Columbia University School of Social Work
 
T6416 Program Evaluation in Social Services

Overview and Rationale

This course builds on the content covered in Social Work Research. It is an advanced level course designed to give students the knowledge base and core skills (quantitative and qualitative) to carry out evaluations of programs, organizations and social services. Evaluation is a management tool used to ascertain service needs and determine the effectiveness and efficiency of individual program components or entire service systems. This course therefore focuses on types of evaluation, evaluation design and theory, measurement, sampling, data collection, ethics and politics in evaluation, data analysis, and utilization of findings. Students are expected to identify and critique the state of the empirical evidence related to the program(s), organization(s) or service(s) they will evaluate. The course emphasizes involving agency and client constituencies in the development, implementation and dissemination of evaluation efforts. Special emphasis is also given to the social and economic justice, value and ethical issues that arise in evaluation research, as well as issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, age and country of origin.

Learning Outcomes

In this course, students will learn to . . .

  1. Determine and select from among multiple research methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative) the best method for evaluating a program, organization or social service.
  2. Use appropriate data analytic techniques in evaluation of programs, organizations and social services.
  3. Describe the ethical, political and other contextual factors that affect evaluation of programs, organizations and social services.
  4. Effectively negotiate ethical, political and other contextual issues involved in evaluation of programs, organizations and social services.
  5. Collaborate with various stakeholder groups to develop, implement and ultimately increase the likelihood of use of evaluation results to promote social and economic justice, capacity building, and/or a desired change.
  6. Identify and assess program and organizational theories in specific evaluation settings and contexts.
  7. Identify issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, age and country of origin that may impact the development and execution of evaluation research.
  8. Evaluate critically the published evaluation research for use in developing an evaluation plan.
  9. Interpret published evaluation results in relationship to the state of empirical evidence in that area.

Council on Social Work Education Core Competencies

This course contributes toward mastery of the following core areas of social work competency identified by the Council on Social Work Education.

Social workers . . .

  • Identify as professional social workers and conduct themselves accordingly.
  • Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
  • Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
  • Engage diversity and difference in practice.
  • Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
  • Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
  • Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
  • Respond to contexts that shape practice.
  • Engage individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
  • Evaluate individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Core Content Themes

  • Introduction to Evaluation; and Ethics of Evaluation
  • Theories of Evaluation
  • Types of Program Evaluation and Designs
  • Qualitative Techniques
  • Outcomes, Goals and Measurement
  • Techniques of Data collection
  • Computer Lab1: Introduction to SPSS; Defining and Coding Variables
  • Computer Lab2: Entering and Working with Evaluation Data;
  • Computer Lab3: Data Analysis and Interpreting Results
  • Human Diversity and Social Justice issues in evaluation involving socially oppressed, marginalized and vulnerable participants and stakeholders.
  • Strategies for Enhancing Participant Capacity
  • Values, Politics and Power in Evaluation
  • Reporting Evaluation Findings