw is so important
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Fantastic point about creating a safe, trusting environment. This is foundational not only for boosting incentive to participate, but for youth to feel comfortable sharing open, honest feedback as well.
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Agreed! Denial and lack of action are great contributors to this problem.
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Yes! While we’d love all of our youth to participate in evaluation, we want to make it clear that participation is not mandatory.
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Good point, Daniel. I’d argue that a lot of adults feel this around sharing feedback too!
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All excellent points, Marco!
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This is also a great one. Thanks, TP! You’re absolutely right- evaluation plans give us an idea of the outcomes we want to see from a program, but there is no guarantee that those outcomes will be achieved.
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Love this analogy, Stephanie. I like your inclusion of roadblocks- it shows that you understand how evaluation is not always “perfect”. Roadblocks are a natural part of the evaluation process and don’t deter us from getting to our destination!
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This is a “sweet”metaphor, Andrew! Thanks for sharing. If only all evaluations actually included cake!
