Impact Evaluation of the William and Mary Bosnia Project
Christina Haleas1
The College of William and Mary
December 2014
1
The Bosnia Project would like to thank the Charles Center, the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International
Relations, the Department of Government, the Russian and Post-Soviet Studies Program, and the Office of Community
Engagement for their financial support of the 2014 Bosnia Project (called the ABC Project, in Bosnia), which allowed
the research for this Impact Evaluation to be completed. The Bosnia Project appreciates its local partner in Bosnia,
Creativus, for its enduring contribution to the Bosnia Project’s efforts to promote English language, inter-cultural
communication, and media skills for youth in Sarajevo. We would also like to thank all Bosnia Project participants in
Bosnia and in the US, including the Bosnian children and their parents, for their involvement in this impact evaluation
research, which is committed to improving the positive impact of the Bosnia Project. The research for this project was
approved by the College of William and Mary protection of human subjects committee on 2014-03-20 and expires on
2015-03-20, PHSC-2014-03-18-9471-pmpick.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 1
Executive Summary
The Impact Evaluation of the William and Mary (W&M) Bosnia Project seeks to further
understand the effect of the current model of a 4-week summer service program in Sarajevo, Bosnia
and Herzegovina (hereafter, Bosnia). To collect data, the researcher distributed surveys to 2014
W&M student participants, W&M alumni of the project, 2014 co-teachers from the University of
Sarajevo, the partner NGO staff, and the 2014 child participants. A total of 72 surveys were
completed. Overall, the W&M Bosnia Project has a positive effect, although some aspects can be
altered in order to clarify expectations and maximize the positive cross-cultural partnerships,
children’s learning, and mutual benefits for American and Bosnian teachers and staff.
Background
Overview of the William and Mary Bosnia Project
The fifteen-year old Bosnia Project is both the oldest international service trip at the College
of W&M and the project that provides the longest in-country field service experience. The heart of
the W&M Bosnia Project is an annual 4-week summer service program in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The
main goal of the Project is to instill intercultural cooperation skills and advance English skills in
children in order to help sustain lasting peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as increase their
opportunities for creative expression. In 1998, then Borgenicht scholar-in-residence, Yugoslav
scholar Mihailo Crnobrnja helped initiate a partnership between a Bosnian non-governmental
organization doing therapeutic work with children who experienced emotional trauma during the
1992-95 war; this NGO’s offshoot in Sarajevo—Creativus--is our current partner. Together with
Creativus-selected University of Sarajevo students in Education, William and Mary students teach
English and social justice to Bosnian children and teenagers.
A select group of four to seven William and Mary students from all majors (including
Government, International Relations, English, and Psychology in 2014) teach children 8-14 about
social justice topics in a free, English immersion summer camp called the ABC Project by our
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 2
Bosnian partners. The W&M students are selected through a rigorous application and interview
process conducted by Bosnia Project alumni. In the spring semester before departing for Sarajevo,
students take a two-credit interdisciplinary course taught by Professor Paula Pickering of the
Government Department with the assistance of one to two teaching assistants from project veterans.
The course helps students develop knowledge of the political, social, and cultural dynamics of the
region and approaches to post-conflict reconstruction and community partnership in order to
increase the Project’s positive impact on Bosnians. In order to complete the course, every student
completes a reflection each week during their time in Bosnia. While in Bosnia, each American
teacher works a co-teacher from the English teacher program at the University of Sarajevo. The coteachers serve to practice their own teaching skills, provide a model of intercultural cooperation for
the children to observe, and help with translation. The ABC Project is run through a partnership
with University of Sarajevo Professor of Education, Larisa Kasumagic and a Bosnian NGO,
Creativus, an English-immersion preschool in Sarajevo. In addition to working with Bosnian
children, co-teachers, and staff, W&M students live with host families in Sarajevo. This
arrangement ensures that each William and Mary student has opportunities to practice Bosnian, help
their host families practice English, and experience Bosnian culture and food firsthand.
The camp helps meet a need in the community for youth to actively and regularly practice
English, meet other students from different neighborhoods and ethnic backgrounds, and engage in
free, structured, intellectually-stimulating activities during the summer. Overall, the Bosnia Project
stresses cultural learning and cooperation, tolerance, and acceptance of others’ differences in order
to promote peace between children of different ethnic groups, genders, and religious
views. Creativity through art projects, songs, and games was also emphasized, given that the
Bosnian education system does not allow much room for creative expression.
