Purpose: Grounded in occupational socialization theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of mentoring underserved youth on the socialization of preservice teachers within a community-engaged after-school program. Methods: Data consisted of semistructured interviews, critical incident accounts, and field notes. All…

Background: Children's and young people's emotional wellbeing is in decline and models of good practice are needed to help schools address the needs of vulnerable pupils. Effectiveness studies have provided empirical evidence for school-based socio-emotional interventions but few examine process issues to explain procedures and mechanisms…

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 study utilized a pretest posttest design to examine the impact afterschool activities had on students in middle school. Survey and focus group data were used to access participants' behavior, achievement and attendance in while participating in afterschool programs. Findings from the study concluded that student's participation in afterschool…

This study extended existing work on the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS), established as a measure of preschool-age children's observed interactions in the four domains of Teacher Interactions, Peer Interactions, Task Orientation, and Negative Engagement. Our sample included kindergarten-age children (N = 117; mean age…

The Texas 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program operates as the Texas Afterschool Centers on Education (Texas ACE). Texas ACE strives to improve student attendance, behavior, and academics, while providing a safe supplemental learning environment for students and families who otherwise would not have such opportunities.…

This study aimed to assess the mental health needs and risk behaviors of adolescents attending an afterschool life-skills skateboarding program, to evaluate the perceived benefits of the program, and to identify potential modifications required to meet the identified needs. Program participants were from three gang- and poverty-affected urban…

Unsafe and violent schools are a widespread problem in South Africa. This paper argues that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) contribute to this phenomenon. While various individual and community-level interventions to address ACEs have been reported on, the contribution of safe parks towards preventing school violence has not yet been…

Purpose: Homeless children are more likely to have social skills deficits relative to same aged peers and may benefit from a social skills intervention. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the Let's Be Social application with the addition of behavioral skills training (BST) to teach social skills to children who were homeless.…

We report on an effectiveness evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES) program. YES applies empowerment theory to an after-school program for middle school students. YES is an active learning curriculum designed to help youth gain confidence in themselves, think critically about their community, and work with adults to create positive…

So far, empirical evidence regarding the effects of extended education on externalizing behavior is mixed. To explore possible moderators, multilevel-analyses were conducted in a longitudinal sample of 492 students from 51 all-day schools in Switzerland. No main effects of utilization intensity, interaction quality and externalizing behavior in…

Background: Teen pregnancy continues to burden families, communities, and society. Programs continue to educate and impower youth and young adults to make positive behavioral decisions. Methods: We evaluated a program aimed at high-risk youth in after-school programs. The goal of the program was to instill a sense of community and empathy, as well…

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits, challenges, and limitations of a service-learning project designed to promote responsiveness among PK-12 preservice teachers (N=41). The service-learning included working with children (5- to 12-year-olds) at before- and after-school programs, interviewing site staff, and developing lesson…

The Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) is the program administered through the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for the federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) grants. The ACE Foundation Communities' Cycle 9 program provides intentional afterschool program experiences that are high quality, challenging, and inspiring. Across…

Manding for preferred items and activities is a critical skill for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little research has evaluated procedures to teach children with ASD to mand with their peers. This study evaluated the effects of a teaching package involving least-to-most prompting to increase peer-directed vocal…