Youth Champions for change: Shifting the role of youth in research and evaluation

Project Purpose

UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. is a post-secondary information and careers readiness conference for Aboriginal Youth from First Nations and urban communities across Ontario.The program brings together Status, Non-status, Métis, and Inuit high school students from across Ontario for five days with the objective to prepare them for post-secondary pursuits required to build human capital and contribute back to their own communities. Students are immersed in a complete post-secondary experience, which strives to nurture a love of learning while recognizing and being sensitive to the different cultural values and rights of Aboriginal Peoples and cultures.

The purpose of the evaluation is to gain a more in depth understanding of the long-term impacts that the UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. program is having on youth and communities. Although UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. is not a new program and has been operating with integrity and respect for a number of years, the information provided by the evaluation will be useful because it will help St. Paul's and UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. gain a more comprehensive understanding of the specific contributions that they are making to youth and their communities. The evaluation is also imperative for helping St. Paul's and UW D.I.R.EC.T.I.O.N.S. learn about how they can strengthen the conference to better support the youth and their communities.

Information

It is important to St. Paul's and the Centre for Community Based Research to conduct an evaluation that is responsive and respectful to Aboriginal youth and communities. It is for this reason that the UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. User Group, a diverse group of elders, teachers and Aboriginal educators from various communities across Ontario, is guiding all stages of the evaluation and providing input into the development of evaluation strategy. In particular, the User Group is helping to develop two aspects of the evaluation, which include:

1.An engagement strategy for youth who participate in the UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. readiness conference;

2.Evaluation tool(s).

Engagement Strategy

The engagement strategy focuses on keeping in touch with participants and creating motivation for them to stay connected with each other and with St. Paul's after they leave the conference. Motivation is fostered by creating user friendly and innovative methods for the youth to stay connected with their peers, as well as by sharing important information when keeping in touch with youth, such as financial support options or post-secondary application support.

Evaluation Tools

Evaluation tools will also be developed in order to collect information from the students about their experiences with UW D.I.R.EC.T.I.O.N.S. The tools will include online surveys and interviews conducted with the youth that participated in the conference. The tools will capture key information that will help us to gain a comprehensive understanding of whether the UW D.I.R.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. readiness conference is meeting its objectives.

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