Sex and Ethic Program Evaluation Plan - Literature review Example

SEX AND ETHIC PROGRAM EVALUATION PLAN by Student’s Name       Code+ Course Name Professor’s Name University Name City Date Introduction The purpose of this program evaluation plan is to assess the success of the sex and ethics violence prevention program. The program was developed in 2006 and aims at assist young men and women to build better relationships based on sexual ethics and subjectivity thereby enabling them to explore the diverse possibilities presented by gender differences in their intimate relationships. The program currently runs in New Zealand and Australia. This evaluation plan will assess the success of the program in Victoria across different State secondary schools, sporting clubs and youth correctional facilities in Victoria. The plan will also point out any changes that will be required to better the program and provide additional information for the future implementation cycles. The plan identifies the extent to which the program’s objectives are being met and whether it is sustainable. Evaluation rationale The evaluation plan focuses on the impact of the program on the intimate relationships and the general sexual lives of young individuals. It hopes to serve as a tool for continued improvement of the program. Furlog and Cartmel (2007) point out that ideas of risk are always associated with young people. This is despite the fact that there is varying sexual environments in which they operate. Young people are often considered sexual hyperactive, and this, in most instances, comes with some amount of recklessness. Carmody (2012) points out that both schools and families have in the past failed to provide young people with the necessary tools needed to understand the emotional part of their sexual lives. An increased number of young people, especially men, are showing interest in knowing more about sexual techniques as well as the emotions involved in such relationships (Hilton, 2007). Many young men and women undergo abusive experiences and according to Carmody (2012) about 15% of men and 32% of women reported to have undergone through such experiences. Previous programs aimed at addressing the sexuality of young people have failed at discussing pressure and coerced sex which is very common among young people (Smith et al, 2009). Cases of forced sexual encounters among young women and men often go unreported. A higher percentage of women compared to men has been reported to have engaged in unwanted sex, with most of those involved pointing out that it was a result of too much pressure from their partners and being very drunk (Smith et al, 2009). According to Carmody (2012) the sex and ethics violence prevention program identifies the fact that there is pleasure and danger in young people’s sexual encounters and the program’s main focus is to educate the young people on how to balance between these 2 possibilities. The effectiveness of sexual violence prevention programs has been of great concern to governments, scholars and research across the globe. Most of the overviews presented in the past have focused on the effectiveness of such programs among young men in colleges (Carmody, 2012). Nation et al (2003) report that most of the programs that proved effective in preventing sexual violence were comprehensive, were appropriately timed, gave room for positive relationships to be groomed, utilized staff that were well trained, made use of a variety of teaching methods and included the evaluation of the outcomes. Their research focused on four social areas, namely risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, juvenile violence and school failure. According to Carmody (2012), the factors that motivate individuals to change are closely related to the effectiveness of sexual violence prevention programs. Some of the personal change models she identifies as being effective include transtheoretical model and the social learning model. Anderson and Whiston (2005) are of the view that education programs in colleges have emerged as an effective way through which sexual assault prevention education can be rolled out. They point out that past studies have shown that there are very many incidences of sexual violence experiences by women in college hence the importance of such programs in colleges. However, they argue that as much as many of these programs have been implemented, only a few have been evaluated for effectiveness. Even in the face of many studies and research in this area, Anderson and Whiston (2005) are of the idea that the overall effectiveness and long term impact on the attitudes and behaviors remains to be known. Sexual violence has an impact on both the health and the well being of individuals and has over the years emerged as a serious health problem. An effective prevention program should be informed by the latest and best research and incorporate strategies that would successfully address the issue. In evaluating the InterACT sexual assault prevention program, Ahrens et al (2010) point out that it increased the beliefs of the participants in bystander intervention. Stakeholders The stakeholders in this evaluation include the government, community members, schools and colleges, the media, grantors as well as firms, agencies and interest groups the schools and colleges will provide a source of participants and grantors, firms and interest groups will form an important source of monetary and non-monetary resources. Community members will play an important role in providing additional information on the effectiveness of the plan while the media will offer an important channel through which the evaluation outcomes can be communicated to the wider audience Evaluation aims and objectives The evaluation plan focuses on the impact of the program on the intimate relationships and the general sexual lives of young individuals. The evaluation aims at finding out both the pros and cons of the programs and providing suggestions on how the pros can be corrected. By doing this, it hopes to improve the future effectiveness of the program. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that the program meets its objectives which are to assist young people to develop knowledge and skills to make ethical decisions in intimate relationships, to develop young people’s capacity to negotiate and enjoy positive and respectful relationships and reduce the incidence of unwanted, coerced or pressured sex. The following key questions will be addressed by the evaluation 1. Does the program result into reduced cases of sexual violence among young people aged between 15 to 25 years? 2. Are the improvements in sexual relationships and behaviors maintained 2 to 4 months post course? 