The efficacy of the Monash Each One Teach One (EOTO) Saturday school program: an evaluation of the meeting of community expectations

This research focuses on the development and perceived efficacy of the Monash South Africa (MSA) Each One Teach One (EOTO) program. This is a volunteer-run and -led program that connects MSA, a higher education (HE) institution, to its surrounding communities through community engagement (CE). It focuses on increasing literacy and numeracy for grade 4 – 6 learners. Community engagement in higher education is defined as using the university’s resources, such as teaching, learning, and research skills, to build mutually beneficial relationships with the communities it can serve (Butin, 2006b; Hall, 2010; Osman & Petersen, 2013). This study will explore the concept of ‘authentic partnership’ by investigating whether good CE practice was used in developing the program and whether the community’s participation has been incorporated effectively in order to create a potentially better version of the EOTO program that meets the expectations of both MSA and the communities it engages with. The guidelines of good CE practice, as set by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2011) complement the framework of program development, which consists of eight steps (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006; Rossi, Lipsey & Freeman, 2004): 1. Assessment of social problems and needs; 2. Determination of goals; 3. Design of alternatives; 4. Selection of alternative; 5. Program implementation; 6. Program operation; 7. Program outcomes; and 8. Program efficiency. Whether or not these eight steps were followed was investigated by including five different respondent groups in the research. It looks at intervention research as a design, while bringing in elements of evaluation research, as the main goal of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of the program as well as to what extent community expectations are being met. This is done through a qualitative method with supporting quantitative data. Group 1 consisted of two principals from participating schools A and B. Group 2 consisted of three teachers from School A and one teacher from School B. Group 3 consisted of two respondents from the CE department at MSA. Group 4 involved five key student volunteers from MSA who run the EOTO program. Group 5 included 20 parents of the EOTO learners. Groups 1 – 4 completed semi-structured interviews, while group 5 participated in a focus group. Group 1 and 2 also completed Likert scale questionnaires regarding the observed behaviour of the EOTO learners. The results of the study indicate that overall the program is received very positively. It is regarded as necessary, as well as beneficial. There are specific areas, however, that the informants are either unsure of, or would like to be more included in. The results also showed that the steps of program development were not followed strictly and there are large gaps in communication between the EOTO stakeholders. It is suggested that EOTO program could do with more monitoring and evaluation. This can be done by all parties involved, including the EOTO learners themselves. A pilot study of the EOTO program could result in a widespread evaluation of other educational programs, with the ultimate goal of increasing literacy and numeracy outcomes for South African learners. Such a pilot study would ensure that the program can be monitored from its initiation by following the program development steps in other regions.