How Are Youth Included in Evaluation Studies?

• In Event: Evaluation Research on Teachers, Students, Schools, and Programs

Abstract

Evaluators widely agree that the involvement of key actors is a central aspect of quality practice. However, a scoping review of to what extent and how youth are included has not been explored. This is an important omission because many evaluations are done on programs that directly serve youth. We examined 159 evaluation reports in a publicly available database as an initial step. Our research question is: how have youth been included in the evaluation of programs that serve them? Study methods include the use of a scoping review process (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005) and theoretical framework based on a 2018 UNICEF report. Results suggest there is much more work to do to more meaningfully include youth in evaluation.

Authors

• Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, University of Connecticut

• Amanda Sutter, University of Connecticut

• Chisomo Phiri, University of Connecticut