The study reported here investigated the effectiveness of the LSU AgCenter Help a Friend, Help Yourself youth diabetes education curriculum to increase knowledge and awareness of diabetes and its symptoms in low-income middle school students participating in the Boys and Girls Club after-school program. The curriculum includes four lessons with…

Background: The after-school period is potentially an important venue for increasing physical activity for youth. We sought to assess the effectiveness of the Sports, Play, and Recreation for Youth (SPARK) program to increase physical activity and improve cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status among elementary students after school. Methods:…

Background: There is substantial evidence to suggest that aggressive behavior is associated with poor academic performance in school-aged children. However, less is known about how different subtypes of aggression are related to academic performance and what variables may account for this association. Objective: The current study examined unique…

The current study experimentally evaluated the effects of therapeutic horseback riding on the behavior of children with autism using a multiple baseline across participants design and a waitlist control group for comparison purposes. Participants were observed weekly in an after-school program during four center-based activities and during…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the impact of an arts-based media literacy program on the leadership efficacy of adolescent girls. The participants of this study were 19 middle school girls who participated in an after-school, arts-based media literacy curricula known as Project Girl. The group meetings were led by female…

Gardening programs have been increasing in popularity since 1995 when California enacted legislation with the goal of putting a garden in every school. Research has shown positive benefits of gardening programs include increasing a child's academic skills, environmental awareness, and social skills, but little is known about their impact on…

This study investigated the effect of the "College Possible" program, which is designed to serve low-income high school students. "College Possible" provides a 2-year afterschool curriculum to high school juniors and seniors that includes SAT and ACT test preparation services, college admissions and financial aid consulting,…

This article documents a community-initiated service-learning project within a teacher education program. A social justice model guided the initiative to raise critical awareness on power and privilege while countering deficit-model thinking. Partnering with community agencies serving immigrant children and youth, the faculty researcher worked…

Background: Asthma places a heavy burden on Chicago's schoolchildren, particularly in low-income, minority communities. Recently, our group developed a 10-week afterschool program, the Student Asthma Research Team (START), which successfully engaged high school youth in a Photovoice investigation of factors impacting their asthma at school and in…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine what inspires or leads seventh-grade African-American girls toward an interest in STEM, to characterize and describe the context of an out-of-school STEM learning environment, explore the impact on the seventh-grade African-American girls who participated in the program as it relates to…

An academic achievement gap exists between European American and African American students in the United States elementary educational system. At present, the achievement gap is currently being measured by local, state, and national standardized assessments and reveals that there is a great disparity among African American and European American…

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of an afterschool program on students graduating high school. The study included students that were chosen using purposeful sampling who had recently graduated high school and participated in a school's afterschool program. A qualitative design was used with hermeneutical phenomenology being…

For the past three years, SELF (Sports, Education, Life Skills, and Faith) has focused on improving academic, behavioral, and social skills of students at Key, Revere, and Meyerland middle schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Tutorials, an essay contest, character-building lessons, sports, a high-school bridge program, and…

The 2013 study, "Evaluation of the College Possible Program: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial", investigated the effect of the "College Possible" program, which is designed to serve low-income high school students by providing SAT/ACT test preparation, financial aid consulting, and college admissions guidance in an…

This report examines the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) programs evaluated by Research for Action (RFA) and presents an aggregate analysis of key findings to inform broader discussions about OST programs. The report addresses the following questions: (1) Who participated in the 21st CCLC programs and how frequently did they…