Using the framework of servingness as conceptualized in research of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), measures of student’s success can be characterized using academic and non-academic outcomes (i.e. liberatory outcomes). Academic outcomes are commonly institutional quantitative measures such as GPA, time to graduation, retention, etc. However, within the framework of servingness of an institution, there are additional indicators, including identifying the experiences of students and their non-academic outcomes. A self-advocacy professional development program has been developed that focuses on non-academic outcomes of PhD graduate students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs at an Urban R1 HSI. Self-advocacy originates from the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Learning Disabilities (LD) communities for effective counseling that promotes academic success and is based on a social justice framework. The pillars of the self-advocacy program are centered on (i) Empowerment, (ii) Promoting self-awareness and (iii) Social Justice and the programming is aligned to these three pillars. An overview of the project evaluation and focus group findings for the program are presented.
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Pathways and Structures: Evaluating Systems Changes in an NSF INCLUDES Alliance
In this article, we reflect on our experience applying a framework for evaluating systems change to an evaluation of a statewide West Virginia alliance funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve the early persistence of rural, first-generation, and other underrepresented minority science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in their programs of study. We begin with a description of the project and then discuss the two pillars around which we have built our evaluation of this project. Next, we present the challenge we confronted (despite the utility of our two pillars) in identifying and analyzing systems change, as well as the literature we consulted as we considered how to address this difficulty. Finally, we describe the framework we applied and examine how it helped us and where we still faced quandaries. Ultimately, this reflection serves two key purposes: 1) to consider a few of the challenges of measuring changes in systems and 2) to discuss our experience applying one framework to address these issues.
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- PAR ID:
- 10331076
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- American Journal of Evaluation
- ISSN:
- 1098-2140
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 109821402110416
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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