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.
Volume IX, Number 1, Spring 2003
Issue Topic: Evaluating Out-of-School Time
New & Noteworthy
Periodicals
The Forum for Youth Investment. FYI Newsletter. Washington, DC: Author. This newsletter is designed to build connections and increase exchange among the range of actors in the allied youth fields. Four issues have been released so far: Young People Continually Learning (Aug. 2001), Youth Policy: The State of the States (Dec. 2001), Out-of-School Opportunities: City-Level Responses (Summer 2002), and Youth Contributing to Communities, Communities Supporting Youth (Fall 2002). www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/_portalcat2.cfm?
LID=7E7670DB-B334-4F9C-AA08A38555C165A7
The Forum for Youth Investment. The Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary. Washington, DC: Author. This new publication is designed to help policymakers, program planners, and advocates examine the research relevant to after school policy. Two issues have been released so far: Out-of-School Research Meets After-School Policy (Oct. 2002) and High School After-School: What Is It? What Might It Be? Why Is It Important? (Jan. 2003). www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/_portalcat2.cfm?
LID=8C5C7A6B-BE1F-4CC2-8B2A19E4CB0D880D
The Institute for Just Communities and the Institute for Sustainable Development, Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. CYD Journal. Jamaica Plain, MA: Author. This quarterly journal promotes youth and adults working together in partnership to create just, safe, and healthy communities by building leadership and influencing public policy. The journal is a resource for youth and community workers, educators, administrators, researchers, policymakers, and other practitioners committed to the development of young people and communities. www.cydjournal.org
The Institute for Youth Development. Adolescent & Family Health. Washington, DC: Author. This peer-reviewed, quarterly publication takes a multidisciplinary approach to address the common factors influencing youth behavior and risk avoidance. www.afhjournal.org
Noam, G. (Ed.) New Directions for Youth Development. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Formerly New Directions for Mental Health Services, this journal focuses on a different aspect affecting youth in the United States in each issue. Topics covered include zero tolerance, youth mentoring, after school time, and development among diverse youth. The articles are geared toward policymakers, but are also practitioner-friendly. www.wiley.com/cda/product/0,,MHS,00.html
Publications
Afterschool Alliance. (2003). Afterschool Alliance backgrounder: Formal evaluations of afterschool programs. Washington, DC: Author. This paper discusses the landscape of after school evaluations, summarizes several of the most extensive independent evaluations of after school programs, and highlights lessons from their findings. www.afterschoolalliance.org/issue_br.cfm
Bagby, J. (Ed.). (2001). A resource guide for planning and operating after-school programs. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. This guide offers a description of resources to sustain out-of-school time programs. An updated 2003 version is in process. These resources meet three basic criteria: they are timely, readily available, and inexpensive. www.sedl.org/pubs/fam95
Beckett, M., Hawken, A., & Jacknowitz, A. (2001). Accountability for after-school care: Devising standards and measuring adherence to them. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. Through a comprehensive review of after school care literature, RAND researchers identified 18 good management practices associated with quality care. RAND developed a protocol to measure these practices and used it to see how one California organization adheres to these practices. The protocol is available for use by other after school programs. www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1411
Campbell, P. B., Jolly, E., Hoey, L., & Perlman, L. K. (2002, January). Upping the numbers: Using research-based decision making to increase diversity in the quantitative disciplines. Fairfield, CT: GE Fund. This report makes specific recommendations to educators, community practitioners, policymakers, and funders about what works to increase underrepresented students' interest and success in quantitatively based occupations. www.ge.com/community/fund/resources.html#careers
Campbell, P. B., & Sanders, J. (2002). Challenging the system: Assumptions and data behind the push for single-sex schooling. In A. Datnow & L. Hubbard (Eds.), Gender in policy and practice: Perspectives on single-sex and coeducational schooling. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. In this chapter the authors address the challenges that girls face in coeducation and the rise in single-sex schools to lessen this crisis. reference.routledge-ny.com/books.cfm?isbn=041593270X
Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A. M., Lonczak, H. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention & Treatment, 5, article 15. In this study, the authors researched and established definitions of positive youth development and related concepts, described common denominators between risk and protective factors implicated in youth problem behavior, summarized evaluation results of positive youth development interventions, and identified elements contributing to success in positive youth development programs and program evaluations, as well as potential improvements in evaluation approaches. content.apa.org/journals/pre/5/1/15
