International Journal on Disability and Human Development

Shek, Daniel T.L.; Ma, Cecilia M.S.; Zhu, Xiaoqin

2017 International Journal on Disability and Human Development

doi: 10.1515/ijdhd-2017-7006

AbstractUsing a subjective outcome evaluation method, the current study investigated program implementers’ perceptions of the Tier 1 Program of the community-based P.A.T.H.S. Project in Hong Kong. After completion of the program, 599 program implementers completed a valid and reliable scale (i.e. Form B) to give their ratings on program content, their own performance, and perceived program effectiveness. As expected, most program implementers perceived the program in a favorable way by giving very positive ratings on the three aspects measured in Form B. Grade differences on the ratings were observed, with implementers teaching the senior curriculum held more positive views on program effectiveness than did those teaching the junior curriculum. Similar to previous findings, perceived program content and perceived worker performance predicted program effectiveness. Findings of the present study provide further evidence for the success of the Tier 1 Program of the community-based P.A.T.H.S. Project in Hong Kong.

Shek, Daniel T.L.; Ma, Cecilia M.S.; Law, Moon Y.M.; Zhao, Zoe

2017 International Journal on Disability and Human Development

doi: 10.1515/ijdhd-2017-7007

AbstractThe present study attempted to investigate the perceptions of Chinese secondary school students with greater psychosocial needs of the Tier 2 Program in the community-based phase of P.A.T.H.S. Project in Hong Kong (n=4245). Using a subjective outcome evaluation tool (Form C), the results revealed that a great majority of the students held positive attitudes toward the program, implementers and the effectiveness of the program. Also, the three domains of the program (“program quality”, “implementer quality” and “program effectiveness”) were significantly associated with each other. In line with previous findings, both program content and program implementer quality were significant predictors of program effectiveness. The current findings further reinforce the thesis that the community-based Tier 2 programs of the P.A.T.H.S. Project are effective in promoting the holistic development of adolescents with greater psychosocial needs in Hong Kong.

Shek, Daniel T.L.; Leung, Janet T.Y.; Ma, Cecilia M.S.; Wu, Jing

2017 International Journal on Disability and Human Development

doi: 10.1515/ijdhd-2017-7008

AbstractThe present study adopted subjective outcome evaluation to examine program effectiveness from the views of implementers (N=375) who implemented the community-based Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. The results revealed that most of the program implementers were satisfied with the program content, their own performance, and program benefits. In agreement with previous studies, the satisfaction ratings of both program content and implementer performance positively predicted perceived program benefits. Regarding the influences of different program delivery approaches, programs with the “interest-enhancement” (INT) element received a more positive evaluation from implementers than did the programs without that element. For programs with the “work-related” (WORK) element, parental involvement significantly raised implementers’ satisfaction ratings on their own performance. The current findings provided evidence for the effectiveness of the P.A.T.H.S. Tier 2 Program from the perspective of the implementers.