Youth as Evaluators: Engaging Young People Data Collection and Analysis
Picture a room full of teens attentively analyzing Google Sheets, pie charts, and pivot tables. This is not a scene from a high school math class but rather an after-school workshop series where students are intent on using data to influence change in their community.
Members of a youth board dedicated to improving school food in their community decided to create a survey tool and engage in meaning-making sessions to obtain relevant data to advocate for change.
Back of the Napkin (BOTN) was brought in to assist these young people with refining their survey, analyzing, and synthesizing their data. We built on the young people’s preliminary excitement and facilitated conversations to get a better understanding of what was important to them, and what mattered the most.
Adults as Supporters in Survey Design
We facilitated discussions with the young people that provided more insight into their motivation for this project. Through these conversations, they articulated the thinking behind choosing specific survey questions. Most BOTN suggestions and recommendations were about survey logistics and mechanics, keeping the heart of the questions that youth worked hard to create.
We proposed if/then frameworks for young people to discuss the potential impact and use cases of their decisions.
We introduced them to logic functionality and explored the impact of peers only responding to relevant questions.
Youth Voice and Choice in Analysis
BOTN took the lead in initial data analysis compiling charts and general results from which young people could determine insights.
When viewing results young people shared their reactions, additional questions they wanted to consider, and contextual factors that may have influenced a specific data point.
We provided common research and evaluation language and trained them to use pivot tables to equip young people with a common starting point. After talking through data points in which they were interested, young people voted on areas they wanted to explore further (e.g. by respondent age, gender, school, or race).
Once we showed them how to create and manipulate pivot tables they hit the ground running. I observed as they worked to further sift through the data, stepping in from time to time to help with minor errors that came up.
The young people shared their findings, highlighting which groups and data points resonated the most, and speculating about the results based on what they observed firsthand. After digging deeper into the data, young people confidently determined their next steps and prioritized the information that would be most impactful to present school officials.
The Impact of Youth Participatory Evaluation
I was surprised by this process, as I find people are not usually excited about reviewing data and numbers. Adults do not engage because, for some, it may bring up apprehension and confusion, but in contrast, these young people were pumped!
After completing the analysis project they asked us questions about our backgrounds and education in evaluators, indicating a genuine interest in the evaluation field. Some students expressed interest in taking a statistics class and e-mailed their guidance counselors on the spot. They saw the practical application of curiosity and research by being empowered to be agents of change.
Reflections for Future Projects
When we strive to put youth in the driver’s seat, we must meet them where they are and honor their established areas of interest.
Facilitate an open-ended process where the end goal is for young people to come to their own conclusions through conversations, collaboration, and curiosity.
Listen, observe, ask questions, and then ask more questions. Seeking the expertise of young people and their lived experiences is crucial.
Do not underestimate the power of rapport-building and establishing trust with young people. It creates an environment that makes data more accessible, fun, and exciting.
Young people should be in the driver’s seat with adults taking a supportive role. (This could look like adults proposing suggestions to consider and facilitating discussions where young people asked questions of each other.)
Reflect on your process and determine if we authentically engage them in determining what they care about.
Engaging young people in evaluation ensures true empowerment and opportunities for growth, and could lead to the next generation of researchers and evaluators!