Developmentally Appropriate Evaluations: How Evaluation Practices Differ Across Age of Participants
Date of Award
Spring 2017
Degree Type
Open Access Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Psychology, PhD
Program
School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences
Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair
Tiffany Berry
Dissertation or Thesis Committee Member
Tarek Azzam
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Rights Information
© 2017 Dana L. Wanzer
Keywords
evaluation, research on evaluation, developmental sensitivity, developmentally appropriate, youth evaluation
Subject Categories
Developmental Psychology | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
Abstract
It is well-known that meaningful differences in development exist among children, adolescents, and adults. However, to what extent do evaluators adapt their approach, designs, and methods to be responsive to a youth population? This study used an experimental simulation in which practicing evaluators designed an evaluation of a hypothetical tutoring program and were randomly assigned to the program serving children, adolescents, or young adults. Results indicate that evaluators were less likely to be participatory—both in the evaluation overall and in data collection—when the participants of the program were children than when they were adults. These findings suggest that evaluators, even those with experience conducting evaluations of youth programs, do not consider age as a meaningful cultural context and may need additional training in conducting developmentally appropriate evaluations.
Recommended Citation
Wanzer, Dana Linnell. (2017). Developmentally Appropriate Evaluations: How Evaluation Practices Differ Across Age of Participants. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 110. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/110.
