Sherry C. Betts
Extension Specialist
Ph.D., Educational Administration
sbetts@ag.arizona.edu
Scholarly Interests and Activities
Selected Publications
Links
[MAILING ADDRESS]
PO Box 210033
Tucson, AZ 85721-0033
[CAMPUS ADDRESS]
Family and Consumer Sciences Bldg.
1110 East South Campus Drive Tucson, AZ 85721-0033
Phone: (520) 621-1075 Fax: (520) 621-3401
sbetts@ag.arizona.edu
Scholarly Interests and Activities
My research is conducted within the context of Cooperative Extension and is therefore very applied. I have three main foci: adolescent development in the community context, international, cross-cultural work and program evaluation.
There are four research projects which allow me to partner with Arizona Extension agents to provide programs and study adolescent development in the community context. Teen Opinion Poll-Arizona (TOP-AZ) is a process which encourages communities to engage youth in issues which affect them, their peers, families, schools and broader communities. Data are collected from youth in grades 7 through 12 and reported back to the local coalition in terms of risk and resilience. The Teen Safety Survey, Building Partnerships for Youth, and Arizona Youth, Families and Communities: Promoting Healthy Relationships projects provide insight into resilience to teen violence, prevention of HIV, STDs and unintended pregnancy, and prevention of sexual violence and intimate partner violence, respectively.
My international work has focused on adolescents in the community context in Zimbabwe. Since 1993 I have made numerous data collection trips to Zimbabwe where Teen Opinion Poll-Zimbabwe (TOP-ZIM) has been administered to over 5,000 youth. This survey was adapted from TOP-AZ to reflect the local language, culture and needs. Currently, plans to expand this project to other countries are in progress.
Finally, program evaluation is crucial to sustainability. I have been working on a national evaluation (CYFERNet) project to increase the capacity of Cooperative Extension to evaluate community-based programs. This effort has led to numerous publications, trainings and survey research projects.
Refereed Journals
Betts, S. C., & Norquest, J. (1995). Creating partnerships: The Zimbabwe--U.S. community youth development model. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, 2, (1) 53-58.
Betts, S. C. & Norquest, J. (1997). Professional development through travel to Zimbabwe: One year follow up. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 89, (1) 50-53.
Carter, R., Betts, S. C., Marczak, M. S., Rogers, H. E., Huebner, A. J. (1998). Evaluation research in context: A community application for youth and family programs. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 26, (3) 346-363.
Huebner, A. & Betts, S. C. (1999). Examining fourth generation evaluation: Application to positive youth development. Evaluation, 5 (3), 340-358.
Betts, S. C., Peterson, D. J., Marczak, M. S., Richmond, L. S. (in press). System-wide evaluation: Taking the pulse of a national organization serving children, youth, and families at risk. Children's Services: Social Policy, Research and Practice.
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Family Studies and Human Development Division
Teen Opinion Poll Arizona: http://msg.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/azyfc/topaz/index.html
CYFERNet Evaluation resources: http://www.cyfernet.org/evaluation.html
Arizona Youth, Families and Communities (AZYFC) http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/azyfc/