3. Is the program effective in ensuring that the knowledge and skills acquired are present in the long term? Evaluation design The plan will utilize a combination of descriptive and exploratory designs. The exploratory evaluation design is important in identifying the key services a program hopes to provide and pointing out the best ways through which the services can be provided. It is effective at the beginning of a program and is also important in analyzing the outcomes that are appropriate to measure and the best way through which the outcomes can be measured. On the other hand, the quasi experimental design is important in providing evidence on the causal relationship between the services offered by the program and the outcomes. Both the designs will be important in identifying whether the program increases the knowledge and skills of the participants. The quasi-experimental evaluation design will be important in the evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the program. It will help in proving that the observed outcomes in beneficiaries were caused by the effectiveness of the program. The descriptive design will be useful in showing whether the program is going on according to plan and whether the desired outputs and outcomes are being met. Additionally, it would be effective in making clear the processes, goals and objectives of the program The exploratory design would be helpful in increasing the understanding of the program and in the coming up with better evaluation approaches, questions and services. The methods involved would include current literature review, interviews and surveys and analysis of existing data. The descriptive design would be utilized to find out the progress of the program and record the output and the outcomes. Additionally, it will study the correlation of the program and service recipients and find out the views of people about the program. Methods to be used include preliminary outcome tests, statistical analysis of collected information and interviews as well as focus groups information. Data collection methods Data will be collected through an open survey of participants, review of current literature and analysis of available information and data. Analysing the available data will make it possible for the recorded information about the current participants to be known. This includes the available resources, the characteristics of the participants and shareholders as well as their demographic and educational backgrounds. Collection of data through the surveys will be done by selecting a sample that fairly represents all the participants The sample A sample that fairly represents all the participants in the program would be randomly selected to participate in a survey that would evaluate their attitudes, behavior and pre and post course self-efficacy. Holloway and Wheeler (2010) point out that the number of participants in any quantitative study will depend on a number of key factors among them being the availability of the necessary resources, type of the main research question as well as the total number of researchers being involved in the study. Schneider et al (2007) argues that the quality of data should be considered when determining the number of participants that should be involved in a study. In addition to that, they are of the opinion that the appropriate number of participants in a study should be between 8 and 15. However, It should be noted that there are no standard rules established with regard to the most effective number of participants in any given qualitative study. Data collection instruments Written Questionnaires will be utilized in the survey. Apart from being inexpensive, questionnaires are also easy to analyse. Additionally, they are less intrusive and make it possible to avoid bias (Gerrish and Lacey, 2006). The questionnaire will be divided into two parts with the first part requiring participants to fill in their personal details, namely age, gender and level of study. The second part of the questionnaire will present the participants with open ended questions. The questionnaire will take and an average of 15 minutes to complete and will not limit any respondent on the basis of time. Data analysis To answer the questions on the program processes, outcomes as well as participants, statistical analysis of the collected data will be necessary. The data from the questionnaires will be confidentially analyzed using the SPSS software. Several variables will be identified and all the variables analysed using mean scores, frequencies, descriptive statistics as well as standard deviation. Background data variables such as participant number, age of the participants, level of education as well as gender of the participants will be classified before percentage distributions and frequency distribution is done. Dissemination strategy The findings will be communicated to the stakeholders through a written report that would be made available in hard copies as well as on the internet in soft copies. To promote the use of the evaluation plan, the findings and recommendations will be appropriately communicated to the key stakeholders. The written reports will be delivered to grantors, community leaders, firms and interest groups. The main reasoning for sharing the findings and the recommendations with the mentioned stakeholders is that they play an important role in the overall success of the program. Written reports are an effective way of communicating the findings since it gives the stakeholders ample time to through the findings and recommendations and respond accordingly. Participant names and additional information will be kept confidential in order to protect their identity. Timeline Evaluation element Timeline Program data collection Ongoing throughout grant period Participant survey data collection Ongoing throughout grant period Data analysis and dissemination End of each grant year Follow up study Fall 2015 to summer 2016 References List Ahrens, C., Rich, M. and Ullman, J. (2011). Rehearsing for real life: The impact of the InterACT sexual assault prevention program on self-reported likelihood of engaging in bystander interventions. Violence against women, 17(6), pp.760--776. Anderson, L. and Whiston, S. (2005). SEXUAL ASSAULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS: A META-ANALYTIC EXAMINATION OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29(4), pp.374--388. Carmody, M. (2013). Young men, sexual ethics and sexual negotiation. Sociological Research Online, 18(2), p.22. Furlog, A. & Cartmel, F. (2007) Young people and social change. UK: Open University Press. Gerrish, K. & Lacey, A. (2006).The research process in nursing. Oxford: Blackwell Pub. Hilton , G. L., (2007) 'Listening to the boys again: an exploration of what boys want to learn in sex education classes and how they want to be taught',Sex Education: Sex, Society and Learning, 7(2) p. 161-174. Holloway, I., Wheeler, S. & Holloway, I. (2010).Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare.Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. Nation , M., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A., Kumpfer, K. L., Seybolt, D., Morrissey-Kane, E., et al. (2003) 'What works in prevention: principles of effective prevention programs', American Psychologist, 58(6/7) p. 449-456. Schneider, Z., Whitehead, D., Elliott, D., Lobiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J (2007).Nursing & Midwifery Research Methods and Appraisal for Evidence-based Practice. 3rd Eds. Australia: Elsevier Smith, A., Agius, P., Dyson, S., Mitchell, A., & Pitts, M., (2009) Secondary Students And Sexual Health 2008: Report of the findings from The 4th National Survey Of Australian Secondary Schools, HIV/AIDS And Sexual Health. Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society. Read More

