Teen Science Cafés are Out-of-School Time (OST) programs led by teens--for teens--underway at 84 sites in 34 states. Supported by a national network, a new teen leadership opportunity offered youth-focused training and collaborative opportunities to a cohort of 50 teens from 13 Café sites with the goal of sustaining and expanding the impact of…

Community-based youth-serving organizations are often seen by participants and their families as safe and supportive environments with no stigma attached to participation. Many children attend community-based afterschool programs five days a week. In such an environment, trusted adults can consistently monitor the moods and behaviors of…

Purpose: The teaching personal and social responsibility model has been incorporated into out of school time programming globally, but there is limited research focused on how practitioners learn to use the model. Guided by occupational socialization theory, the authors used self-study to understand the experiences of a doctoral student as she…

Out-of-school-time (OST) arts programs in historically marginalized communities have much to teach policymakers, funders, and arts program leaders--as well as educators at large. Furthermore, the researchers of a paper in Arts Education Policy Review argue that the arts, and OST arts in particular, can help us reimagine ways to design learning…

BoSTEM, implemented by United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and Boston Afterschool and Beyond, is a network of STEM-focused after school programs in the Boston area that provide high-quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) opportunities to Boston middle school students. Through an innovative citywide coalition of…

Although designed for informal educational structures and non-formal providers, the AeroEducate initiative offers youth in a variety of settings an initial exposure to the world of aviation and aeronautics. Real-world and context-based experiences spark learners' interests and may help them discover a personal and/or professional passion for the…

Background: For years, physical activity settings had portrayed a discourse that does not allow to add new and different elements in its practice. This discourse established a status quo that has affected in many ways the structure, the pedagogy and practice of physical activity settings. This is the case of out-school programs. Purpose: The…

Youth benefit from involvement in the arts. At the same time, youth from families with low incomes are about half as likely to have access to arts instruction as youth from families with more resources, due to cuts in arts education which disproportionally affect schools in under-resourced communities that have been economically and socially…

There is currently a heavy emphasis on career-connected learning for high school students in New York City. ExpandED Schools' science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Options (ES Options) program predates the newest of these initiatives. Launched in 2019, ES Options combines a credit-bearing STEM apprenticeship in the spring with a…

Purpose: In the United States, after-school programs have been found to improve healthy behaviors and increase time in safe, structured environments for youth, but less is known about Latin American contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of an educational program in an underserved school in Latin America. Method: A…

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has administered the federally-funded Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant program, also known as Title IV, Part B, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) since 2002. The purpose of the program is to create community learning centers that provide students with…

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) provides play, leisure, care and education for significant numbers of Australian children. As government has become increasingly involved in the regulation of OSHC, the sector has become increasingly professionalised. OSHC practitioners are active participants in quality improvement processes and increasingly…

The aim of this study was to explore how counselors of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused out-of-school time (OST) program understood ways to support students' social-emotional learning (SEL) and STEM identity development, as well as the impact on counselors' awareness of their own SEL and STEM identity. To do this,…

Since 2002, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has administered the federally-funded Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant program, also known as Title IV, Part B, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The purpose of the program is to create community learning centers that provide students…

Earning a high school diploma is a milestone that has been linked to many later life outcomes, from employment to incarceration to physical health, and impacts society as a whole through tax revenues and government spending. Yet, youth leaving school prior to obtaining a diploma remains a challenge nationwide, particularly in large cities. Given…