Assessment of “Community Stepping Stones,” a Community-Based Youth Art Education Program

• Main Author: Pedraza, Jennifer E. A.
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholar Commons 2010
• Subjects: art education; youth; program evaluation; community; Sulphur Springs; American Studies; Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3613; http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4836&context=etd

Community Stepping Stones is an art education program whose objective is to “provide education, mentor children and adolescents, enhance the community economics, and enrich the quality of life in the community” (Community Steppping Stones [CSS], 2009a). Community art education programs, particularly for youth, have become increasingly popular as a way to address and prevent delinquent behavior. However, art education programs have proven challenging to evaluate and sustain. The goal of my thesis was to explore how Community Stepping Stones implemented and evaluated a community-based youth arts education program compared to other, similar programs and how the organization could make the program more effective and more sustainable long-term. As part of an internship with Community Stepping Stones, I conducted participant observation, document review, and interviews with individuals affiliated with Community Stepping Stones and other art education programs in the community. Data was collected between February 2009 and September 2010.Community Stepping Stones has grown significantly during my involvement with the organization, expanding funding, programming, and staff. Current efforts to reinforce evaluation measures and secure additional funding sources will help make the program more sustainable in the future. Additional efforts towards collaboration with other community and government organizations, increased community involvement, and better program organization will also be beneficial towards sustainability efforts. At this time, published evaluations of community-based youth art education programs and organizational impact on youth and community are limited. Although not a comprehensive assessment, I hope my research can help bolster the literature in this area.