The Children's Aid Society. (2001). Building a community school (3rd ed.). New York: Author. Prepared for educators, government leaders, social service providers, and parent groups, the third edition of this guide highlights the efforts of the Children's Aid Society and the challenges of implementing a community school. Topics covered include what makes an innovative community school, how to assess the community school's needs and strengths, and how to plan and fund a community school. www.communityschools.org/Manual.html
Council of Chief State School Officers and the Forum for Youth Investment. (2001, April). Students continually learning: A report of presentations, student voices and state actions. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers. This report discusses lessons from the 1999 Council of Chief State School Officers Summer Institute for state education leaders, focusing on the variety of places and ways in which students learn. www.forumfyi.org/Files/studentscontlearning.pdf
Eccles, J., & Gootman, J. A. (Eds.). (2002). Community programs to promote youth development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. This report explores the role of youth development programs and how best to design programs that enable youth to develop into healthy, happy, and productive adults. Policy, practice, and research recommendations to address the developmental needs of youth are included. www.nap.edu/catalog/10022.html
Fashola, O. S. (2001). Building effective afterschool programs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. This resource provides a practical overview of the research and best practices that can be adapted and applied in the development of highly effective after school programs. A discussion of the purposes, functions, methodologies, implementation, and evaluation of numerous programs is provided and organized for quick reference. www.corwinpress.com/book.aspx?pid=7405
Ferber, T., & Pittman, K. (with Marshall, T.). (2002). State youth policy: Helping all youth to grow up fully prepared and fully engaged. Washington, DC: The Forum for Youth Investment. This paper attempts to capture and synthesize states' youth policy work. It covers challenges that states are facing in forming policy, youth development frameworks that have been developed, and tasks that state policymakers and advocates should undertake. forumfyi.org/store/prodpage.cfm?CategoryID=1#7
Fink, D. B. (2001). Making a place for kids with disabilities. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey. This book, a qualitative case study written in a narrative format, addresses the problems developmentally or physically disabled children face when participating in recreational programs and what programs can do to be inclusive of these children. www.includeallkids.com/mkpd
Freeman, C., Kruse, T., Schleisman, J., Seppanen, P., & Stubblefield, R. (2001). Use of continuous improvement and evaluation in after-school programs: Final report 2001. Minneapolis: Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. This study, supported with funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, is intended to provide “quick turnaround” information to inform the future direction of the foundation related to building the capacity of after school programs to engage in evaluation/continuous improvement efforts to promote program improvement. www.education.umn.edu/CAREI/Reports/summary.html#MF-ContImprove
Grossman, J. B. Price, M. L., Fellerath, V., Jucovy, L. Z., Kotloff, L. J., Raley, R. et al. (2002, June). Multiple choices after school: Findings from the Extended-Service Schools Initiative. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures. This report shares lessons learned about the design and content of existing school-based after school programs through an evaluation of the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Initiative. This initiative supported the creation of 60 after school programs in 20 communities around the country. Evaluators intensively focused on programs in 10 schools in 6 cities. www.ppv.org/ppv/youth/youth_publications.asp?section_id=8
Hall, G., & Harvey, B. (2002). Building and sustaining citywide afterschool initiatives: Experiences of the cross-cities network citywide afterschool initiatives. Wellesley, MA: National Institute on Out-of-School Time. The purpose of this report is to highlight the experiences of several citywide after school initiatives focusing on activities and strategies that contributed to building operational and sustainable citywide delivery of out-of-school time programs. The paper is intended to inform discussion, raise questions, and present recommendations for out-of-school time leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders seeking to organize or better support citywide after school initiatives. www.niost.org/publications/index.html
Halpern, R. (2002, March). A different kind of child development institution: The history of after-school programs for low-income children. Teachers College Record, 104(2), 178–211. This article examines how after school programs have served low-income youth throughout the years. With each era it includes objectives and practices, significant impacts, implementation challenges, and the role the programs have played in children's lives.
