Book Reviews

Participatory evaluation approaches, by their very nature, are designed to actively involve and engage stakeholders in the evaluation process. However, there has been a surprising lack of youth involvement in participatory evaluations to date. There are a number of reasons why participatory evaluations might not include youth: Read more.

Children, Youth and Environments
The theoretical framework for Youth Participatory Evaluation is rooted in Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, in that the value of an activity is more than just the individual action, but the interaction with other people throughout the process of engagement as well. By interacting with others who are more competent, a person raises his or her own level of development: a process of learning, leading and development that is essential throughout the life cycle, not just in phases of youth. Sabo-Flores examines the concept of the ZPD…Read more.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Youths can Help Evaluate and Plan Programs
by Anne W. Howard
Young people can gain leadership and teamwork skills, build relationships with adults, and learn about politics and civic responsibility by working on projects in which they evaluate the programs, organizations, agencies, and systems that have been designated to serve them, writes Kim Sabo Flores, a nonprofit and foundation consultant.

Such evaluations engage young people in improving youth-development and other programs by involving them in collecting data, developing measurement of how the program is performing, interviewing participants, and offering suggestions about what works and what doesn’t.

The author provides a guide to starting such a project, discussing in 12 chapters the theories behind the approach and the practical details of working with young people day-to-day.

Ms. Flores suggests that young people assume the roles of team manager, interviewer, data-entry expert, survey developer, and others. Such activities will help the young team members develop empathy, communication skills, and confidence, the author says.