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www.HFRP.org

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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Research Update 7: Out-of-School Time Programs for Older Youth

This Research Update addresses the benefits, challenges, and successful strategies of OST programs for older youth, based on data from eight recent evaluations and research studies profiled in our OST Research and Evaluation Database.

Chris Wimer , Erin Harris (May 2011) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Research Update 6: Out-Of-School Time Programs In Rural Areas

Out-of-school time (OST) programming can be a crucial asset to families in rural areas where resources to support children’s learning and development are often insufficient to meet the community’s needs. This issue in our Research Update series addresses the benefits, challenges, and successful strategies of OST programs in rural areas.

Erin Harris , Helen Malone, Tai Sunnanon (March 2011) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Research Update 5: STEM Out-of-School Time Programs for Girls

Out-of-school time (OST) programs that focus on girls’ involvement in STEM can play an essential role in improving female representation in these traditionally male-dominated fields. OST programs offer girls a non-threatening and non-academic environment for hands-on learning that is collaborative, informal, and personal. However, barriers to quality implementation and outcome-based evaluation present challenges for STEM programs serving girls. This Research Update highlights findings from the evaluations and research studies in the OST Database that focus on STEM programs for girls.

Katie Chun , Erin Harris (January 2011) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Participation Over Time: Keeping Youth Engaged from Middle School to High School

This article in Afterschool Matters discusses strategies used by OST programs with high rates of participation.

Sarah Deschenes , Priscilla Little, Jean Grossman, Amy Arbreton (January 2011) Research Report

Research Update 4: 21st CCLC-Funded Afterschool Programs

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative provides funds for afterschool programs across the country and is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to afterschool programming. This issue in our Research Update: Highlights from the OST Database series, discusses the features and benefits of afterschool programs funded by the 21st CCLC initiative.

Erin Harris (November 2010) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Expanded Learning Opportunities in New Jersey—Pathways to Student Success

This Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) policy brief, prepared for New Jersey After 3’s Expanded Learning Time Summit in September 2010, describes the potential benefits of participation in a range of well-implemented ELO programs and initiatives for students of all ages, including afterschool and summer programming, and underscores the benefits of strong partnerships for learning between schools and out‐of‐school learning supports. It concludes with a set of key policy factors to consider when adopting different ELO approaches.

Priscilla M. Little (September 23, 2010) Research Report

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time (RESEARCH SYNOPSIS)

This research synopsis summarizes the findings from Engaging Older Youth, a new report from Harvard Family Research Project and Public/Private Ventures that highlights key strategies to promote out-of-school-time program participation among older youth.

Sarah N. Deschenes , Amy Arbreton, Priscilla M. Little, Carla Herrera, Jean Baldwin Grossman, Heather B. Weiss, with Diana Lee (April 2010) Research Report

Free. 12 Pages.

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time

This new report from Harvard Family Research Project and Public/Private Ventures highlights key strategies to promote out-of-school-time program participation among older youth.

Sarah N. Deschenes , Amy Arbreton, Priscilla M. Little, Carla Herrera, Jean Baldwin Grossman, Heather B. Weiss, with Diana Lee (April 2010) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Current Issue - Scaling Impact

This issue of The Evaluation Exchange explores the promising practices and challenges associated with taking an enterprise to scale, along with the role that evaluation can and should play in that process. It is the second in our “hard-to-measure” series, which we inaugurated with our Spring 2007 issue on evaluating advocacy.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Free. 24 Pages.

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 OSTschool partnerships for learning.

Harvard Family Research Project (March 2010) Research Report

Expanded Learning Opportunities — Pathways to Student Success

This paper highlights research on the promise of expanded learning approaches — including after-school, summer, extended day, and community networks—for education reform.

Priscilla M. Little (October 2009) Research Report

The Federal Role in Out-of-School Learning: After-School, Summer Learning, and Family Involvement as Critical Learning Supports (Voices in Urban Education, Summer 2009)

Our article in Voices for Urban Education makes a research-based case for the federal provision of out-of-school complementary learning supports.

Heather B. Weiss , Priscilla M.D. Little, Suzanne M. Bouffard, Sarah N. Deschenes, Helen Janc Malone (Summer 2009) Research Report

Featured Teaching Case: After School for Cindy

Harvard Family Research Project’s Teaching Cases support teacher training and professional development by highlighting challenges that schools, families, and communities may encounter in supporting children’s learning. In this month’s FINE newsletter, we feature After School for Cindy, which explores the roles that family members, school staff, and community organizations play in one child’s out-of-school time and demonstrates the importance of family engagement across learning contexts.