Halpern, R., Speilberger, J., & Robb, S. (2001). Evaluation of the MOST (Making the Most of Out-of-School Time) Initiative: Final report, summary of findings. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children. This report summarizes the evaluation of the first phase of the MOST Initiative. The objectives of this initiative were to contribute to the supply, accessibility, affordability, and quality of after school programs, especially for low-income children, and to strengthen the overall functioning of after school programs as a “system” in three cities: Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1316
Herrera, C., Vang, Z., & Gale, L. Y. (2002, February). Group mentoring: A study of mentoring groups in three programs. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures. This paper, a collaboration of Public/Private Ventures and the National Mentoring Partnership, discusses the characteristics and benefits of group mentoring, and the arguments against this approach. www.ppv.org/ppv/youth/youth_publications.asp?section_id=7
Hollister, R. (2003). The growth in after-school programs and their impact. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. This paper examines the following aspects of after school programs: their growth, reasons for their growth, what they are trying to achieve, what works, their costs, and their policy implications. www.brook.edu/views/papers/sawhill/20030225.htm
Kimball, L. (Ed.). (2002, Summer). Bridging research and practice in out-of-school time [Special issue]. The Center. Minneapolis: The Center for 4-H Youth Development, University of Minnesota. This publication summarizes much of what is known about why out-of-school time matters and highlights some of the critical issues in the field. www.fourh.umn.edu/resources/Center/PDF/Center2002Whole.pdf
Marsh, H. W., & Kleitman, S. (2002, Winter). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 464–514. This article examines the effects of participation in extracurricular school activities (ESAs) on grade 12 and postsecondary outcomes (e.g., school grades, educational and occupational aspirations, self-esteem, etc.). The findings support the conclusion that ESAs foster school identification/commitment that benefits diverse academic outcomes, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. www.gse.harvard.edu/hepg/wi02.htm
Morgan, G., & Harvey, B. (2002). New perspectives on compensation strategies for the out-of-school time workforce. Wellesley, MA: Center for Research on Women. In this research paper, the authors explore economic concepts as they relate to the out-of-school time field and describe compensation strategies and initiatives. They also profile out-of-school time compensation models and others from the early care and education field that could be adapted by out-of-school time advocates. www.wcwonline.org/title368.html
National 4-H Council. (2002). The national conversation on youth development in the 21st century: Final report. Chevy Chase, MD: Author. This report summarizes the findings of a series of discussions sponsored by the national 4-H between 1,200 youth and adults representing 600 organizations around the country to devise ways of improving communities nationwide. The conversation's findings are the basis for an action plan to leverage the strengths of youth and adults to improve communities. www.4hcentennial.org/conversations/main.asp
National Institute on Out-of-School Time. (2002). Links to learning: Supporting learning in out-of-school time programs. Wellesley, MA: Author. This video, aimed at practitioners and policymakers, conveys the role after school programs play in supporting children's learning and development. National researchers and community leaders, through interviews, argue that high-quality after school programs can provide learning opportunities that go beyond academics. The video illustrates a variety of programs that exemplify skills that serve as a framework for promoting an experiential approach to learning. www.niost.org/publications/videos.html
Noam, G. G., Biancarosa, G., & Dechausay, N. (2002). Afterschool education: Approaches to an emerging field. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Publishing Group. In this guide for practitioners, administrators, policymakers, and parents, the authors survey the current after school landscape and bring to light important issues and practices within the field. The book explores the challenges and opportunities facing after school education programs, and points to future directions for these programs. www.gse.harvard.edu/hepg/afterschool.html
Peter, N. (2002, August). Outcomes and research in out-of-school time program design. Philadelphia: Best Practices Institute. This paper presents basic background information on out-of-school time programming, promotes the integration of outcomes and research into program development, provides examples of best practices, and shows how best practices can be used in program design to produce priority student outcomes. It also includes a list of recommended websites concerning out-of-school time programming. www.cbps.org/outcomes.pdf
Scott-Little, C., Hamann, M. S., & Jurs, S. G. (2002, Winter). Evaluations of after-school programs: A meta-evaluation of methodologies and narrative synthesis of findings. The American Journal of Evaluation, 23(4), 387–419. This study was done in response to the increase in need for sound evaluations to document the quality and impact of after school programs. Researchers completed a comprehensive search for after school evaluations in order to conduct a meta-evaluation of methodologies used and to synthesize the findings.
