Melania Alvarez – comp questions

  1. You mention in your research proposal that in the past there has been great fault in evaluating the effectiveness of outreach programs. One of the reasons for this, you mention, is that researchers avoid making conclusions from the qualitative data. How will the methodology you propose solve this problem? That is, how will the data you collect let you 'know' how effective your intervention is? In answering this question be specific - tell us what you can expect to 'know' from your method. That is, do not simply use literature to construct a support for mixed methods. Also, do not fall into the same trap that many of the cited 'failed' studies did by restricting yourself to considering only performance indicators (how they improve over the summer, whether they take high school courses, etc.). Allow yourself to think as data pointing towards other indicators as well - more affective indicators such as confidence, attitude, beliefs, interest, engagement, efficacy, self-conception, future plans, etc - and how these indicators can allow you to 'know' something. Finally, be aware, and explicit, about what your methodology cannot allow you to 'know'.
  2. You briefly mention in your research proposal that in order for outreach programs to be effective in affecting change among aboriginal children/students there needs to be continued intervention. Justify this. What is it about aboriginal youths, and the emerging obstacles that they face, that requires continued intervention. In addressing this question try, as much as possible, to access a literature base that is specific to aboriginal youths (here or elsewhere) as opposed to literature that deals with disadvantaged youths and minority groups in general.
  3. Let us 'pretend' that your work with the aboriginal youths is complete, your data is collected, and the analysis has begun. When looking back at your work you realize that over time the goals of your participants and the challenges to 'success' (however you define success) that they faced changed, and with it your interventions. One chapter of your thesis is going to have to deal with this and in so doing you are going to have to find a way to integrate all of your data in order to bring coherence to your analysis. One way to do this is to look at cases (specific students) and the complex journeys they have travelled, richly described and analyzed. Another way to do it is to code and present your data in terms of emerging themes. Write a cursory 'fictional' analysis organized either around 3 cases or a set of emerging themes to highlight the nature of the obstacles to 'success' that your participants faced as they grew from age 12 to 18, and how the interventions overcame (or otherwise) these obstacles.