Harvard Family Research Project (August 2009) Research Report

Family Involvement Across Learning Settings

Families play important roles in supporting children’s learning not just in school but also in the many out-of-school contexts in which they learn. Harvard Family Research Project’s Helen Westmoreland talks about how families and nonschool learning settings, such as out-of-school time programs, museums, and libraries, can work together to promote student achievement.

Helen Westmoreland (August 2009) Research Report

A Day in the Life: Family Engagement in Citizen Schools

Emily Schneider-Krzys, the Deputy Program Director of Citizen Schools in Texas, explains how the Citizen Schools program’s focus on creating networks, building intentional relationships, and establishing consistent communication helps to engage families and support student learning.

Emily Schneider-Krzys (August 2009) Research Report

Complementary Learning Connections With Out-of-School Time Programs in Nebraska

When families, schools, and out-of-school supports work together, children are more likely to succeed. Lisa St. Clair writes about how the Nebraska State Parental Information and Resource Center is using a complementary learning approach to link family support programs with schools, early childhood programs, and out-of-school time programs.

Lisa St. Clair (August 2009) Research Report

Strengthen What Happens Outside School to Improve What Happens Inside

This article by Harvard Family Research Project in the April 2009 issue of  Phi Delta Kappan offers research-based recommendations for federal education legislation.

Heather Weiss , Priscilla Little, Suzanne M. Bouffard, Sarah N. Deschenes, Helen Janc Malone (April 2009) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

The Federal Role in Out-of-School Learning: After-School, Summer Learning, and Family Involvement as Critical Learning Supports

Four decades of research demonstrate that it is necessary to redefine learning—both where and when it takes place—if the country is to achieve the goal of educating all of its children. This report from Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) makes a research-based case for federal provision of out-of-school complementary learning supports, so that all students gain the skills necessary for success in the 21st century.

Heather B. Weiss , Priscilla M. D. Little, Suzanne M. Bouffard, Sarah N. Deschenes, Helen Janc Malone (February 2009) Research Report

Supporting Student Outcomes Through Expanded Learning Opportunities

This paper looks at the role of after school and summer learning programs in supporting student success. The paper explores how to bridge the divide between out-of-school time programs and schools by offering research-derived principles for effective expanded learning partnerships. It was commissioned by Learning Point Associates and the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (CBASS) as part of a report on school reform and expanded learning.

Priscilla M. Little (February 11, 2009) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Strengthening Out-Of-School Time Nonprofits: The Role of Foundations in Building Organizational Capacity

Commissioned by the Wallace Foundation as part of a three-part series, this paper looks at the role that foundations can play in building out-of-school time (OST) nonprofits' organizational capacity. In it, we suggest seven possible approaches to strengthening OST organizations, including methods to ensure that providers become stronger partners with other groups and more adept advocates for their field.

Heather Weiss , Priscilla M.D. Little (October 2008) Research Report

Research Update 3: Highlights From the Out-of-School Time Database

This publication explores how out-of-school time programs use evaluation to inform their programming and serve older youth and their families.

Erin Harris (September 2008) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Measurement Tools for Evaluating Out-of-School Time Programs: An Evaluation Resource

This Snapshot describes instruments used by current out-of-school time programs to evaluate their implementation and outcomes.

Christopher Wimer , Suzanne Bouffard, Priscilla M.D. Little, Claire Brown Goss (November 2005, updated August 2008) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

What is Complementary Learning?

This short publication will give you a quick overview and some concrete examples of complementary learning.  It includes information about what complementary learning looks like, some examples of complementary learning systems in practice today, and a description about what is different about complementary learning from traditional programs and services.  Finally, we'll introduce you to Marcus, a fictional teenager whose story illustrates how complementary learning can positively affect the lives of students from birth through adolescence.

Harvard Family Research Project (July 2008) Research Report

Testimony by Priscilla Little at the Hearing on "After School Programs: How the Bush Administration's Budget Impacts Children and Families"

HFRP's Priscilla Little testified at the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Hearing, “After School Programs: How the Bush Administration's Budget Impacts Children and Families” for the United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor on March 11, 2008.

Priscilla M. Little (March 11, 2008) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

After School Programs in the 21st Century: Their Potential and What it Takes to Achieve It

This research brief draws on seminal research and evaluation studies to address two primary questions: (a) Does participation in after school programs make a difference, and, if so (b) what conditions appear to be necessary to achieve positive results? The brief concludes with a set of questions to spur conversation about the evolving role of after school in efforts to expand time and opportunities for children and youth in the 21st century.

Priscilla M.D. Little , Christopher Wimer, Heather B. Weiss, Harvard Family Research Project (February 2008) Research Report

Free. 12 Pages.

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Published by Harvard Family Research Project