Policymakers nationwide must decide how to best invest in education and related opportunities, such as out-of-school-time programs targeting youth and early-childhood education programs. In this paper, we review the costs, benefits, and costs and benefits relative to one another for one alternative type of investment: youth programs that are…

This "Research Update" explores two major themes: (1) Using evaluation to shape program improvement and planning; and (2) Out-of-school time benefits to older youth and their families. Themes were culled from 13 research and evaluation reports added to the Out-of-School Time (OST) Program Research and Evaluation Bibliography in September 2008.…

Proposition 49, which voters passed in 2002, guaranteed more than a three-fold increase in state funding for after school programs, although rollout was dependent on the state budget meeting specific conditions. In 2006-07, the budget met those conditions and the legislation implementing the proposition was passed. Subsequently, an additional $550…

Young people who live in rural areas are less likely to finish high school and to complete college than their urban and suburban peers. These adolescents are also more likely to use drugs and alcohol: rural adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have the highest levels of drug use in this age group. Out-of-school-time programs in rural areas…

This study examines whether high-quality after-school programs operating in high-poverty communities improve the academic, social, and behavioral outcomes of participating students. The study compared students who regularly participated in high-quality after-school programs to students who regularly spent time with no adult supervision after…

Background: No research to date has extensively described moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and healthful eating (HE) opportunities in the after-school environment. The current study described the quality of the after-school environment for its impact on children's MVPA and HE. Methods: An alliance of 7 elementary schools and Boys and…

As our society becomes more technologically advanced and jobs require additional related skills, it is important that all girls, not just those interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (commonly referred to as the STEM disciplines), take advanced levels of science and math in high school. Evidence suggests that intervention…

The author describes an after-school science club program for urban 4th-grade students that integrated instructional technologies to investigate a pond ecosystem in the local schoolyard. The author conducted a design-based evaluation study to examine the effectiveness of the program in promoting environmental attitudes and understandings of the…

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is usually understood in relation to schools and districts, but the legislation has also affected community-based organizations that operate school-linked programs. This case study of an after-school program in California demonstrates how educational accountability systems that emphasize students' academic…

While research on program effectiveness offers ample evidence that afterschool programs can benefit young people in a variety of ways, this same body of research demonstrates that not all programs are equally effective (Granger, 2008). Some programs show positive results in many or all major outcome categories. Other programs are associated with…

The purposes of this study were to (1) investigate non-accelerated middle schools students' understanding of pre-algebraic concepts, in particular, addition and subtraction of integers and the notion of equality; (2) describe and analyze how non-accelerated middle school students interact with The Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) applets depicting…

Schools represent the primary setting where refugee children learn about Australian life and culture. They serve as a broad context for acculturation not only for academic development and language acquisition but for cultural learning too. This paper focuses on the after-school homework tutoring programme that uses University of Western Sydney…

Organized children's activities qualify as children's work, in much the same way that school work does. Both produce transferable use value and create capital that contributes to the future production of goods and services. To illustrate this argument, this article draws on qualitative research primarily based on interviews with the parents of…

Afterschool programs provide myriad benefits to all who participate, but the lion's share of programs are geared toward younger children. According to a recent survey, 6.5 million children in the U.S. are in afterschool programs, and just 8 percent are in grades 9-12. However, there are 2.3 million high schoolers who would participate if programs…

Discusses the growing interest in and need for after-school programs, explaining the benefits of such programs and focusing on how parents can find a high quality program that suits their needs. Two sidebars present questions to help parents assess after-school programs and the National PTA's position on after-school programs. (SM)