Breaking it Down: Defining the Framework & Evaluating the Impact of a Peer Education Program

Abstract

Evaluation in the field of youth development continues to evolve.  Youth development programs vary significantly in their focus, setting and outcomes.  Community-based programs seeking to create or strengthen their evaluation methods and tools may have difficulty identifying what to measure and how to capture anticipated outcomes.  This article focuses on a youth development program combining service learning and peer education, serving urban adolescents ages 14 to 19.  The purposes of this study are: 1) to illustrate a strategy used to clarify and align core activities, anticipated outcomes and evaluation tools, and 2) to provide an overview of the updated data collection instruments created by the program.