Ripples of Influence: Using Storytelling to Empower the Kauffman Scholars in Representing Their Lived Experiences

Abstract Information: NORC and Bowman Performance Consulting have joined together to implement Storytelling as a culturally responsive method in an intentionally responsive evaluation design, focused on telling the stories of the Scholars of Kauffman Scholars Incorporated (KSI). KSI is a 20 year-old, Kansas City-based program that supports low-income students in attaining postsecondary credentials. KSI’s goals extend beyond participating individuals. They also aim to create a ripple effect—having impacts on people in Scholars’ lives, community organizations, and the local career pipeline. Our evaluation describes what factors enabled or constrained KSI Scholars in achieving KSI goals and delineate the ways KSI Scholars and alumni have impacted the local community. Nobody understands a person’s story better than the person who has lived it. As such, we purposefully embed participant-centered ideals that honor the tenets and conceptual framing for culturally responsive practices throughout our approach. We will work with 20 Scholars to develop meaningful interview questions for themselves and for chosen connections in their lives. We will provide training to Scholars to conduct interviews with these connections. This approach empowers Scholars in several ways. We co-construct the Storytelling protocol with each Scholar, surfacing themes within their lives. We put Storytelling agency in the Scholars’ hands, asking them to select a connection in their lives to interview. As such, the project employs Storytelling to build relationships across researchers, Scholars, and the community. It also grounds the evaluation in the nuanced contextual elements that shaped KSI’s impact over time, surfacing and infusing meaning throughout the process.

Relevance Statement: Evaluation is, at its heart, telling the stories of people’s lives in ways that are authentic and participant-centered. NORC and Bowman Performance Consulting (BPC) (the NORC team) have joined together to implement Storytelling as a culturally responsive method in an intentionally responsive evaluation design. The NORC team co-created the Storytelling space within a broader evaluation in order to tell the stories of the Scholars of Kauffman Scholars Incorporated (KSI). KSI is a 20 year-old, Kansas City-based program focused on supporting low-income students in attaining postsecondary credentials. KSI’s goals extend beyond participating individuals. They also aim to create a ripple effect—having impacts on people in Scholars’ lives, community organizations, and the local career-professional pipeline. In our evaluation, we describe what factors enabled or constrained KSI scholars and alumni in achieving KSI goals and delineate the ways KSI Scholars and alumni have impacted the local community. We employ a multi-pronged data collection strategy. Throughout our evaluation process, we center a culturally responsive research approach (Bowman, 2018) with a focus on cultural context (Hood, Frierson, & Hopson, 2005). Central to this approach is our project’s focus on Storytelling. Our aim is to highlight the profound impact of the KSI program in personal and compelling terms, generated from the lived experiences of the Scholars and connected people in their lives. The NORC team will conduct Storytelling interviews with 20 Scholars. Each Scholar will identify a connected person in their lives to interview, gathering their story of KSI’s impacts beyond the individual Scholars. Nobody understands a person’s story better than the person who has lived it. As such, we purposefully embed participant-centered ideals that honor the tenets and conceptual framing for culturally responsive practices (Ladson-Billings, 2008) throughout our approach. We will work with each Scholar to develop meaningful interview questions, and to practice the skill of effectively interviewing another person, allowing their story to be told in their own words. Part of this practice will include participating in an interview (as the interviewee), where a member of the NORC Team will interview the Scholar about their experiences with KSI. Then, the Scholar will conduct a Storytelling interview with Scholars’ chosen connections in their lives, helping us understand the ripple effect of KSI across people. This approach empowers the Scholar in several ways. We co-construct the Storytelling interview protocol with each individual Scholar, surfacing themes that are individual to their lives. We put Storytelling agency in the Scholars’ hands, asking them to select a connection in their lives to interview. Through this approach, the described project employs Storytelling to build relationships across researchers, Scholars, and the community. It also grounds the evaluation work in the nuanced contextual elements that shaped KSI’s impact over time, surfacing and infusing meaning throughout the evaluation process.