No Blame -- Evaluation Results – Fall 2004
Bridgework Theater creates and performs plays that address urgent problems faced by children and youth. In 2002, Bridgework created a play that addresses the problem of responsibility. The play, No Blame, is for children in grades 5 - 8. During the fall of 2004, Bridgework performed No Blame for 10,000 children in ten states.
The goal of No Blame is to increase the willingness of participants to take responsibility for problems they can prevent or solve. The objective of the play is that students who participate in No Blame will demonstrate at least one of the following:
· More willingness to admit mistakes
· More confidence in ability to determine what one is responsible for
· More willingness to take responsibility for one’s own actions
· More confidence that if one takes responsibility, one feels better about one’s self
The Play and Related Activities ‑ Program Description
Bridgework's program consists of:
1. A live performance of No Blame, a 40 minute play
2. A classroom activity session led by a classroom teacher
3. A list of resources that classroom teachers can use to create or improve long-term strategies for increasing responsibility
Evaluation Design
Bridgework's evaluator compared the attitudes of a group of young people who had not participated in the program (control group) with the attitudes of a similar group of young people who had seen the play (test group).
Statement (1): In the future, if I do something wrong, I (will, probably will, don’t know if I will, probably will not, will not) admit it. The statement measured willingness to admit mistakes.
Statement (2): I (strongly doubt, doubt, am not sure, believe, strongly believe) that I can tell the difference between what I am responsible for and what I am not responsible for. The statement measured confidence in ability to determine what one is responsible for.
Statement (3): In the future, I (will not, probably will not, don’t know if I will, probably will, will) take responsibility for my own actions. The statement measured willingness to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
Statement (4): I (strongly believe, believe, am not sure, doubt, strongly doubt) that if I take more responsibility, I will feel better about myself. The statement measured confidence that if one takes responsibility, one feels better about one’s self.
The evaluator received completed tests from a total of 399 students. Of those students, 223 were in the control group, 176 were in the test group.
Scoring
Points along the semantic continuum were weighted with values of one (left side of the continuum) to five (right side of the continuum). The mean score of the control group was compared to the mean score of the experimental. For statements #1 and #4, a significant decrease in mean score was desired. For statements #2 and #3, a significant increase in mean score was desired. A z‑test at the .05 level of significance (95% probability that test results can be replicated) was used to determine statistical significance.
|
|
Statement 1 |
Statement 2 |
Statement 3 |
Statement 4 |
|
|
Mean, Control Group
|
|
2.12 |
4.00 |
3.93 |
2.45 |
|
Mean, Test Group |
|
1.98 |
4.23 |
4.56 |
1.84 |
|
Z-score (Control compared to Test) |
|
1.53 |
2.77 |
6.29 |
5.92 |
|
p value |
|
p< .1 |
p< .005 |
p>.0005 |
p< .0005 |
|
Probability of Replication |
|
90% |
99.5% |
99.95% |
99.95% |
|
Desired Direction? |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |