Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin No.1 Autumn 2002 pp.4-5
Community programs and projects have often been evaluated using traditional 'objective', scientific methods. An outside person, such as an auditor or an external evaluator, may come in and assess the program. They may use surveys or other measures developed elsewhere, and they may compare results with another group of people - called a control group - to see whether those who took part in the program are different from those who did not.
More recently, there has been a growing use of an action research approach to evaluate programs. This approach uses a range of research methods, and is as its name suggests - tied in to action or change in programs. It is a dynamic, flexible process that is able to look at a program and learn and inform the program while it is being carried out, rather than at the end when the program is finished.
This approach involves stakeholders as participants in the process, and is flexible enough to take account of the differences that may exist both between and within communities. It helps tailor projects to local situations. Put simply, it asks what works, how, when, where, for whom and with what outcomes. It starts with where projects are at and builds on them, asking what is important about what is happening and why, and what do we want to learn.
Rather than using surveys or statistics or comparing one group with another, the practitioners of action research are more likely to value and interpret people's experiences and stories (although action research may still include surveys and statistics or other scientific research methods if they suit the project). It is generally agreed that more traditional approaches cannot achieve the insights that come from people's experiences. Stories add colour, character and a new culture to the evaluation process (Crane and Richardson 2000).
Action research has a varied history: it has roots both in management theory around organisational change (Lewin 1946) and in methods for teaching literacy in South America in a way that empowered local people to act to change their lives (Freire 1972a, 1972b). It has been particularly important for people working in a range of fields throughout the world who see research as essentially linked to social change (Alston and Bowles 1998).
Action research, used as an evaluation method, is sensitive to local, environmental and social contexts. It finds ways to involve and value the contributions of everybody who has a stake in the program - for example, participants and their families, workers, local agency managements, community members, local services, and government and non-governmental organisations. It is an approach that helps build partnerships between stakeholders, and bring in others, such as local businesses, which can make a contribution. This kind of involvement is integral to the evaluation.
These kinds of partnerships mean families and communities can work together to develop the best ways of taking care of the needs of families, particularly those with young children. Together with developing these skills is the desire to prevent the development of social problems (also called 'early intervention').
A partnership approach seeks to find out and recognise the strengths and abilities families and communities already have, and build on them so they can have more control over decision-making for issues that affect them, are more able to help themselves, and have a sense of community. Developing these kind of collaborative community early intervention strategies also helps build the kinds of individuals and communities that are able to tackle other problems as they come along. In other words, they build community capacity to address local issues (see article on community capacity building elsewhere in this Bulletin).
Some strategies will be more successful than others, but in the Stronger Families Fund, less successful strategies will not be regarded as failures. Understanding not only what worked, but also what didn't work, will be important in developing knowledge about early intervention approaches. Projects will be asked to report on the insights gained in applying their strategies, and share these reports with other projects as a means of generating good practice for the Stronger Families Fund and the wider field of early intervention and prevention.
Key questions for the Stronger Families Fund as a whole might be: 'What makes early childhood programs effective, in a variety of contexts, for diverse participants and stakeholders ranging from children, through parents and community members to policy makers?' 'What are the keys to effectiveness that may have been known but not visible or documented until now?' 'What lessons have been learned during the project?' (The Effectiveness Initiative 2001).
Alston, Margaret and Bowles, Wendy (1998), Research for Social Workers: An Introduction, Allen and Unwin, Sydney.
Crane, Phil and Richardson, Leanne (2000), Reconnect Action Research Kit, Department of Family and Community Services, Canberra.
Freire, Paolo (1972a), Cultural Action for Freedom, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK.
Freire, Paolo (1972b), Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK.
Lewin, Kurt (1946), 'Action research and minority problems', Journal of Social Issues, vol. 2, pp. 34-46.
The Effectiveness Initiative (2001), Early Childhood Matters (the Bulletin of the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands), October.
Action research contributes to a process of reflective practice, which encourages continuous improvement.
What is action research?
What is an action research evaluation?
Tania Lienert is a Senior Research Officer in the Stronger Families Learning Exchange at the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
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