The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
All Publications & Resources
|
The New 3Rs — Reading, Resilience, and Relationships in Afterschool Programs
Gil Noam describes an evaluation to discover how well the New 3Rs, a proven school-based reading and risk prevention intervention, works in after school contexts.
Investigating Quality: The Study of Promising After-School Programs
Deborah Lowe Vandell and Elizabeth R. Reisner discuss whether and how participation in high quality after school programs matters for youth outcomes.
Bringing Yourself to Work: Assessing the Impact of Social-Emotional Learning for After School Staff
Michelle Seligson describes a professional development initiative for after school practitioners.
Characterizing and Measuring Participation in Out-of-School Time Programs
Sandra Simpkins Chaput from HFRP summarizes recent developmental research examining dimensions of participation in out-of-school activities.
Assessing the How of Outcomes in Out-of-School Time: Learning From MARS
John Zuman and Beth Miller present an overview of the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study, a statewide investigation into how after school programs constitute quality contexts for youth.
Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in After School Programs
Sherri Lauver from HFRP proposes a set of strategies for recruiting and retaining youth participation in out-of-school time programs.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Evaluating Out-of-School Time Program Quality.
Performance Measures in Out-of-School Time Evaluation
This Snapshot outlines the academic, youth development, and prevention performance measures currently being used by out-of-school time programs to assess their progress, and the corresponding data sources for these measures.
New & Noteworthy
A list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Reflecting on the Past and Future of Evaluation.
A Review of Activity Implementation in Out-of-School Time Programs
This Snapshot examines the range and scope of activities being implemented in current out-of-school time programs to set a context for understanding the links between program activities and positive outcomes for youth.
A Review of Out-of-School Time Program Quasi-Experimental and Experimental Evaluation Results
This Snapshot provides an overview of what the quasi-experimental and experimental evaluations in the HFRP's OST Database reveal about the impact of out-of-school time programs on an array of academic, prevention, and youth development outcomes. It also includes a resource list of other out-of-school time evaluation reviews and related evaluation information.
Why, When, and How to Use Evaluation: Experts Speak Out
This brief offers expert commentary on the implications of the first-year report of the national evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program for future evaluation and research. It includes a methodological critique of that study, written by Deborah Vandell.
New & Noteworthy
This section features an annotated list of resources related to the issue's theme of Evaluating Out-of-School Time.
Does Youth Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities Make a Difference?
Sandra Simpkins of HFRP integrates findings from academic research and program evaluation to provide a comprehensive look at the relationship between participation in out-of-school time (OST) activities and positive youth outcomes, and points to new directions for OST research and evaluation.
How can research and evaluation improve practice regarding access and equity in out-of-school time programs?
Five experts in the field of youth development and OST programming address the question of how research and evaluation can improve practice regarding access and equity in out-of-school time programs.
Evaluating the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program—A View From the States
Erin Harris and Priscilla Little, from Harvard Family Research Project, describe the implementation of the new 21st Century Community Learning Centers program’s evaluation requirements in the context of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Improving Bradenton’s After School Programs Through Utilization-Focused Evaluation
Katherine Loflin of the Knight Foundation describes the utilization-focused evaluation efforts in one of Knight’s communities.
A Conversation With Michelle Gambone
The Evaluation Exchange Special Report on the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program National Evaluation
This special report offers expert commentary on the implication of When School Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, First Year Findings for future evaluation and research.
Doing What Works: Scientifically Based Research in Education
Suzanne Bouffard of HFRP examines the new science-based research standards brought in by the No Child Left Behind Act.
The Challenges and Strategies of Evaluating Community-Wide After School Programs
Mark Ouellette and Audrey Hutchinson of the National League of Cities describes strategies to meet the challenges of evaluating citywide after school programs.
Learning From Evaluation: Lessons From After School Evaluation in Texas
Dr. Peter A. Witt, the Elda K. Bradberry Recreation and Youth Development Chair at Texas A&M University, reflects on seven years of evaluating city after school programs in Texas.
Evaluating Out-of-School Time
This is the third issue of The Evaluation Exchange (Harvard Family Research Project's quarterly evaluation periodical) devoted to exploring the challenges and solutions associated with evaluating out-of-school (OST) programs. This issue includes articles on what we know from existing research and evaluation about the results that are possible from OST programming, expert commentary on what the future OST research and evaluation agenda should look like, and information about hands-on research and evaluation tools and resources. It is also includes a special report with expert commentary on the implications of the first year findings in Mathematica's evaluation of the national 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. To read the previous issues on out-of-school time, go to our issue archive.
NSACA Accreditation: Building Capacity for Continuous Improvement in After School Programs
Mark Carter, Executive Director of the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA), describes how the NSACA accreditation process helps after school programs build evaluation capacity.
Logic Models in Out-of-School Time
Julia Coffman of HFRP describes one approach OST programs can take to develop a logic model.