The 2014 Project
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 3
Bosnia Project participants worked with the community partner, Creativus, an education
NGO in Sarajevo and an English immersion preschool, to provide a free English camp at a school in
the center of the city. Creativus took care of all logistics regarding facilities and homestays,
registering children in the camp, and providing skilled and caring Bosnian co-teachers from the
University of Sarajevo. The English camp in 2014 consisted of four different class levels of
students ranging from age 9 to 16 taught by American and Bosnian co-teachers. Each week, all of
the classes completed lessons structured around different themes chosen by each co-teacher team,
including peace and environmental activism. Class activities involved a variety of reading, writing,
speaking, performing, and listening skills. For example, to learn about children’s rights, students in
the Level 1 class discussed some of their own privileges, read the child-friendly UN Rights of the
Child document, and created posters depicting what they believe each child is entitled to.
From 2009-2013, there existed a film component to the Project, in which the children wrote,
directed, and acted in their own short films. However, the Creativus staff felt that the topics of the
films chosen by the children were unrelated to the content of the class activities and often too
challenging for the youngest children. Instead, in 2014, two William and Mary students visited the
classes each day and created a documentary of the ABC Project. This documentary is now posted
on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJEtc-7k8pE) and premiered at the ABC
Project’s final ceremony, which also included song, dance, and skit performances from each class.
For example, Level 3 students performed a dance to “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, read personal
statements about peace, and sang “We Are the World” by Michael Jackson. Because of the
importance of the film component in the past, the creative short movies will return to the ABC
Project with some changes to make the content more meaningful and connected to social justice, as
well as to allow for children to play a variety of roles in the production of the film.
William and Mary students additionally had the opportunity to work at Creativus’ English
immersion preschool, serving children ages 3-9. Two William and Mary students took advantage of
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 4
this opportunity and completed ten hours per week, or a total of forty hours of volunteering at
Creativus. The two volunteers served as native speakers for the young children to practice their
English. During the four weeks, they helped the children learn and remember the days of the week,
the months, seasons, numbers from one to twenty, weather vocabulary, animal vocabulary, and
other general conversational words. They played games with the children, sang songs, helped the
children complete art projects, and led the discussion of the current day, weather, season, etc. The
William and Mary students who created the ABC Project documentary also completed a
documentary about the Creativus children’s summer experiences.
Impact of the William and Mary Bosnia Project
William and Mary students leave the Bosnia Project having lived, taught, and learned in
Bosnian culture. The goal is to provide not only a unique experience, but also to help further
understanding of the culture of the students that are being taught. The hope is that further
understanding of Bosnian culture and experience co-teaching promotes intercultural competence
and responsiveness to set an example for the children to reciprocally learn to understand and
respond to American culture. This is the first year that we are measuring systematically the impact
of the William and Mary Bosnia Project on both children and adults, so there is no data to compare
2014 with. The Bosnia Project has informally judged the impact of is work through mandatory
annual reflections (both through reflection journals and group reflections –within and across each
participating group) and through feedback from alumni about how their experience with the project
has shaped their further educational and career development (see Appendix A).
Description of the Impact Evaluation
The purpose of the Impact Evaluation is to assess and further the positive impact of the
Bosnia Project, make necessary suggestions for the future, and provide potential donors with
systematic evidence of the impact of the Bosnia Project. The internal funding situation is fragile
and dependent on participant fundraising. Because fundraising is essential in order to continue the
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 5
project, it is necessary to provide donors with the information to increase future chances of
receiving funding. The project uses survey research of children, William and Mary students,
William and Mary alumni, Bosnian co-teachers, and Creativus staff to answer its questions.
Evaluation design and methods
The Impact Evaluation is designed by giving each sample (William and Mary students and
alumni, children in the ABC Project, Creativus staff, and Bosnian co-teachers) end-of-program
survey questions. All of the groups were asked to reflect upon the impact of the project, including
what skills they gained, whether their expectations were met, and what suggestions they have for
the future. For the William and Mary students and alumni, a control group was used with the
William and Mary Omnibus Project run through the Government Department in order to compare
what sets of skills Bosnia Project participants obtain relative to the general William and Mary
population that has taken a Government Department course.