A higher percentage of women compared to men has been reported to have engaged in unwanted sex, with most of those involved pointing out that it was a result of too much pressure from their partners and being very drunk (Smith et al, 2009). According to Carmody (2012) the sex and ethics violence prevention program identifies the fact that there is pleasure and danger in young people’s sexual encounters and the program’s main focus is to educate the young people on how to balance between these 2 possibilities.

The effectiveness of sexual violence prevention programs has been of great concern to governments, scholars and research across the globe. Most of the overviews presented in the past have focused on the effectiveness of such programs among young men in colleges (Carmody, 2012). Nation et al (2003) report that most of the programs that proved effective in preventing sexual violence were comprehensive, were appropriately timed, gave room for positive relationships to be groomed, utilized staff that were well trained, made use of a variety of teaching methods and included the evaluation of the outcomes.

Their research focused on four social areas, namely risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, juvenile violence and school failure. According to Carmody (2012), the factors that motivate individuals to change are closely related to the effectiveness of sexual violence prevention programs. Some of the personal change models she identifies as being effective include transtheoretical model and the social learning model. Anderson and Whiston (2005) are of the view that education programs in colleges have emerged as an effective way through which sexual assault prevention education can be rolled out.

They point out that past studies have shown that there are very many incidences of sexual violence experiences by women in college hence the importance of such programs in colleges. However, they argue that as much as many of these programs have been implemented, only a few have been evaluated for effectiveness. Even in the face of many studies and research in this area, Anderson and Whiston (2005) are of the idea that the overall effectiveness and long term impact on the attitudes and behaviors remains to be known.

Sexual violence has an impact on both the health and the well being of individuals and has over the years emerged as a serious health problem. An effective prevention program should be informed by the latest and best research and incorporate strategies that would successfully address the issue. In evaluating the InterACT sexual assault prevention program, Ahrens et al (2010) point out that it increased the beliefs of the participants in bystander intervention. Stakeholders The stakeholders in this evaluation include the government, community members, schools and colleges, the media, grantors as well as firms, agencies and interest groups the schools and colleges will provide a source of participants and grantors, firms and interest groups will form an important source of monetary and non-monetary resources.

Community members will play an important role in providing additional information on the effectiveness of the plan while the media will offer an important channel through which the evaluation outcomes can be communicated to the wider audience Evaluation aims and objectives The evaluation plan focuses on the impact of the program on the intimate relationships and the general sexual lives of young individuals. The evaluation aims at finding out both the pros and cons of the programs and providing suggestions on how the pros can be corrected.

By doing this, it hopes to improve the future effectiveness of the program. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that the program meets its objectives which are to assist young people to develop knowledge and skills to make ethical decisions in intimate relationships, to develop young people’s capacity to negotiate and enjoy positive and respectful relationships and reduce the incidence of unwanted, coerced or pressured sex.

Read More