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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Finding Hidden Value Through Mixed-Methodology: Lessons From The Discovery Program’S Holistic Approach To Truancy Abatement, Holly Miller, J. Miller
Finding Hidden Value Through Mixed-Methodology: Lessons From The Discovery Program’S Holistic Approach To Truancy Abatement, Holly Miller, J. Miller
Holly Ventura Miller
Policy makers often bemoan the shortcomings and inefficiency of youth development and similar social work programs whose effectiveness cannot be demonstrated by quantifiable performance indicators. This study argues, through illustration of the Odyssey Learning Center’s Discovery Program (an alternative school serving rural Southern youth in an abject poverty context), that program value can only be evidenced through a mixed-methodological evaluation design. Reasons precluding traditional statistical analysis and effectiveness determinations are discussed and alternative conceptualizations of program value are considered.