For the Expanded Learning Summer Program (ELSP), at a midsized public school system in the Northeast, providing high quality programming that engages student interest and fosters active learning by all children was a top priority. This case study, undertaken during the summer of 2017, provided insight into how the ELSP aligned with the relevant…

Many youth-serving organizations refer to social and emotional learning (SEL) as a process through which adults and young people develop the critical knowledge and skills one needs to be successful in school, work, and personal life (e.g., Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning -- CASEL, 2020). SEL is a learning process and --…

Numerous reports focus on why girls and women do not pursue and persist in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) study or careers, and how to influence their Interest. Since human affects, like Interest, are ever-changing, multi-dimensional, and connected constructs, their study is difficult. Some researchers, including myself,…

This case presents the design and assessment (at the Interaction level) of a student chronic condition e-learning module. The module is to be used by school nurses as a traditional presentation aid/slideshow to support their on-ground trainings for afterschool staff on how to manage students with chronic health conditions participating in…

This study examined the associations between parental involvement in adolescents' organized after-school activities and adolescents' motivational beliefs. Data were reported by 231 Mexican-origin and European American adolescents who participated in an organized after-school activity (57% female, M[subscript age] = 12.37, SD = 0.54) and their…

Affective teacher-child relationships have frequently been investigated in school settings, but less attention has been devoted to these relationships in after-school care. This study explored caregiver- (N = 90) and child-informed reports (N = 90) of the affective caregiver-child relationship (N = 180 dyads) in Dutch after-school care, exploring…

Background/Context: After-school programs that focus on integrating computer programming and mathematics in authentic environments are seldomly accessible to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, particularly bilingual Latina students in rural contexts. Providing a context that broadens Latina students' participation in…

This study describes a program developed with the coordination of four agencies to reconnect urban youth to nature by combining the best of each partner. Many urban youth are disconnected from nature. Recent studies show that youth only spend about 15-25 minutes daily outdoors recreating. Youth are now exposed to high-arousing stimuli from…

This article examines a homework assistance scheme implemented in French secondary schools since 2017, and more specifically the characteristics of the staff members who supervise these sessions. The present study highlights considerable diversity both in the practices observed, but also in the types of knowledge and beliefs held by the homework…

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.…

Despite the success of informal STEM programs, one ongoing challenge is sustaining learners' interest beyond the programs' initial impact (Morris et al., 2019). Although some longitudinal studies suggest that such programs can have a lasting impact on girls in STEM (e.g., McCreedy & Dierking, 2013), further research is needed to identify the…

Black staff in out-of-school time (OST) programs are frequently positioned as disciplinarians, behavior managers, or "chaperones," while curriculum and instruction responsibilities are assigned to formally trained (and often White) educators. Imbalances in power and funding mean White leaders usually hold decision-making authority, while…

After-school youth development programs support social-emotional functioning which leads to better academic and behavioral outcomes. This article examines three common predictors of social-emotional functioning individually and concurrently to better understand the role of these predictors in the after-school setting. The common predictors are…

As initiatives on AI education in K-12 learning contexts continues to evolve, researchers have developed curricula among other resources to promote AI across grade levels. Yet, there is a need for more effort regarding curriculum, tools, and pedagogy, as well as assessment techniques to popularize AI at the middle school level. Drawing on prior…

This open access edited volume reports on a unique network of innovative in-school and out-of-school programs, University-Community Links. UC Links connects university faculty and students with young people and their families in diverse communities around the world. Chapters in this volume describe programs in the United States (California) as…