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Program Evaluation of the Girls Action Team

Haney, Sarah E, M.A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368024913

Abstract Details

2013, EdD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Counselor Education.
Adolescent girls benefit from mentoring and social support to build their leadership potential and personal growth. This dissertation project was focused on evaluation of an intervention program, termed the Girls Action Teams (GATs), designed to promote leadership and positive development in girls. This was an afterschool project for urban minority and immigrant middle school-aged girls. Facilitators of four different "project" groups (photography, art, health, and drama) followed the girls' lead in developing projects in several areas. The facilitators promoted the activities to enrich positive youth development and provide girls with an opportunity to explore ideas and identities through multiple forms of self-expression. In order to evaluate the impact of the GAT groups, ten girls were recruited from the four groups to participate in individual interviews, tell stories, and take photographs to document their experiences. In addition, facilitators completed reflection forms to gather information about their perceptions of the groups and participated in a focus group to share their ideas about how the groups influenced the girls' development and personal growth. Data analyses indicated themes of growth and facilitation of self-esteem and self-confidence as outcomes of group participation. The themes appeared consistent with the theory of the 6 C's of Positive Youth Development (Lerner et al., 2005). The theme of connection was the most evident through positive relationships with peers, family, school, and facilitators. Further, the GATs provided girls with a creative forum for building strong relationships with peers and adult facilitators in an environment where they felt listened to and where their opinions were valued. A limitation of this research is that findings were based primarily on child self-report and gathering information from teachers and parents may provide information about change in girls' social and emotional functioning after group participation. Future research should continue to examine the effectiveness of child-directed activity groups to determine their impact on girls' development and feelings of self-efficacy and empowerment.
Laura Nabors, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Mei Tang, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Lisa Vaughn, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
84 p.
Psychology
Positive Youth Development; Connection; ; Adolescent Girls;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Haney, M.A., S. E. (2013). Program Evaluation of the Girls Action Team [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368024913

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Haney, M.A., Sarah. Program Evaluation of the Girls Action Team. 2013. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368024913.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Haney, M.A., Sarah. "Program Evaluation of the Girls Action Team." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1368024913

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1368024913
517
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.