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"I learned that a lot of people are nicer than I expected and that was nice to know."
7th Grader, Courage Retreat

Respect Retreat Assessment Summary

Edmund Sass, Ed.D., Professor of Education, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University

  • The goals of the Respect Retreat include that students:
    • Identify 3 aspects of respect: respecting self, respecting others and standing up for the value of respect.  
    • Begin developing a positive self-image by identifying personal strengths and weaknesses related to self-respect. 
    • See others as unique and deserving of respect. 
    • Stand-up for others when they are not being respected. 
    • Are able to identify acts of disrespect in their school. 
    • Are able to identify ways to show respect to others in their school.
  • Initial questionnaires were administered within one week of the retreats.  Follow-up questionnaires were administered approximately 60 days later.
  • The initial questionnaires focused on student and teacher perceptions of the retreats' overall quality, the extent to which students participated in the various aspects of the retreats, the accomplishment of initial retreat goals and suggestions for improvement.
  • Follow-up questionnaires were designed to determine student and teacher perceptions of the retreats' long-term impact on students' attitudes and behaviors.
  • Initial Respect questionnaires were completed by a total of 919 students from four schools.
  • Follow-up questionnaires were completed by a total of 834 students from five schools.
  • Twenty-two teachers, whose students attended Respect Retreats, completed initial questionnaires, and 25 teachers completed Respect Retreat follow-up questionnaires.

Questionnaire responses from students who attended Respect Retreats were quite positive. More than 72% of students rated nine of the eleven statements regarding accomplishment of the retreat goals as "True" or "Mostly True," indicating most retreat goals were well met. The strongest ratings occurred on items assessing students' understanding of respect, ways people disrespect themselves and their realization that all people are unique and deserving of respect. At least 82% of respondents rated statements regarding the accomplishment of these retreat goals as "True" or "Mostly True." The lowest ratings occurred regarding having greater self-respect and feeling more of a connection to their class as only 65% and 56%, respectively, believed statements regarding these two outcomes to be "True" or "Mostly True." Overall student ratings of Respect Retreats were also extremely positive as about three-fourths (73%) thought the retreat they had attended was "Excellent" (315 of 919) or "Very Good" (355 of 919). Most of the remainder (21% or 195 of 919) thought "It was okay." Only about 5% believed their retreat was "Not Very Good" or "Terrible" (See Bar Chart I below).

Results of follow-up questionnaires (60 days post-retreat), although more mixed than results of initial questionnaires, were also generally positive. Nearly three-fourths of respondents (about 74%) indicated that they had been more respectful of others since the retreat, and about 62% believed they had had more self-respect. Additionally, slightly more than one-half (418 of 834) thought their class had been more respectful since the retreat (See Bar Chart II).

Teachers also offered very favorable reviews of the retreats their students had attended. In fact, 21 of the 22 who completed initial questionnaires gave the retreats overall ratings of "Excellent" or "Very Good," and most reported that their students' reaction to the retreat they attended was "Very Positive."  Twenty-three of the 25 teachers who completed respect follow-up questionnaires reported that students had spoken positively about their experience at the retreat. Additionally, 15 of 25 believed it was "True" or "Mostly True" that students had shown each other more respect since the retreat, and 17 felt that, overall, their class had been more respectful since the retreat.

In conclusion, the results of this evaluation are very positive. Students and teachers typically found Youth Frontiers Respect Retreats to be of high quality, and most initial retreat goals were well met. Follow-up results, though more mixed, were also generally quite favorable, as most believed that there had been long-term, positive changes in their school or class as a result of the Respect Retreat.

Bar Chart I

Overall student ratings of the Respect Retreat N=919

Bar Chart II

"My class has been more respectful since the retreat." (60 days post retreat) N=834

The above information is drawn from the program evaluation conducted during Fall 2004, by Edmund Sass, Ed.D., Professor of Education, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University.