Active Parenting Final program evaluation report

The Business Training Institute, Inc., in collaboration with the Utica City Schools Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant, conducted Active Parenting workshops. These workshops began in February 2003 and met six times to cover the six sessions in the curriculum. More than 25 parents were regular attendees of the workshops, which were conducted by trained facilitators who had previously facilitated many Active Parenting workshop series with the Business Training Institute, Inc.

The evaluation plan provided by the evaluator, Ciurczak & Company, Inc., for the workshop series included conducting a post-test assessment on several items specific to each workshop. The post-test featured three sets of questions: one set that was content related and indicated changes in parental knowledge; one set that reflected changes in behavior at the parents home during the week; and one set that reflected upon the perceived value of the workshop materials, quality of the trainers, and sense of parental participation during the workshop. Parents were asked if they would recommend this activity to other parents, and, in the final question, were provided the opportunity to add any additional comments. The evaluator reviewed the questions with the facilitators prior to the beginning of each workshop to ensure that the topics covered by the facilitators were included in the evaluation. The evaluator also made a site visit to observe a workshop firsthand.

The workshop results can be considered a success by several different measures. In the area of parental knowledge of parenting skills, parents demonstrated growth in all content areas, based on their responses to post-test questions. The parents evaluated the workshop materials, handouts, and usable information gained in each workshop very highly, and also recommended the workshop to other parents at a very high level.

The results for all workshops are summarized below. Individual workshop evaluations, and the final program evaluation are included in the following appendices as indicated:

• Appendix Workshop 2
• Appendix Workshop 3
• Appendix Workshop 4 (data analysis pending)
• Appendix Workshop 5
• Appendix Workshop 6
• Appendix 7: Final Active Parenting Program Evaluation

Result Highlights

• 96% of the parents replied that the workshops met their needs in all areas.
• 74% – 100% of parents responded to short-answer content-based questions appropriately each week.
• Consistently high scores on the different workshops demonstrated excellent materials, trainer facilitation, and parental involvement.

Workshop Materials, Organization, and Trainers

• 100% of parents evaluated materials, workshop organization, ability to interact with other parents, and usability of practical information a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 (low) to (5 high).
• 100% of parents evaluated the workshops overall as Excellent (91%) or Very Good (9%)
• 100% of parents indicated that the workshop activities were very helpful in achieving the objectives of the workshop.
• 100% of parents evaluated the quality of the trainers a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high).
• 100% of parents indicated that the objectives for the workshops were very clearly stated.

Parenting Behavior

• Overall, 100% of the parents indicated that the workshops were of value to their growth as a parent.
• Overall, 100% of the parents indicated that they would recommend this workshop to other parents.
• 76% of the parents indicated that they held at least one Family Meeting.