What sets the conditions for success in community-partnered evaluation work? Multiple perspectives on a small-scale research-practice partnership evaluation

Designing measures of complex collaborations with participatory, evidence-centered design

An increasingly popular form of collaboration involves forming partnerships among researchers, educators, and community members to improve or transform education systems through research inquiry. However, not all partnerships are successful. The field needs valid, reliable, and useful measures to help with assessing progress toward partnership goals. In this community case study, we present a participatory, mixed-methods approach for creating measures to assess the progress of education research-practice partnerships (RPPs). The case illustrates a novel approach to measurement design, driven by perspectives and feedback of over 300 members of 80 partnerships. As a result, the measures align with the values and practices of the very collaborations the measures were intended to assess.

Youth Experiences in Authoring Action: The Impact of an Arts-Based Youth Program on Youth Development

Authoring Action (A2) is a youth-focused, arts-based, afterschool and summer program. A2’s mission is “to transform the lives of youth and the world through the power of creative writing, spoken word, visual and media arts, film-making and leadership education that promotes positive systemic change.” Using in-depth interviews, this study aimed to understand how this arts-based program affects youth development. Participants in this study (N=36) were alums of Authoring Action (A2), interviewed when they were between the ages of 17-32. Over half identified as female (N=21). Most A2 participants were youth of color and participated in A2 between ages 13-17. Interview data were coded following several steps: generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and generating a report. Four themes describe the impacts of A2 for program participants: communication, cathartic and transformative experiences, connection, and critical consciousness. Programmatic features—getting paid to participate, shared group identity, and open access to program leaders and peers – were meaningful to youth participants. The mission and programmatic features of A2 support youth development; we discuss practices that may benefit other arts-based youth programs and the implications of such practices for youth development.