Data was collected by distributing surveys to the children involved in the ABC Project
(n=51, average age 11.75, out of a total of 80 children), the 2014 William and Mary students (n=4
out of 5), alumni of the William and Mary Bosnia Project (n=12 out of 27), ABC Project coteachers from the University of Sarajevo (n=4 out of 4), and the Creativus staff (n=1 out of 2) (See
Appendix B for surveys). All of the surveys for adults were conducted in English using written
consent forms and subsequent anonymous Google Forms sent via e-mail. The Google Form was
used because Creativus staff decided during a face-to-face conversation that the method was the
most feasible and would give them the anonymity they desired. Qualitative data was categorized
and coded to discern patterns.
For the William and Mary students, a control group was added by creating a survey question
(In what way[s] if any, has William and Mary provided you with opportunities to develop or
strengthen skills, such as teaching, leadership, cross-cultural collaboration, communication, etc.?
Please be as specific as possible [This could include class or extracurricular opportunities]) for the
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 6
Omnibus Project, a student subject pool containing experimental and survey questions through
W&M’s Government Department.
Parental consent was obtained for the children, who then filled out a paper survey in
Bosnian containing 18 questions on the morning of July 20, 2014. The sample contains children
ranging in age from 9 to 14. The survey answers were translated from Bosnian into English by a
Bosnian co-teacher and a William and Mary student who is fluent in Bosnian. Children received
help from co-teachers in understanding the questions, but the researcher did not watch while
surveys were completed in order to receive the best chance of honest results.
As with any research, ours has limitations. Judging the independent impact of the Bosnia
project on its participants is limited by the lack of a control group for the samples other than the
William and Mary students. Obtaining a control group particularly for the children is currently not
feasible, as conducting a survey and obtaining parental permission from a random sample of
Bosnian children aged 9-14 would require substantial funding. Another limitation is the sample size.
The ABC Project takes place in the summer, a popular time for children to take family vacations.
Therefore, the sizes of the classes fluctuated from week to week, and many children who obtained
parental consent were not present on the day the surveys were filled out. Additionally, some
parents elected to decline consent, thus their children were not included in the sample. One of the
W&M students who participated in the Bosnia Project in 2014 and 1 staff member at Creativus
elected not to participate in the Impact Evaluation. The small sample size among adults could
heighten perceived pressure for producing socially desirable answers.
Results
All samples, of children and adults, improved or obtained new skills during their time with
the Bosnia Project. The children expressed that they most improved in working with other Bosnian
students and teachers, followed by talking with native English speakers, using English during games,
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 7
expressing themselves in English, speaking English in general, increasing their knowledge about
American culture, and feeling comfortable in front of a video camera (Table 1).
Table 1. Children’s skills that were learned or improved “a lot” (multiple answers allowed)
Children: Skills learned or improved “A lot”
Working with other Bosnian students and teachers
Conversing with native English speakers
Using English during games
Expressing themselves in English
Speaking English
Knowledge about American culture
Feeling comfortable in front of a video camera
n=51
% of Children
92.20%
82.40%
78.40%
78.40%
76.50%
70.60%
52.90%
These skills are highly important, as 67.20% felt encouraged “a lot” to learn more English in the
future (Table 2). Yet only 37.30% of the sample believed they have “little” or “no” opportunity to
practice English outside of the ABC Project. More than half (56.90%) of the children cited media
(including books, magazines, television shows, movies, music, etc.) as the primary way to practice,
and 33.30% mentioned speaking English with family or friends. Some children listed both media
and practicing with family or friends, accounting for the percentage over 100.
Table 2. Children’s use of English outside of the ABC Project
Children: English use outside of the ABC Project
% of Children
Felt encouraged “ a lot” to learn more English in the future
62.70%
Media is a primary way to practice English.
56.90%
Have little or no opportunity to practice English outside of the ABC Project
37.30%
Speaking to family or friends is a primary way to practice English
33.30%
n=51
To identify specific activities that worked during the Project, the survey asked children,
“which part of the ABC Project will you remember most?” Some wrote about more than one aspect
of the ABC Project. Over half of the children sampled (50.98%) will most remember the games/fun
activities in general or a specific game or activity (Table 3). This indicates the importance of
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 8
providing children with creative opportunities to use English. The next biggest groups include
children (17.65%) who will remember most the other children, making new friends, and/or
socializing and children (11.76%) who will remember most the teachers, suggesting the meaningful
relationships formed between the Bosnian children and their teachers.
Table 3. Most memorable aspects of the ABC Project for the children
Children: Which part of the ABC Project will you remember most?
