Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Humanistic program evaluation : application to an Oregon high school counseling program

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  • The primary problem of this study was to evaluate the post-high school plans component of a high school counseling program. The intent was to determine the effectiveness of the program component in relation to the purpose it was designed to serve: providing information and guidance for high school students who were making decisions about what they would do after graduation from high school. Secondary problems were the choice of an approach to evaluation and the methods to be used to implement that approach. A humanistic approach, which would give access to qualitative information, implemented through intensive interviewing and participant observation, was selected. The method of intensive interviewing was implemented through an open-ended interview format which asked for both information and opinions from respondents. Participant observation was carried out during both formal program activities and informal events which occurred relative to the program component studied, and involved counselors, teachers, students, administrators, and parents. Ninety-eight of the 107 students in the 1982 graduating class of Douglas High School participated in interviews conducted between December 1, 1981 and March 15, 1982. Observations of formal program events took place throughout the academic year during which the study was conducted. Informal observations had occurred throughout the four years during which the researcher had been a member of the professional staff of the institution in which the study occurred. Major findings included support for the efficacy of the methodology employed as well as evaluations of the program component. As regards methodology, the interview and observation techniques revealed material unlikely to emerge in more objective (rating scale, management-by- objectives, or classic research design) methods. Students in interviews explained their reactions to program events, providing qualifications that more objective but less sensitive methods would obscure. The interviewer clarified questions to be certain students understood what they were answering, a procedure impossible with an objective rating scale. Observations of activities revealed the nature of relationships which existed in the institution, variations in relationships over time or changing situations, and the influence of relationships on the effectiveness of program components. As regards evaluation, the program component was weak in the following areas: counseling services were inadequately publicized; students were inadequately informed of career options in the military (specifically, in military academies and through Reserve Officer Training programs); scholarship information was poorly organized for student use and inadequately publicized; and career guidance beyond the freshman career exploration class was insufficient. The program component showed positive strengths in such areas as annual pre-enrollment of students; keeping students informed of progress toward credits for graduation; providing informational workshops in preparation of scholarship applications, financial aid, and the Scholastic Aptitude Test; providing access to military recruiters at student request; maintaining a library of college and career information; responding to student and parent requests for assistance; and exhibiting concern for and providing counseling services for individual students.
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