Evaluation of the Youth Care Project “Mensch ärgere Dich…”

Evaluation of the Youth Care Project “Mensch ärgere Dich…”

Client: City of Munich (Stadtjugendamt) (1999-2000) | Area: Social Work & Social Risks, Evaluation and Accompanying Research

SINE-Mandate |

Subject of evaluation was a sub-project of the crime prevention project “TRAC” (“Teen Rage Against Crime”), which was implemented in a cross-institutional cooperation of the youth welfare service Munich, the education authority and the police. Research assignment included (1) the ambitions of the participating institutions and (2) reflecting the effectiveness of the measures. The measures package “Mensch ärgere Dich…” is not seen as unchangeable but conceived as improvable based on the respective results.

  1. First of all, as common for an input-oriented evaluation, the focus was on the conception of the project and the participating parties: What is the relation between the youths´ expectations and the ambitions of the project partners? Is there an overall consensus within the group of project partners, regarding the defined ambitions? Has the project been conceptualised, scheduled and implemented in a way that makes it possible to go after the defined ambitions? Did the institutional and structural conditions prove to be correct and appropriate?
  2. How effective were the applied measures? Did the applied measures help accomplishing the project objectives? Were the youths able to act according to the proposed behaviours? Did the pupils actually show the intended learning curves? As the evaluation was implemented within a narrow time frame, the project progression and appearing effects could be pointed out (compliance evaluation), in order to give a conclusive (provisional) estimation to the end of the school year (output evaluation).

 

Methods|

A combination of qualitative methods came to use:

  • Semi standardised interviews with five pupils and participating project partners
  • Document analysis (conception, game instructions and process based project materials)
  • Participant observation during the project execution
  • Group discussion with the project class

 

Results |

All in all, the project can be estimated as a suitable measures package for crime prevention. A detailed project report can be ordered at: Stadtjugendamt München, KJS, Orleansplatz 11, 81667 München

 

Responsible | Prof. Dr. Patricia Pfeil, Dipl.-Soz. Sylvia Lustig