The games/fun activities (or a specific game/activity)
The other children/making new friends/socializing
Themes/lessons of the classrooms
The teachers
Singing and dancing
The whole ABC Project
Playing soccer
Learning English
Final ceremony
n=51
% of Children
50.98%
17.65%
13.73%
11.76%
7.84%
5.88%
5.88%
3.92%
1.96%
Nearly 2/3 of William and Mary students and alumni felt that they improved their level of
cross-cultural collaboration, nearly 1/2 improved their teaching skills, and nearly 1/5 improved
leadership skills. Other skills cited by William and Mary students and alumni include general
communication, teamwork, independent traveling ability, dealing with conflict, developing lessons,
and working in a post-conflict setting (Table 4). Some listed more than 1 skill, accounting for the
percentage over 100.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 9
Table 4. Skills W&M students and alumni involved in the Bosnia Project gained or improved
W&M Students and Alumni: Skills gained or improved
% of Participants
Cross-cultural collaboration
62.50%
Teaching/working with children
43.75%
Leadership
18.75%
General communication
12.50%
Teamwork
12.50%
Confidence in traveling independently
6.25%
Developing lessons
6.25%
Managing conflict
6.25%
Working in a post-conflict setting
6.25%
n=16
We compared the skills gained or improved by Bosnia Project participants to students (n=141) in
the control group from the Omnibus Project, who had not participated in the Bosnia Project. The
Omnibus participants listed skills learned at The College of William and Mary as leadership
(56.00%), communication (50.40%), cross-cultural collaboration (39.00%), teaching (10.60%), and
study skills (1.40%) (Table 5).
Table 5: Skills W&M students in Control Group gained or improved at W&M
Omnibus Project Control Group: Skills Learned at W&M
Leadership
Communication
Cross-cultural collaboration
Teaching
No skills
Study Skills
n=141
% of Participants
56.00%
50.40%
39.00%
10.60%
5.70%
1.40%
All of the co-teachers from the University of Sarajevo felt that their teaching improved, 50%
believed their public speaking improved, and 25% improved at using English with native speakers
(Table 6). The Creativus staff member improved interpersonal relationships and increasing a
personal sense of responsibility for others.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 10
Table 6. Skills that co-teachers gained or improved
Co-Teachers: Skills gained or improved
Teaching
Public speaking
Conversing in English with native speakers
n=4
% of Participants
100.00%
50.00%
25.00%
Overall, satisfaction with the 2014 William and Mary Bosnia Project was high. 100.0% of
adult participants felt they had an overall positive experience with the Bosnia Project and that the
Project is working towards its mission. Ninety percent of children felt they had an overall positive
experience with the Bosnia Project. Only 9.1% felt they had a so-so experience and none had a
negative experience. For William and Mary students and alumni, 100% felt that their team
members, community partners, host family, and the faculty advisor (if applicable) contributed
positively to their experience with the Bosnia Project. All of the Bosnian co-teachers thought their
American co-teacher positively affected their ability to cooperate across cultural lines. The
Creativus staff member believed that the Creativus children benefitted from the 2 student volunteers’
work at the preschool. Additionally, 93.3% of all adult participants felt that their expectations for
the Bosnia Project were either met or exceeded, including 100.0% of Creativus staff, 100.0% of
Bosnian co-teachers, 100.0% of William and Mary alumni, and 83.3% of 2014 William and Mary
students.
Table 7. Percent of Adults’ Expectations Met or Exceeded
Expectations Met or Exceeded
2014 W&M Students
2014 Co-Teachers
Bosnia Project Alumni
Creativus Staff
Overall Adults
% of Participants
n=
100.00%
4
100.00%
4
83.30%
6
100.00%
1
93.30%
15
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 11
Participants were asked to suggest ways to improve the project. Eighty percent of children
did not feel that they needed to suggest any improvements, suggesting their content with the current
structure and execution of the ABC Project. Only two suggestions were made by multiple children,
including “Longer breaks” (3 children), and “More group games” (2 children) (Table 8).
Table 8. Children’s suggestions for future improvements
Children’s suggestions for future improvements
No suggestions for improvements
Longer breaks
More group games
Speak in more detail about topics
Keep the groups the same next year
Spread to more schools
Practice more grammar
Make movies about topics we choose
n=51
% of Children
80.30%
5.90%
3.90%
2.00%
2.00%
2.00%
2.00%
2.00%
Of the W&M student and alumni sample (n=16), 50.0% did not note any areas for
improvements. The only suggestion initiated multiple times (25.0%, or 4 adults) mentioned “More
communication with the community partner before arriving in Sarajevo”. Other suggestions, made
by one adult each, included “Reincorporate short films,” “Encourage W&M students to engage in
outside service,” “Recruit a more diverse group of students,” and “Help W&M students develop a
stronger connection to the Balkans.”
