Subjective outcome evaluation of the Project PATHS based on different cohorts of students

Abstract

The Project PATHS (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs) is a positive youth development program in Hong Kong. After completion of the curricular-based Tier 1 Program, subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 216 schools involving 93,020 participants. With schools as the unit of analysis, results showed that participants had positive perceptions of the program and implementers, with roughly ⁴/₅ of the participants regarding the program as helpful to them. There were some significant differences in the subjective outcome evaluation findings between grades, although the effect size was small. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived qualities of the program and the program implementers predicted perceived effectiveness of the program. The present study suggests that irrespective of cohorts, students in the junior secondary years perceive the program to be beneficial to them.