Housed within the Division of Prevention & Community Research at The Consultation Center, Yale University School of Medicine is The Urban Education, Prevention & Policy Research Area (UEPP). Core prevention and intervention research activities examine cultural and contextual factors that impact school achievement and the social-emotional development of urban adolescents identified as being at risk for school failure and other negative developmental outcomes. Conceptualized within developmental, ecological and cultural theoretical frameworks, our research efforts serve to inform the design of comprehensive school-based preventive interventions that promote adaptive functioning and resilience among urban minority adolescents in multiple domains. Further, the area’s consultation and evaluation activities examine the extent to which educational reform initiatives adequately address issues of school equity, access, and educational attainment of disadvantaged minority youth in improving their educational trajectory.
Educational policy is also a focus of UEPP. Sustained through established partnerships with key state level entities, universities, and school districts across Connecticut, UEPP strives to influence current educational policies and procedures that support the manner in which we engage, educate, and sustain urban adolescents.
Theoretical Framework: The MAAX intervention is grounded in theory and research drawn from the fields of sociology, education, and community psychology. The project is guided by three underlying assumptions: 1) understanding normative developmental trajectories can guide interventions designed to meet the educational and psychosocial needs of urban youth; 2) preventive interventions are most effective when they seek to promote social competence and foster the development of psychosocial skills known to protect against school failure and other negative developmental outcomes; 3) for programs to be acceptable to urban youth, they must be culturally relevant, developed in collaboration with key school and community stakeholders, and delivered in a manner that increases student involvement and interest.
Evaluation Plan. A comprehensive evaluation plan has been devised that incorporates both formative and summative evaluation strategies. A logic model approach has been incorporated into the design to enhance program planning, evaluation, and improvement of the program. The purpose of the formative evaluation is to observe the process through which the program is implemented in each of the identified school districts and serve to strengthen overall program design. Specific aims of the formative evaluation include: 1) evaluate the relative effectiveness of the project’s implementation strategy in achieving desired goals; 2) addressing issues of adherence and competence of program facilitators in delivering the MAAX curriculum; and 2) determine the degree to which students, parents, program facilitators, and district level/school level administrators were satisfied with program offerings and activities.
The purpose of the summative evaluation is to document the relative effectiveness and impact the program has on short and long term outcomes, and satisfaction of program participants. The summative evaluation specifically addresses: 1) the extent to which the program is effective in positively influencing students’ attitudes about school, their engagement in the educational process, and sense of self-efficacy in mastering academic tasks particularly as relates to mathematics; and 2) the short-term and long-term impact the program has on particular outcome indicators. See Figure 2 for a logic model of our summative evaluation design.
Preliminary Findings
Excerpts from focus group data compiled from student participants in each of the school districts highlighted the important role of graduate student facilitators. A female student shared, “Our facilitators are always here for us…they come before our session to help us with our work and stay after if we need them...” A male student stated, “The facilitators are not like our teachers…they care about what we think.”
Program facilitators also impart important information that dispels misconceptions students have about going to college. For example, another MAAX participant stated,
“Now I know that just because my parents didn’t go to college, doesn’t mean I can’t.” A 7th grader commented that, “The MAAX has taught me that I don’t have to have to be rich to go to college…”
Middle school students also indicated the program has been helpful in creating a space where they feel supported and encouraged. As relayed to us in our evaluation, a student noted, “Before this program I used to go home after school and watch television, now I look forward to coming to this program every Wednesday.” A female student reported, “This program kept me from dropping out of school.” A female student stated that the program helped give her the confidence to be more engaged in class, “This program has helped me do better in my classes…I raise my hand more to answer questions...I am not afraid to read out loud in class.”
Findings from our outcome evaluation suggest that students who participate in the MAAX program score higher on indices of positive identity development than non-MAAX participants and report more satisfaction with school. These encouraging results, although preliminary, suggest that the MAAX program is having a positive impact on middle school students’ sense of ethnic identity development, self–efficacy in mastering academic tasks, and educational aspirations. Students report that the program helps them feel supported and encouraged in their pursuit of academic excellence and higher education.