Table 9. W&M Students and Alumni’s suggestions for future improvements
W&M Students and Alumni: Improvements for the Future
No suggestions for improvements
More communication with community partner before arriving in Sarajevo
Reincorporate short films
Encourage W&M students to engage in outside service
Recruit a more diverse group of students
Help W&M students develop a stronger connection to the Balkans
n=16
% of Participants
50.00%
25.00%
6.30%
6.30%
6.30%
6.30%
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 12
Of the Bosnian adult sample, including both co-teachers and the Creativus staff member
(n=6), 50.0% provided no suggestions for enhancing the ABC Project. However, 50.0% of the
sample mentioned “Improve communication between Bosnian and American partners”, and 50.0%
mentioned “Mandatory Skype sessions before the American teachers arrive” (Table 10). Because
the survey allowed for free writing, some of the co-teachers and staff listed more than 1 suggestion,
accounting for the percentage over 100.
Table 10. Bosnian Co-Teachers’ and Creativus Staff’s suggestions for the future
Bosnian Co-Teachers and Creativus Staff: Improvements for the
Future*
Improve communication between Bosnian and American partners
Mandatory Skype sessions before the American teachers arrive
No suggestions for improvements
n=6
% of Participants
50.00%
50.00%
50.00%
Analysis, discussion and recommendations
Overall, the evaluation suggests the current model of the William and Mary Bosnia Project
is working well and has left a positive impact on all parties involved, including Bosnian and
American adults and Bosnian children. According to the data, there are many important aspects that
contribute to W&M participants’ positive experience with the Bosnia Project, including the
opportunity to live with a host family, the American and Bosnian co-teacher relationships, the
William and Mary faculty advisor, and the ability to volunteer at Creativus or other outside
organizations. The school location, Isak Samokovlija, and its play area contribute because of its
central location in downtown Sarajevo. Compared to the average W&M student, Bosnia Project
participants have more opportunities to develop teaching and cross-cultural collaboration skills.
These aspects should remain the same while changes are made to the Bosnia Project in other areas,
in order to maintain the integrity and improve work toward fulfilling the mission of the project.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 13
One of the most important aspects of the William and Mary Bosnia Project that needs
improvement is communication between the Bosnian and American adults in order to maintain a
positive partnership, as well as to clarify expectations and the mutual benefit of volunteering. One
suggestion made by participants in the survey and during reflection is to increase the frequency of
Skype sessions between Creativus and the W&M advisor and to initiate mandatory skype
conversations between each Bosnian and American co-teaching team. Currently, steps are being
taken to achieve this, which will be facilitated by Creativus choosing the co-teachers from the
University of Sarajevo by January. Because of this, there will be more flexibility in scheduling
Skype sessions and more time for each party to convey their expectations and work jointly on
lesson plans. Another suggestion to clarify expectations is to mandate every adult group to sign one
contract before departure for Sarajevo. This contract should include conduct expectations,
classroom management philosophy by Creativus, the structure for joint work on lesson plans, the
nature of the co-teacher relationship, dress code, work hours, expectations about preparation before
arriving (for example, purchasing googly eyes and pipe cleaners, specifically what size and colors),
and other essential details. Details about the host families and distance between host families and
the host school should be provided by 1 May. This will improve communication, make sure most
details are clearly expressed in writing, and reduce anxiety and surprises for the W&M students.
This needs to be done early so that any mismatches in expectations or opinions can be resolved
prior to the summer. All changes to the curriculum or logistical details should be clearly proposed
and approved in writing by both the Creativus staff and the W&M advisor. This way, if any
discrepancies arise, the written proposal and others’ written approval will be the point of reference.
Teaching Assistants for the W&M spring semester course should also be familiar with the points in
the contract in order to provide insight and clarify expectations for the new W&M team. At the
same time, it is important to stress to both W&M and Bosnian participants that an attitude of
flexibility and openness to new ideas and unforeseen circumstances is critical for the Project’s
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 14
success. Any partnership, particularly a cross-cultural one, encounters unexpected developments
that participants will need to work together and be prepared to make compromises to address.
