The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Getting Inside the “Black Box” to Measure Program Quality
Nicole Yohalem, Karen Pittman, and Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom from the Forum for Youth Investment provide an overview of program quality assessment tools.
Life on the Ground: Balancing Youth Ownership With Adult Input
Kathrin Walker and Reed Larson from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explore the dilemmas adult leaders in youth programs face and how they address them to improve program quality.
Investigating Quality: The Study of Promising After-School Programs
Deborah Lowe Vandell and Elizabeth R. Reisner discuss whether and how participation in high quality after school programs matters for youth outcomes.
Building Quality in Out-of-School Time in the United Kingdom
Ian Fordham, Pam Boyd, and Tony Apicella of ContinYou, a leading youth development organization in the United Kingdom, describe their efforts to improve quality in OST programming nationwide.
Bringing Yourself to Work: Assessing the Impact of Social-Emotional Learning for After School Staff
Michelle Seligson describes a professional development initiative for after school practitioners.
Promoting Quality Out-of-School Time Programs Through Professional Development
Suzanne Bouffard from HFRP discusses how staff development initiatives and evaluations contribute to quality youth programming.
Assessing the How of Outcomes in Out-of-School Time: Learning From MARS
John Zuman and Beth Miller present an overview of the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study, a statewide investigation into how after school programs constitute quality contexts for youth.
Youth Civic Engagement: Emerging Theory and Practice
Margaret Post from HFRP examines the emerging practice of youth civic engagement and describes current efforts to promote quality in this area.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Evaluating Out-of-School Time Program Quality.
Out-of-School Time Opportunities for Immigrant Youth
Erin Harris from HFRP discusses the importance of out-of-school time programs for immigrant youth.
New & Noteworthy: Expanded Web Only Version
This web only version of the New & Noteworthy section features an expanded annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Evaluating Out-of-School Time Program Quality.
Designing Quality Assessment Tools in Early Childhood Education and Youth Development
Ted Jurkiewicz and Charles Hohmann from the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation describe the design of High/Scope's new Youth Program Quality Assessment tool.
Learning From Organizations That Learn
Four experts in the out-of-school time field discuss their experiences using evaluation for program improvement.
Performance Measures in Out-of-School Time Evaluation
This Snapshot outlines the academic, youth development, and prevention performance measures currently being used by out-of-school time programs to assess their progress, and the corresponding data sources for these measures.
Free. Available online only.
People, Power, and Change
Fulfilling the democratic promise of equity, inclusion, and accountability requires the participation of an “organized” citizenry with the power to articulate and assert its interests effectively. Organizing is one way to confront these challenges by revitalizing old democratic institutions and creating new ones. In this course, students learn how to engage with social, economic, and political problems from an organizer's perspective ... and how to act to solve them.
Free. Available online only.
National AfterSchool Association Research and Evaluation Leadership Day Track
This is a summary of the information presented in this year's research and evaluation leadership day track. It provides an overview of the panel sessions, including summaries of speakers' remarks, presentation slides, contact information for each panelist, and a list of the key resources cited during the day.
Free. Available online only.
Making Family and Community Connections
This workshop is part of the Concept to Classroom series of multimedia workshops for teacher professional development. In this workshop, Heather Weiss and Joyce Epstein provide expert insights on creating partnerships among schools, parents, and members of the local community.
An Update on University-Based Evaluation Training
Molly Engle and James Altschuld reveal some recent trends in university-based evaluation training.
The Success Case Method: Finding Out What Works
Tezeta Tulloch from Harvard Family Research Project reviews Robert Brinkerhoff's, The Success Case Method: Find Out Quickly What's Working and What's Not.
Evaluation Strategies to Support Policymaking in Learning Technology
Geneva Haertel and Barbara Means of SRI International suggest ways evaluators and policymakers can work together to produce “usable knowledge” of technology’s effects on learning.
Transforming School Culture Through the Arts
J. Curtis Jones from the Partnership for Whole School Change in Boston describes a performing arts intervention that integrates program concepts into its evaluation.
New & Noteworthy
A list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Reflecting on the Past and Future of Evaluation.
Reflecting on the Past and Future of Evaluation
This tenth-year-anniversary-issue of The Evaluation Exchange features reflections on some of the trends (both good and bad) that have occurred in the evaluation field over the past decade. Authors consider the “best of the worst”evaluator practices, changes in university-based evaluation training, and the development of evaluation as a discipline. In recognition of the need to look ahead, other articles introduce themes we will address in greater depth in the future, such as international evaluation, technology, evaluation of the arts, and diversity.
Free. 20 Pages.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Reflecting on the Past and Future of Evaluation by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going: Experts Reflect and Look Ahead
Six experts share their thoughts on how the evaluation field has changed in the past decade and consider what may be in store for the future.