Youth Participation in Community Evaluation Research

Abstract

Should young people participate in community evaluation research and, if so, what roles should they play? We believe that youth participation is desirable, but that it remains relatively undeveloped as a field of practice or subject of study. For this reason, this paper provides perspective on the increasing involvement by young people, identifies the participation patterns and evaluation roles of young people, and draws conclusions from empirically-based practice. It draws on the available literature, including our own participatory evaluation of a project intended to increase youth participation in organizational development and community change.