While the classroom structure is working well, there are parts that may be altered to improve
the positive impact on the children. For example, both American and Bosnian teachers should plan
lessons together in order to increase the co-teaching teams’ cohesion in the classroom. This will be
re-implemented in spring and summer 2015. Also, since the children value the games the most of
all of the activities, the teachers and staff should find a way to incorporate social justice topics or
the lesson plan into the games, rather than doing a warm-up game in English, then a lesson, then a
random game, etc. For example, if teachers follow a lesson on environmental justice with a game
of “Secret Dancer,” it will be difficult for the environmental justice lesson to resonate with the
children. Instead, the teachers could find a way to teach about environmental justice and then create
a game or project related to the topic, such as finding out how much water the children can save by
shortening showers. Incorporating more relevant games might also help the children who feel they
need longer breaks. Each teacher should also provide children with ideas and concrete ways to
practice English after the ABC Project is over in order to facilitate a long-term impact. For example,
the Bosnian co-teachers could make a list of local bookstores that sell books in English to place in
each child’s binder for the final ceremony, and the American teachers could recommend a list of
books and websites appropriate for English language learners. American teachers should also make
sure they teach the children about American culture through activities, games, music, informal
dialogue, and formal lessons. This will not only help the children learn about another culture, but it
will also help all parties practice cross-cultural communication skills.
The plans for the film component of the 2015 project are to reincorporate the short films, as
they are the unique aspect of this project that makes it different from any other English immersion
or tolerance-promoting program. However, in order to improve upon the past, the films should be
about social justice topics or problems to make the films meaningful. In other years, the children
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 15
have made films about zombies or princesses, which did not promote tolerance or add to their crosscultural competence. Additionally, Creativus hopes for all American students to have a basic
knowledge of film before arriving in Sarajevo in 2015, which can be accomplished through
workshops with the film-specialized team member. Having a basic knowledge of film will be
helpful so that each team member can have a role in the creation of the videos.
Another proposal for 2015 is to add a research component to the Bosnia Project. The
research project would complement the Bosnia Project’s commitment to service, which focuses on
the active teaching that is prioritized by Creativus. Adding a research component would create
opportunities to develop students’ ability to design and implement collaborative research with an
overseas field component. The result would enhance this already high-impact educational
experience and contribute to W&M’s promotion of opportunities for its undergraduates to conduct
original research. A requirement of 2015 funding from the Institute for the Theory and Practice of
International Relations is to incorporate research into the Project. To honor the partnership at the
foundation of the Bosnia Project, mentoring professors from W&M and University of Sarajevo,
Creativus, and W&M students and University of Sarajevo students will decide in January about
conducting a joint research project that fits the skills and interests of the project’s participants.
The William and Mary Bosnia Project as it exists is generally a highly successful project
that leaves a large impact on both child and adult participants. However, to maintain a positive
partnership with the NGO Creativus, further our own opportunities for scholarly and creative
pursuits abroad, and maximize the children’s learning experiences, some changes to the current
model of the Bosnia Project are necessary. Collecting data in successive years will help evaluate
the impact of the implemented changes, such as the research component.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 16
APPENDIX A: CAREER PATHS OF SELECTED BOSNIA PROJECT ALUMNI
The following is an informal summary of career paths of Bosnia Project alumni, who have
discussed the influence of the Bosnia Project in their development. Many William and Mary
student participants leave the William and Mary Bosnia Project seeking further opportunities
working with service NGOs, teaching children and/or researching Balkan culture and politics and
are quite successful.
Many project alumni testify that the Bosnia project has helped them develop leadership skills
and has strikingly influenced their career paths. For example, Edward Brannigan (‘03) founded
Global Playground (an NGO whose mission is to fund educational opportunities in developing
countries). Sarah McIvor (’05) served for AmeriCorps VISTA. Suleiman Bah (08) worked for
IREX on support of civil society initiatives in post-conflict countries, and Kent Fogg (’07), who
received a Boren Scholarship for work in Serbia and received a Masters in International Relations
from Tufts, works for the National Democratic Institute on democratization in the Balkans and
human rights.
