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.
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A Conversation With Jane Quinn
Assistant Executive Director for Community Schools Partnerships at the Children’s Aid Society in New York, Jane Quinn spoke with us about how the after school field has evolved and what she thinks the future holds.
Perspectives: Guiding Families on Children’s Media Use
Three experts reflect on their work in engaging families in a digital learning environment. We asked them to address the question, How can institutions offer relevant and useful guidance to parents and families about scaffolding their children’s digital media use?
Partnerships for Learning: Promising Practices in Integrating School and Out-of-School Time Program Supports
This new report from HFRP is aimed to help out-of-school time (OST) program leaders, decision-makers, and funders to understand and implement effective OST–school partnerships for learning.
Social Media—Engaging Families in Children's Learning and Use of Digital Media
Are you interested in using social media to find out how families can navigate digital media to enhance children’s learning? Start here—we guide you to organizations and individuals that bring the latest DML research into public focus!
Electronic Resources
A list of useful resources on the Internet.
Findings From HFRP's Study of Predictors of Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities: Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet summarizes findings and implications from HFRP's recently completed Study of Predictors of Participation in OST Activities. With funding from the W.T. Grant Foundation, we examined the child, family, school, and neighborhood predictors of children's participation in OST activities, paying special attention to disadvantaged youth.
Free. Available online only.
After School Evaluation Symposium
This 2-day meeting brought together the perspectives of diverse stakeholders to inspire new ideas and foster stronger links between research, practice, and policy. Participants discussed issues of access, quality, professional development, the role of evaluation research, and systems-building efforts.
Free. Available online only.
Q & A With Susan Leger Ferraro and Fran Hurley: Learning Through Technology-Infused Play
Creative anywhere, anytime learning experiences take center stage at Imajine That Museum and Educational Play Space, where families bring their children to play, socialize, and learn together as a family. Read this exciting Q and A with Susan Leger Ferraro and Fran Hurley, about how Imajine That provides an array of innovative learning opportunities to enthusiastic families.
New & Noteworthy
The New & Noteworthy section features an annotated list of papers, organizations, initiatives, and other resources related to this issue's theme of Out-of School Time.
Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School Time Participation: A Research Summary
This 2-page Research Summary synthesizes findings from two HFRP publications that examine demographic differences in children's OST participation. This summary, which contains a subset of findings contained in the Fact Sheet, presents key findings on differences in multiple dimensions of participation in a range of OST activities and among youth from varying family income levels and racial and ethnic groups.
Free. Available online only.
CORAL: A Multi-Site Initiative to Improve Academic Achievement and Build Community Capacity
Kathleen Hebbeler of SRI International describes the evaluation of CORAL, which seeks to help communities view academic achievement as the shared responsibility of multiple sectors of the community.
Strengthening Family Ties
Sharon Hemphill and Holly Kreider describe how the Boys & Girls Clubs of America is implementing and evaluating an initiative that goes “beyond the walls” to support families in order to promote children’s success.
After School Programs for High School Students: Launching the Evaluation of After School Matters
Barton Hirsch and Larry Hedges present their innovative design for evaluating After School Matters, a Chicago initiative that draws on connections with community members, businesses, and schools.
Building the After School Field: A Conversation With Evaluators, Policymakers, and Practitioners
Karen Horsch and Kathleen Hart of HFRP summarize HFRP's conversations with after school evaluators, researchers, and stakeholders to map the out-of-school time field.
Youth Involvement in Evaluation & Research
This brief draws on information collected from focus group interviews with representatives of 14 programs that are involving youth in their evaluation and research efforts. It examines the elements of successful youth involved research projects and offers short profiles of the 14 organizations included in the study.
Hard copy out of stock. Available online only.
Staff Characteristics and Professional Development in Quality After School Programs
Denise Huang describes her work with the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning to identify best practices for learning in after school programs, including characteristics of effective professional development.
A Conversation With Audrey Hutchinson
Audrey Hutchinson of National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families discusses the evaluation of linked after school services by cities.
Discovery Youth: A Museum-Based Program Connecting Youth With Community
Jessica Intrator from the Children's Discovery Museum describes a program that connects youth with a community institution to promote technology skills, health awareness, and positive social and academic outcomes.
Seamless and Connected—Education in the Digital Age
Through connected learning, says Mizuko Ito, schools, museums, and libraries are employing innovative strategies, leveraging digital media to make learning more relevant and engaging to youth, and linking the crucial spheres in a learner’s life—peers, interests, and academic pursuits.
Project HOPE: Working Across Multiple Contexts to Support At-Risk Students
In this article, Barbara Jentleson and Helen Westmoreland, from Duke University, highlight the mechanism of connecting complementary-learning contexts through staffing patterns and practices.
Coaching for Quality
Sarah Jonas describes the Children's Aid Society's model of site-based coaching for quality after school programming and the supports they provide to build the capacity of their coaches.
Designing Quality Assessment Tools in Early Childhood Education and Youth Development
Ted Jurkiewicz and Charles Hohmann from the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation describe the design of High/Scope's new Youth Program Quality Assessment tool.
Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School
This comprehensive, easy-to-read guide to understanding how to engage families in after school programs is a critical resource for after school providers looking to create or expand an existing family engagement program. It offers a research base for why family engagement matters, concrete program strategies for engaging families, case studies of promising family engagement efforts, and an evaluation tool for improving family engagement practices.
Free. 48 Pages.
Engaging Families in Out-of-School Time Programs
A group of researchers illlustrate how the practice of family engagement can link the out-of-school time, school, and home contexts.
Extracting Evaluation Lessons From Four Recent Out-of-School Time Program Evaluations
Thomas J. Kane from the University of California, Los Angeles, distills lessons for future research from his review of four recent after school program evaluations.