The COVID-19 pandemic devastated student achievement, with declines rivaling those after Hurricane Katrina. These losses widened achievement gaps between historically marginalized students and their peers. Three years later, achievement remains behind pre-pandemic levels for many students. This paper examines 2022-23 academic recovery efforts…

Educational Robotics (ER) is an upcoming trend in education. It has been introduced in classrooms to improve the learning environment. It provides opportunities for young learners by promoting knowledge-building activities. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is viewed as a catalyst to ensure a successful future in…

College access and success programs, which typically take place during out-of-school time, range widely in their size, target demographics, and services offered. Although concerted funding and energy have been dedicated to college access programs, the field suffers from a significant research and practice gap. Studies have demonstrated that…

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,…

This study explored children's perceptions of a canine-assisted social-emotional learning program developed within the framework of a canine therapy program at a mid-sized Canadian university. Data collection made use of interviews, field notes, and observations. Children (N = 8, 5-11 years) from an after-school program participated in a six-week…

Purpose: This systematic review aimed at identifying, categorizing, and analyzing peer-reviewed literature on organized before- and after-school (B&ASP) physical activity programs from 2000 to 2020. Methods: We analyzed 291 articles that fit the inclusion criteria from five databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and…

The significant decrease in student achievement levels following the pandemic has become a pressing national problem, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts showed some of the sharpest academic achievement declines in the country. To assist schools in recovering from the pandemic, the federal government allocated three waves of funding through its…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a one-to-one intensive tutoring program in English and Mathematics on improving English learners' test scores on standardized assessments like the Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). The program of interest in this study is called The Rising Stars Program and is designed based on…

Creating Compassion is an empathy-focused creative arts curriculum designed to provide short-term, low-cost, high-quality social-emotional learning (SEL) to communities and settings with limited resources. The present study sought to determine whether Creating Compassion was effective for increasing displays of prosocial behaviors and broad SEL…

This article offers a qualitative analysis of infrastructural in/justice in a community-partnered design intervention focused on developing high-tech low-cost Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) projects. We examined the kinds of infrastructural injustices that were present in three afterschool programs and how it shaped STEAM…

Background: Staff play a critical role in promoting positive youth development in out-of-school-time programs, yet little is known about best-practices for preparing staff to work with youth and meet their needs. The present study seeks to understand the impact of a basic psychological needs training on the staff's ability to deliver…

Unstructured playtime at school, such as recess and afterschool activities, is essential for children's social development but often becomes a setting for bullying. Despite effective bystander programs, research on students' willingness to intervene in these contexts remains limited. This cross-sectional study used mixed methods to investigate the…

The Utah State Board (USBE) intergenerational poverty (IGP) grant funding focuses on high quality afterschool programming and academics, including intentional math and reading interventions. The Department of Workforce Services (DWS) Office of Child Care (OCC) may provide supplemental funding for enrichment and prevention education activities to…

The after-school program is a crucial initiative for implementing the Double Reduction policy; however, prior research has not provided conclusive evidence on whether extended school hours contribute to students' cognitive and non-cognitive development or on which types of after-school services are more beneficial for student development. This…

When youth are placed in detention facilities, their education, ties to society, and lives are disrupted. Yet any involvement with the justice system -- regardless of incarceration -- can have implications for one's future earning potential and career trajectory, limiting access to educational opportunities, career fields, and available supports.…