Mallory D. McDuff

Participatory Evaluation of Environmental Education: Stakeholder Assessment of the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya

Participatory evaluation represents an innovative approach for assessing environmental education programmes as the methods involve stakeholders in the design and implementation of evaluation. This study applied participatory evaluation to the largest grassroots environmental education programme for youth in Africa, the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK). The study first involved staff, regional WCK representatives and local teachers in stakeholder analyses of WCK and the development of critical evaluation questions. Second, four key stakeholder groups provided feedback on WCK programmeming, constraints and impacts and made recommendations for improvement. The evaluation results revealed that trips to the national parks were the most effective WCK programme, while lack of funds was the major constraint. The primary impacts of WCK were increased student awareness and interest in conservation. Recommendations for improvement included increased visits by WCK staff to clubs and improved communication among WCK offices and clubs. The results of the participatory evaluation have been used by WCK to institutionalise evaluation, document impacts and improve environmental education programming in Kenya.