Numerous alumni have developed careers in education. Austin Pryor (’05) completed a 2-year
teaching commitment to the Teach for America Corps in South Dakota and now works for W&M’s
Office of Community Engagement. Meagan Taylor (’10), Daniel Paris (’09), Janice Van (’12) and
Lexi Hartley (’13) attended graduate school in education, and Meagan now teaches ESL in San Jose,
CA. Christina Haleas has been accepted to Teach for America beginning in fall 2015. Several
alumni are working in University education, with Kelly Chroninger (’04) working for Virginia
Commonwealth University’s global education office and Anna Mahalak working for George
Washington University’s student affairs’ office.
Other alumni have developed careers in media. Adam Stackhouse (’04) became an Emmywinning producer. Meghan Wilson (’04) works as an analyst for NPR. Valerie Hopkins (’09) has
worked for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Sarajevo and the Organization for
Security in Cooperation’s Mission (OSCE) in Bosnia, and received a Master’s form Columbia
University’s School of Journalism. Dana McKelvey (‘11 and’13) worked as a fellow for Pulitzer
Center on Crisis Reporting in 2012 and as a reporter for Balkanist in 2014.
A number of alumni have deepened their academic and professional commitment to the Balkans.
Four alumni, Kelly Chroninger (’04), Michael Tsidulko (’09), Anna Mahalak (’10) (Harriet Mayor
Fulbright Summer Fellowship in Peace Studies), and Dana McKelvey (’13) were Fulbright grant
recipients in the Balkans. Lisa Kepple (’09) worked for the International Criminal Tribunal for
Former Yugoslavia in Summer 2012 and obtained her JD from University of Virginia. Lauren
Billingsley (’11) wrote a thesis on Roma in the Balkans in her Master’s Program in International
Public Policy at Budapest-based Central European University. Callum Forester (’11) completed a
Master’s in International Relations in 2014 at the University of Denver with research focused on
cross-ethnic political cooperation in post-conflict societies. Alex Cooper (’13) is completing a
Masters in Gender Studies at Central European University, focused on LGBTQ activism in the
Balkans. Kara Kolbe (’12) worked for the OSCE in Bosnia for 6 months in 2012 and is now getting
a master’s in International Relations at Johns Hopkins’ SAIS.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 17
APPENDIX B: Survey Questions
For Co-teachers from the University of Sarajevo:
1. Can you briefly describe to us your involvement with The William and Mary ABC Project?
And your involvement with Creativus?
2. How did you become involved?
3. The ABC Project is a student run project whose mission is to bring together William &
Mary and Bosnian students to foster cross-cultural understanding and leadership, as well as
work towards increasing Bosnian youth’s communication skills and capacity to work toward
positive change for youth. As the University of Sarajevo volunteers are drawn from the
English pedagogy program, they will all have significant training and knowledge of best
practices in teaching. The W&M students may or may not have formal teacher training or
experience, but they will all have been selected for their strong interest in working with
children, and they will bring a variety of experiences from different disciplines, in addition
to the perspective of a native speaker. Ideally, each partner in the teaching pair will bring
different and complementary strengths to the partnership, and they will teach and learn from
each other. Based on your participation in the ABC Project, do you believe the ABC Project
is working to achieve its mission?
4. What were your expectations for your co-teaching experience? Were these expectations
met? Please provide specific examples.
5. Did your collaboration with your William and Mary co-teacher affect your ability to
cooperate across cultural lines? Please provide specific examples.
6. Did the co-teaching experience affect your teaching skills? If so, how? Please provide
specific examples.
7. How would you assess your overall experience with The William and Mary ABC Project?
In what way(s) if any, did the ABC Project provide you with opportunities to engage in
activities that you might not otherwise do? Did you develop or strengthen skills? Can you
suggest aspect(s) of the project that could be improved and how? Please be as specific as
possible.
For the Community Partner, Creativus:
1. Can you briefly describe to us Creativus’s involvement with The William and Mary ABC
Project?
2. What were your expectations for the partnership with The ABC Project? Have these
expectations been met?
3. The ABC Project is a student run project whose mission is to bring together William &
Mary and Bosnian students to foster cross-cultural understanding and leadership, as well as
work towards increasing Bosnian youth’s communication skills and capacity to work toward
positive change for youth. As the University of Sarajevo volunteers are drawn from the
English pedagogy program, they will all have significant training and knowledge of best
practices in teaching. The W&M students may or may not have formal teacher training or
experience, but they will all have been selected for their strong interest in working with
children, and they will bring a variety of experiences from different disciplines, in addition
to the perspective of a native speaker. Ideally, each partner in the teaching pair will bring
different and complementary strengths to the partnership, and they will teach and learn from
each other. Based on your participation in the ABC Project, do you believe the ABC Project
is working to achieve its mission?
