PROGRAM OUTCOMES: PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATIONS In the program evaluation, First Nations partners emphasized that certificates and diplomas are not the ultimate criteria for measuring the 'success' of the training programs. They expanded program outcomes to include a range of personal and community transformations. Capacity increased in our community not only because all but one of the students finished the whole program, but also because parents will be able to take advantage of employment and training opportunities now that there is a good daycares right here. And the Generative Curriculum Model meant that our values and language will be integrated into the daycare program, so that the children's capacity to use our language and know our culture will be stronger. Christine Leo, employment and training director, Mount Currie First Nation In all of the communities, success was gauged by the positive overall development seen in students - even in those who did not complete the whole program, and in community mobilization and organization to improve conditions for children and families. Most important was the fact that 95% of program graduates remained in their communities, thereby strengthening community capacity to provide culturally appropriate services for children and families. As many evaluation participants noted, there are few, if any, benefits to the community when students either go away to attend university and don't return - or come back, in the words of an Elder, "as strangers with alien ideas." The overwhelming majority of program graduates, responding to open-ended questions about their experiences of the training program, reported direct effects of program participation including: - enhanced self-esteem;
- restored cultural identity and pride;
- improved parenting effectiveness; and
- greater self-confidence with respect to their abilities as learners and as leaders in the field of children's services and children's development.
Overall, program graduates viewed 'success' in terms of both academic achievements and their emerging roles as community advocates and respected resources for family members and friends. |
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