Evaluation Issues in Programs that Promote Self-Determination Anita Yuskauskas, Ph.D.

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Evaluation Issues in Programs that Promote
Self-DeterminationAnita Yuskauskas, Ph.D.
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SD Evaluation Issues

• How can we assess
• Power
• Personal Worth
• Equality
• Liberty

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More SD Evaluation Issues

• SD based on principles operationalization is
  individualized systems become decentralized and
  more complex
• Experimental - wide variety of approaches
• Experience of SD varies by role
• Knowledge about SD is limited are we asking the
  right questions? Are we in agreement on projected
  outcomes? Are we in agreement on language?
• More research is needed to guide policy and
  legislative decision making

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WHY ARE THESE ISSUES?

• Evaluation results can influence federal and
  state policies and practices around the use of
  government support dollars

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SYSTEMS COMMUNITY CHANGE EFFORTSJohn G. Ott
Associates, Santa Fe, NM

• Results Shared agreements about outcomes we
  can we expect from self-determination
• Indicators measurable data sources that assess
  whether we are achieving desired results
• Strategies Initiatives and programs we employ
  to achieve desired results
• Performance Measures measures we use to judge
  the effectiveness of implementing strategies

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RESULTS FROM SELF-DETERMINATIONTom Nerney

• Freedom to design a life plan
• Authority to control a targeted amount of
  resources
• Supports organized in an individualized way
• Responsibility for the wise use of public dollars
  and to contribute to ones community

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SD RESULT People Have the Freedom to Design a
Life Plan
Indicators Choice re Plan Content Choice re participants
Strategies Propose legislation re PCP Conduct training in PCP
Performance Measures Proposed legislation becomes law Increased satisfaction with PCPP
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IN ORDER TO ASSESS ACHIEVEMENT OF OUTCOMES THERE
MUST FIRST BE AGREEMENT ON OUTCOMES

• If there is no agreement on results, there will
  likely be arguments over dollars or who is more
  pious.
• John G. Ott

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Self-Determination Requires a Multifaceted
Approach to Evaluation

• Both Qualitative and Quantitative Methods Can
  Provide Understanding Answers About
  Effectiveness

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QUALITATIVE METHODS

• Reality is socially constructed
• Mutual
• Subjective/Perspective
• Phenomenology
• Constructivism
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Ethnomethodology

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FROM CHANGING WORLD ORDERTO METHODOLOGICAL
CONSISTENCYSchwartz Ogilvy

• FROM
• Objective
• Hierarchy
• Simple, Mechanistic

• TO
• Perspective
• Heterarchy
• Complex

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QUALITATIVE METHODS

• Provide an evaluation process that is consistent
  with the values of self-determination
• Provide a means to define results
• Completes the picture

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WHO WHAT WILL BE STUDIED QUALITATIVELY?

• How people define experience self-determination
  versus its effectiveness
• How self-determination works versus if it works.
• Understanding SD versus finding an outcome

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DECENTRALIZED INDIVIDUALIZED

• Self-Determination is defined on an individual
  basis
• Whether SD works is decided on an individual basis

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MUTUALITY

• Contribution and Benefit are Understood to be
  Mutual and Beneficial

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HOW WILL IT BE STUDIED?

• Design, Data Collection, Analysis Occur
  Simultaneously Learning process is continuous,
  flexible, subject to change, responsive,
  interactive
• Subject is empowered to define the topics of
  research that are pertinent, in a way that is
  consistent with their own belief system.
• Methods include observation, open ended
  interviewing, participant observation, and
  document reviews

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Validity and Reliability in Qualitative

• Provide adequate detail about how the study was
  conducted, the people and their environments
• Provide information about gaining access in the
  field and the rapport with subjects
• Provide evidence of member checks, triangulation,
  and peer co-analysis

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IT TAKES RIGOROUS WORK TO FIND MEANING AND TRUTH
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CONCLUSIONS

1. Establish a research institute that will
   integrate qualitative quantitative research
   results on self-determination
2. Utilize integrated and accurate info to feed
   future research, policies, and practices
3. Establish a research agenda agree on outcomes
4. Focus research on showing how people are and are
   not realizing empowerment, personal worth,
   equality, liberty, etc.
5. Attempt to define the individual threshold point
   where support becomes restrictive

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ACCURATE INFORMATION WILL LEAD US TO TRUE NORTH