4. How would you assess your overall experience with The William and Mary ABC Project?
In what way(s) if any, did the ABC Project provide you with opportunities to engage in
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 18
activities that you might not otherwise do or to develop or strengthen skills? Please provide
specific examples Can you suggest aspect(s) of the project that could be improved and how?
5. How have William and Mary students’ teaching assistance at Creativus affected its
preschool classes? Please provide specific examples
6. What do you see as the future relationship between Creativus and The ABC Project?
For William and Mary Students:
1. Can you briefly describe to us your involvement with The William and Mary Bosnia Project?
2. What year did you apply to the Bosnia Project, in which city did you volunteer, and with
which community partner did you work?
3. What about the Bosnia Project enticed you to apply?
4. What were your expectations for The Bosnia Project? Were these expectations met? Please
be as specific as possible.
5. The Bosnia Project is a student run project whose mission is to bring together William &
Mary and Bosnian students to foster cross-cultural understanding and leadership, as well as
work towards increasing Bosnian youth’s communication skills and capacity to work toward
positive change for youth. As the University of Sarajevo volunteers are drawn from the
English pedagogy program, they will all have significant training and knowledge of best
practices in teaching. The W&M students may or may not have formal teacher training or
experience, but they will all have been selected for their strong interest in working with
children, and they will bring a variety of experiences from different disciplines, in addition
to the perspective of a native speaker. Ideally, each partner in the teaching pair will bring
different and complementary strengths to the partnership, and they will teach and learn from
each other. Based on your participation in the Bosnia Project, do you believe the Bosnia
Project is working to achieve its mission?
6. Did your William and Mary team members contribute to your experience with the Bosnia
Project? If so, how? Please provide specific examples.
7. Did your Bosnian community partners contribute to your experience with the Bosnia
Project? If so, how? Please provide specific examples
8. Did your Bosnian host family contribute to your experience with the Bosnia Project? If so,
how? Please provide specific examples.
9. Who was the advisor to The Bosnia Project? In what ways did the advisor contribute or not
to your understanding of the political, social, and cultural context in which you volunteer
taught? Make suggestions for ways in which the advisor could improve on this. Please be as
specific as possible.
10. How would you assess your overall experience with The William and Mary Bosnia Project?
Please be as specific as possible. In what way(s) if any, did the Bosnia Project provide you
with opportunities to engage in activities that you might not otherwise do or to develop or
strengthen skills (teaching, leadership, cross-cultural collaboration, communication,
etc.)? Can you suggest aspect(s) of the project that could be improved and how?
11. Can you describe how the Bosnia Project has affected your time at The College? How has
it affected your personal, professional, and/or academic goals? Please be as specific as
possible.
Impact Evaluation of the Bosnia Project, 19
For Bosnian children who are students
1. Background questions:
· How old are you?
· What grade in school are you in?
· Have you participated in the ABC Project summer camp before? If so, please list years.
· How many years of English courses in your Bosnian school have you completed?
· Why did you participate in the ABC Project? (i.e. friends in the past, heard about it in school and
it seemed interesting, parents made you, wanted to practice English, other….?)
2. Did the ABC Project give you a chance to (for questions 1-10, possible responses include: no, a
little, a lot, with space for providing additional detail):
A. practice speaking English?
B. use English when participating in games?
C. help you feel more comfortable speaking English?
D. help you feel more comfortable working with other Bosnian children and teachers to create
English-language stories and projects?
E. help you feel more comfortable acting in front of a video camera?
F. help you feel more comfortable talking with new people who are native speakers of English?
G. help you feel more confident that you can express yourself in English?
H. help you learn new things about American students and American culture?
I. help you meet new people from other parts of Sarajevo?
J. encourage you to learn more English?
3. Please describe a part or parts of the ABC Project summer camp that you will remember the
most.
4. If you were NOT participating in the ABC Project summer camp, what opportunities in the
summer would you have to practice English? (possibilities include: speak with family and
friends who know English, watching English-language movies and TV shows with the goal of
learning better English, taking a different summer class in English; reading English-language
media or books; little/none)
5. Overall, please describe your experience in the ABC Project summer camp. Did you have a
negative, so-so, or positive experience? Please let us know why.
6. Do you have any suggestions for how we can improve your experience in the ABC Project
summer camp?