I present a comprehensive view of mentoring experiences of undergraduate students and faculty members in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In CHAPTER 1 I describe a brief outline of this dissertation. In CHAPTER 2, I present an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the lived experiences of former STEM undergraduate…

School programs are evolving, and school district offerings provide more to students and families than simply academic instruction. This study asked parents to rate the importance and performance of various school programs that support student success and provide aspirational programming that guide student futures. Over one thousand parents were…

With the inclusion of school-age educare (SAEC) in the Swedish National curriculum in 2016, the principal's role now includes pedagogical leadership in SAEC. This study consists of reflection responses provided by twenty principals in the project "The Pedagogical task of School Age educare." Findings indicate that a minority of the…

Over the past two decades, educators and policymakers have expressed growing concerns over the low levels of math and science achievement among American students and the gradual decline in the numbers of young people moving into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. While interest in expanding the numbers of young people…

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…

Today's society requires students to navigate many challenging situations that require certain social emotional learning skills. Previous research suggests that skills like resilience can be built or developed (Daniel & Wassell, 2002; Masten, 2014; Ngo, 2019). Resilience and sense of belonging are factors that impact climate at after-school…

The current education system is failing our children. Yet the system shifts the blame as well as the search for possible solutions to teachers and learners, avoiding responsibility for its role in the existing oppressive structures. In turn, it fails to address the needs of a vastly diverse student population. This article looks at the development…

We share digital collages composed by youth in Lit Diaspora, a community-based after-school literacy initiative involving Black African immigrant youth and adult collaborators, as one contemporary example of rendering visible the contours of the educational lives of African immigrant youth, among the fastest growing immigrant communities in the…

School-age children need safe, supervised places to learn and grow during non-school hours while their parents and caregivers work. Beyond providing safety and supervision, participation in high-quality school-age child care programs offered before or after school, or during the summer, is associated with positive developmental outcomes for young…

Studies show that supporting argumentation in mathematics classrooms is challenging for teachers. This study reports on the experience of seven elementary and middle-school mathematics teachers in an afterschool classroom-based program where they had the opportunity to facilitate research sessions on students' development of mathematical ideas and…

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…

Despite efforts to increase diversity in STEM fields, marginalized populations--particularly women and Black and Latinx workers--remain underrepresented in STEM professions. The present qualitative study sought to explore the relationship between sense of purpose and STEM engagement within an after-school, experiential (i.e., involving hands-on…

The concepts of student motivation and student engagement have emerged from related but distinct fields of study. Contemporary scholars suggest that student engagement is shaped by various sociocultural, contextual, and personal factors (including motivation), and that it serves as a pathway to various positive student outcomes (e.g., academic…

Societal changes during the last few decades have given rise to the expansion of extended systems in nations across the world. Despite differences regarding age groups and relations to compulsory school, the task of extended education is primarily to provide participants with possibilities to learn general or specific content and foster their'…

Background: The urgent need for a stronger STEM workforce to keep the United States competitive globally has propelled policymakers and researchers to mandate for more STEM education. Although extant evidence suggests that students benefit from both formal in-school and informal out-of-school time STEM learning, there is a dearth of research…