Using the science of positive psychology in the formative evaluation of social justice interventions: A case example

Meg A. Warren, Stewart I. Donaldson and Nicole Galport

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2022, vol. 91, issue C

Abstract: The pursuit of culturally responsive approaches for designing and evaluating programs to promote social justice has become of the utmost importance to the evaluation community in the past decade. A strengths-focused evaluation approach has great promise for empowering individuals, groups, communities, and organizations, and identifying program strengths to build upon in addition to illuminating program deficits. However, there is a dearth of literature on using a strengths approach to evaluate interventions and programs to promote social justice. Drawing from the two disciplines of positive psychology and evaluation, this article illustrates a strengths-focused approach to formative evaluation using a case example of a halfway house for previously incarcerated women. The findings exemplify the positive psychological phenomena that emerge as a result of focusing the evaluation on program strengths. The case demonstrates that the application of a strengths-focused approach to evaluating social justice interventions can be empowering for institutions and the communities they serve.

Keywords: Culturally responsive evaluation; Social justice; Positive psychology; Strengths-focused evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:91:y:2022:i:c:s0149718921001129

DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2021.102017

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