Evaluation of a community-based positive youth development program based on Chinese junior school students in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study investigated students' evaluations of a positive youth development program entitled Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social program) in Hong Kong. The participants were 19,790 Secondary 1, 2 and 3 students who joined this program at the extension phase of the project. They were required to complete a subjective outcome evaluation form to indicate their perceptions of the program content, instructors, and effectiveness. Results showed that the students evaluated this program positively. Amongst the students in the three grades, Secondary 1 students evaluated the program most favorably whereas Secondary 3 students had the relatively least favorable evaluation. In addition, the program content and instructors accounted for approximately 35% of the variance in program effectiveness. The findings generally imply the successful implementation of this program in the community-based phase.

Changes in the Participants in a Community-Based Positive Youth Development Program in Hong Kong: Objective Outcome Evaluation Using a One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design

“…Third, as several waves of data have been gathered since the community-based project was launched in 2013, the objective outcome evaluation findings can be replicated in different years and the credibility of the research can be accumulated. Consistent with the first-year results of the project Shek et al 2017), significant differences between pretest and posttest were found in the scores of CPYDS, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Thriving Scale. In particular, participants at posttest were found to perform better, which is consistent with Hypothesis 1-3.…”

“…For example, based on the objective outcome evaluation findings, students in the experimental schools showed much slower increase in problem behavior, such as delinquent behaviors and substance abuse (Shek and Yu 2012). Other evaluation studies such as qualitative evaluation and subjective outcome evaluation have been conducted, and the results demonstrated that students were satisfied with the program and there were positive changes in the related developmental outcomes (e.g., Sun 2013a, 2013b;Shek et al 2017). Despite the above positive outcomes, little is known whether the impact varies by the contexts.…”

The Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong: Work Done and Lessons Learned in a Decade

“…With specific reference to the evaluation data collected for 2013, results showed that the program participants and implementers had positive perceptions of the program, implementers, and benefits of the part A program. 26,27 Similarly, the program, implementers, and benefits of the part B program were positively evaluated by the program participants and implementers. 28,29 The pretest and posttest data also revealed that the participants showed positive changes after joining the part A program.…”

Perceived effectiveness and satisfaction of a community-based positive youth development program: findings based on high school students

“…Grade differences of subjective outcome evaluation ratings were also investigated in this study. Previous studies found that younger students always responded more positively as compared to higher grade students [23][24][25]. These findings raised the question of whether there are grade differences of subjective outcome evaluation in the current study.…”

“…Project? Based on the past findings [23][24][25] from different evaluation methods, it was expected that the participants would generally be satisfied with the program (Hypothesis 1). 2.…”