Learning and personal development are integral to being a person, and learning and teaching are integral to life as a social being. "Understanding Children's Informal Learning" presents children's informal learning out-of-school and explores how this knowledge can enhance teaching and learning practice in the classroom. The authors focus…

Purpose: This qualitative case study examines the ways youth participatory action research (YPAR) represents a tool that could promote educational dignity. This study focuses on 11 elementary-aged students, all identified as Black or Latinx, who participated in an after-school YPAR project at their Title I elementary school. Research Methods:…

Drawing on research in the context of Swedish school-age educare and adopting a post-humanist theoretical--methodological approach, we put forward the notion of mathemat-ing to conceptualise mathematical events that emerge in out-of-school configurations of practice. In them, ethical sensibilities as affects of engagement and rejection may be…

The purpose of this study is to examine how a virtual after-school PA program impacts social-emotional competency (SEC) among elementary school students. Students (N=122) participated, and SEC was measured at the beginning and end of the program. Data analysis included descriptive analysis of demographic variables and SEC. A dependent sample…

Research involving secondary school EFL learners has demonstrated that greater intensity of exposure, via CLIL lessons, yields notable benefits. However, studies in primary school are scarce and less optimistic. Furthermore, little is known about the effects of different degrees of CLIL intensity and of learners' exposure to Extramural English…

This article describes the use of a comic book to anchor a cryptology and cybersecurity curriculum for upper elementary students. Perceptions about the comic book from 138 students across 11 afterschool programs were examined using survey, classroom observation, and interviews. Data analysis revealed that the comic book created a…

Physical activity (PA) estimates from the Fitbit Flex 2 were compared to those from the ActiGraph GT9X Link in 123 elementary school children. Steps and intensity-specific estimates of PA and 3-month PA change were calculated using two different ActiGraph cut-points (Evenson and Romanzini). Fitbit estimates were 35% higher for steps compared to…

Afterschool settings have continued to be identified as an ideal outlet for supporting youth development in many arenas, including physical activity (PA) behaviors and social emotional learning (SEL) skills. In fact, PA centered programs are ideal settings for youth to 8 develop and practice SEL skills in authentic ways. However, there a several…

Research supports the use of engaging young students in shared reading opportunities beyond the school setting to scaffold children's social emotional and academic development. This article describes an exploratory mixed-methods case study examining the application of the Storybooks and Social Hooks (SASH) curriculum, which uses dialogic reading…

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to describe the roles mentors enacted as part of an afterschool science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program and how those roles varied across three sites and to explain those differences. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used a comparative case study design and collected data…

Many elementary school students require and may benefit from supplemental reading support and interventions that can be provided by afterschool programs. The problem addressed in this study was that it was not known if third grade students benefited from an afterschool reading program in one East Tennessee District. The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the benefits described by undergraduate mentors in an afterschool STEM program for elementary students changed over time the longer they served as mentors in the program. We used the afterschool program as a case study and drew on interviews with 30 mentors who served between one and six semesters…

This article discusses the literature of writing with the arts with Latinx young writers. The authors drew on two theoretical concepts--placemaking and translanguaging--in order to reimagine writing pedagogy. A multiple case study design was employed with an afterschool program offered once a week for six weeks. Implications for language arts and…

Out-of-school-time (OST) programs have long focused on children's social and emotional development as part of their mission of building a culture of connectedness and positive relationships between youth and adults. Research demonstrates that high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are associated with positive…

Science learning takes place not only in the context of science class but also after class. Students' internal forms of motivation, such as curiosity and interest, affect the entire science learning process in both in-class and after-class contexts. In addition, both stable existing learner characteristics, such as science curiosity and interest…