Challenges Faced when Evaluating the Jalaris Kids Future Club

Abstract

Jalaris Aboriginal Corporation in Western Australia was established in 1994 to look after the needs of an Aboriginal community. The organisation's most recent project is the ‘Kids Future Club’, an after-school activities program.

Jalaris has a history of evaluating their work using a participatory action research approach, but decided to approach evaluation of the Kids Future Club in a slightly different way. This article discusses the reasons for the changed approach, the efforts made to develop culturally appropriate tools for data collection, and the challenges encountered in undertaking evaluation of outcomes for individual children in the context of Jalaris and their Aboriginal community.

The tensions between ethical approaches to working within the Aboriginal kinship network and undertaking evaluation that required detailed observation and data collection of individuals proved to be irreconcilable for Jalaris.

Lessons learnt from this evaluation process may inform future efforts to evaluate Aboriginal community initiatives.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Data Analysis Australia 2005, Statistical report to support the mapping and gapping analysis for Derby, Data Analysis Australia, Nedlands, WA.

Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA) 2005, Service provision to Indigenous people in the town of Derby—West Kimberley, Department of Indigenous Affairs, Perth, WA.

Haviland

2004, ‘Doing participatory evaluation with community projects’, Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin, no. 6, Spring/Summer, pp. 10–13.

Haviland

2006, Derby Youth Drug and Alcohol Project report, Jayida Burru Family Violence Prevention Forum, Derby, WA.

Haviland

, & Jalaris Aboriginal Corporation 2003, Interim evaluation—Jalaris Aboriginal Corporation Strong Families Project, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Derby, WA & Melbourne.

Janus

, Hertzman

, Guhn

, Brinkman

, & Goldfeld

2009, ‘Reply to Li, D'Angiulli and Kendall: the Early Development Index and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds’, Early Years, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 83–87.

, D'Angiulli

, & Kendall

G.E.

2007, ‘The Early Development Index and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds’, Early Years, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 221–235.

, D'Angiulli

, & Kendall

2009, ‘Response to reply to Li, D'Angiulli and Kendall: the Early Development Index and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, by Janus, Hertzman, Guhn, Brinkman, and Goldfeld’, Early Years, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 89–92.

Taylor

2006, Indigenous people in the West Kimberley labour market, working paper no. 35, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Australian National University, Canberra, ACT.

10.

Telethon Institute for Child Health Research 2004, The health of Aboriginal children and young people—Malarabah (Derby), ATSIC Region: summary of findings from volume one of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, WA.

11.

Telethon Institute for Child Health Research 2005, The social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people—Malarabah (Derby) ATSIC Region: summary of findings from volume two of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, WA.

12.

Telethon Institute for Child Health Research 2006a, Improving the educational experiences of Aboriginal children and young people—Derby ICC Region: summary of findings from volume three of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, WA.

13.

Telethon Institute for Child Health Research 2006b, Strengthening the capacity of Aboriginal children, families and communities—Derby, ICC Region: summary of findings from volume four of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, WA.