Course Description
Models of evaluation of community empowerment groups and institutional development programs. Skills are developed in the design and application of empirically-based outcome evaluations.
Athena Title
Evaluation of Community Pract
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in SOWK 7106E
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
By the conclusion of this course, students are expected to be able to: 1. Describe and assess the relationships between research and community and institutional practices, addressing problems of empowerment and service delivery; 2. Identify and critically examine alternative approaches to the evaluation of programs and organizations, including group and single system research designs; 3. Demonstrate the selection and adaptation of appropriate study designs, techniques of measurement, data collection, and analysis, identifying appropriate outcome measures; 4. Draw defensible conclusions from evaluation studies for practical applications and describe their utilization, communication, and refinement; 5. Critically assess evaluative research studies involving age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and other diverse characteristics, with reference to underlying philosophies of science, internal and external validity, and implications for social work practice; 6. Demonstrate understanding of the practical and ethical issues in evaluating programs, organizations, and community issues; 7. Critically evaluate and utilize various methods of measurement.
Topical Outline
1. Introduction -Accountability and effectiveness -Socio-political context of evaluation -Ethical issues 2. Program monitoring and information systems -Resistance and readiness of the environment -Objectives and evaluability -Information needs analysis -Design and implementation of monitoring procedures -Use of feedback for program improvement 3. Alternative methods of evaluation -Social systems and impact assessments -Formative and summative approaches -Quasi-experimental and single system designs -Cost-benefit analysis -Qualitative approaches 4. Measuring components of services and outcomes -Specification of objectives -Identification of appropriate indicators -Construction of scales: validity, reliability, sensitivity -Pilot testing and refinement -Examples of scales for programs, organizations, and communities 5. Communication and utilization of findings -Preparing user-friendly reports -Dealing with the multiple interest of users -Roles of researcher, manager, provider, and consumer of services 6. Case studies in evaluation of empowerment efforts