Shapiro, I. (2002). Training for racial equity and inclusion: A guide to selected programs. Queenstown, MD: Aspen Institute. This guide, intended to help community leaders, organizations, policymakers, and funders, offers an in-depth review and comparison of 10 anti-racism training programs as well as a description and examination of each program's work. www.aspeninstitute.org/Programt3.asp?i=83
Spielberger, J., & Halpern, R. (2002, February). The role of after-school programs in children's literacy development. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children. This study has two main components: a survey of the literacy practices and environments of over 200 after school programs in Chicago and Seattle and case studies of 16 after school programs with exemplary or innovative approaches to children's literacy in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle. www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1262
Villarruel, F. A., Perkins, D. F., Borden, L. M., & Keith, J. G. (Eds.) (2003). Community youth development: Programs, policies, and practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. This edited volume provides practical tools and models for developing community-wide initiatives that strengthen protective factors, build competencies, and focus on indicators of thriving. www.sagepub.com/book.aspx?pid=9103
Witt, P. A., & Crompton, J. L. (2002). Best practices in youth development in public park and recreation settings. Ashburn, VA: National Recreation and Park Association. This book contains case studies of recreation programs that contribute to youth development. The cases are meant to help practitioners to develop innovative practices in their own departments based on current youth development principals and practices. intershop.active.com/cgi-bin/NRPA.storefront/
44ef221d03f63c222717ac10005d05e8/Product/View/1063&2D2
Web Resources
21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) home page provides up-to-date information on the 21st CCLC program, its evaluation, and related news and research information. www.ed.gov/21stcclc
The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of after school programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children. Its website provides resources on policy, funding, and links to related after school information, including the latest policy information on the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. It also provides information on its annual advocacy event, Lights On for Afterschool. www.afterschoolalliance.org
The Child Trends DataBank is a product of Child Trends, a research organization committed to improving the lives of children and families. The database is designed to serve everyone from policymakers to parents and the public by providing access to the latest national trend data and links to state and local data, and identifying emerging and continuing areas of need for children and youth. www.childtrendsdatabank.org
Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERnet) offers program, evaluation, and technology assistance for children, youth, and family community-based programs. Their website provides educators, researchers, parents, youth agency staff, policymakers, youth, and others with resources pertaining to children, youth, or families. CYFERnet also allows members to interact with colleagues and share their interests and expertise. www.cyfernet.org
The Compendium of Assessment and Research Tools (CART) is a database that provides information on instruments that measure attributes of youth development programs. CART includes descriptions of research instruments, tools, rubrics, and guides and is intended to assist those who have an interest in studying the effectiveness of service-learning, safe and drug-free schools and communities, and other school-based youth development activities. cart.rmcdenver.com
Evaluating the National Outcomes website has links to resources from four National Outcome Work Groups: Children, Youth, Parent/Family, and Community. This work is supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arizona.
The Four-Fold Youth Development Model focuses on the four-fold development of an individual youth: their head, heart, hands, and health. This website provides instruments that yield reliable, valid data and a method for data entry. An instantaneous online data analysis is generated as well as a printable report.
The Forum for Youth Investment is dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of youth investment and youth involvement by promoting a “big picture” approach to planning, research, advocacy, and policy development among the broad range of organizations that help constituents and communities invest in children, youth, and families. Its website contains papers, articles, editorials, written and PowerPoint presentations, and other tools that have been created by Forum staff and consultants to inform youth development policy and research. www.forumforyouthinvestment.org
Harvard Family Research Project's Out-of-School Time Program Evaluation Database is a searchable database of profiles of out-of-school time program evaluations. We added nine new profiles in February 2003. For information about the database, see the article in this issue about it. Click here to view the database.
The Massachusetts 2020 Foundation's Research Clearinghouse on Out-of-School Time contains resources, organizational links, reports, data, and best practices on topics related to out-of-school time to help practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. www.mass2020.org/research.html
The National Institute on Out-of-School Time is an action-research institute focusing on: research, evaluation, and consultation; policy development and public awareness; and training and curriculum development. Their website, designed for both researchers and practitioners, provides training materials, publications, and links to other websites related to youth and out-of-school time programs. www.niost.org
The mission of the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA) is to build a profession that develops, supports, and promotes quality after school programs for children and youth. It is the only national membership organization representing the entire array of public, private, and community-based providers of after school programs. Its website provides information on its accreditation process, public policy issues related to after school, and resources for after school providers. www.nsaca.org
The National Youth Development Information Center has practice-related resources concerning youth development that national and local youth-serving organizations can access at little or no cost. www.nydic.org
The Promising Practices in Afterschool (PPAS) system is designed for after school program directors to find and share promising practices in after school programs. PPAS also provides information to directors on finding funding and new curricula. The Promising Practices in Afterschool listserv, is an email list where after school program staff, youth workers, school-age care providers, educators, researchers, policymakers, and others can communicate. PPAS website: www.afterschool.org. PPAS listserv: www.afterschool.org/communicating.cfm.
Erin Harris, Research Assistant, HFRP
Hayley Yaffee, Student Intern, HFRP
Priscilla Little, Project Manger, HFRP