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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 2: Highlights from the OST Database

Synthesizes findings from the profiles of 13 research and evaluation reports added to the OST Program Research and Evaluation Database in August 2007.

Chris Wimer (August 2007) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Building Villages to Raise Our Children: Six Volume Set

This set of six volumes offers practical advice for establishing and managing a family support program.

Harvard Family Research Project (1993) Research Report

Hard copy out of stock.

The Quality of School-Age Child Care in After-School Settings

This brief, published by Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, offers an overview of the features of high-quality after school settings, including an examination of key research on links between program quality and developmental outcomes. The brief also reviews current practice in program quality assessment, and a set of quality-related considerations for policymakers.

Priscilla M.D. Little (June 2007) Research Report

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.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 2007) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

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.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 2007) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Research Update 1: Highlights from the OST Database

This Research Update synthesizes findings from the profiles of 15 research and evaluation reports added to the Out-of-School Time Program Research and Evaluation Database in December 2006. It highlights strategies for assessing program processes as well as key outcomes and features of programs that promote positive outcomes.

Chris Wimer (April 2007) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Summer Success: Challenges and Strategies in Creating Quality Academically Focused Summer Programs

This brief looks at evaluations of 34 academically focused summer programs in order to distill challenges and compile promising strategies for creating quality summer programs.

Christopher Wimer , Rachel Gunther (October 2006) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Building and Evaluating Out-of-School Time Connections

This double issue of The Evaluation Exchange focuses on creating and evaluating connections between out-of-school time (OST) programs and the other settings in which children and youth live, learn, and play.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Free. 40 Pages.

Youth Out-of-School Time Participation: Multiple Risks and Developmental Differences

This paper examines whether youth who are at risk, according to child-, family-, school-, and neighborhood-level factors, are less likely to participate in out-of-school time activities, and whether the predictors depend on youth's age or socioeconomic status. Findings reveal that child- and family-level risks are most consistently related to youth's OST participation. However, these relationships emerge only in early and late adolescence, when youth have more autonomy in their decisions about non-school time use. For certain types of activities, namely those that require fees and financial commitments, contextual risks are more strongly associated with OST participation for higher SES families than for lower SES families.

Christopher Wimer , S. Simpkins, E. Dearing, S. Bouffard, P. Caronongan, H. Weiss (2006) Research Report

Demographic Differences in Patterns of Youth Out-of-School Time Activity Participation

This paper examines whether demographic differences exist in getting youth “in the door” of OST activities, as well as in the number of activities and the amount of time youth spend in activities. Results from two nationally representative datasets show that disadvantaged youth were less likely to participate in a variety of activities than their peers and that they participated in fewer activities. 

Suzanne Bouffard , C. Wimer, P. Caronongan, P. Little, E. Dearing, S. Simpkins (2006) Research Report

Relations Between Parenting and Positive Youth Development

This paper examines the bidirectional relationship between (a) parental involvement in education and out-of-school time (OST) activities and (b) youth participation in OST activities. Using longitudinal data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, the paper examines the direction of the parent involvement-youth participation relationship and whether youth OST participation mediates the relationship between parental involvement and youth academic and social outcomes.

Suzanne Bouffard , S.Simpkins, H. Kreider (July 2006) Research Report

Learning from Small-Scale Experimental Evaluations of After School Programs

This Snapshot reviews small-scale experimental evaluations of after school programs, highlighting these studies' evaluation strategies and results.

Christopher Wimer (May 2006) Research Report

Free. 8 Pages.

Society for Research on Adolescence Annual Meeting

This symposium featured findings from several studies funded by the William T. Grant Foundation on youth participation in out-of-school time activities, including contextual predictors, youth engagement, program quality, duration of participation, and youth outcomes.

Heather B. Weiss , Robert Granger, Chris Wimer, Reed Larson, Deborah Vandell, Jodie Roth (March 24, 2006) Conferences and Presentations

Free. Available online only.

What Are Kids Getting Into These Days? Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School Time Participation

This research brief examines demographic differences in youth's OST participation rates. It first provides information on current demographic differences in OST participation rates, and then looks at whether there is any evidence that such differences have changed in recent years. The brief concludes with implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

Christopher Wimer , Suzanne M. Bouffard, Pia Caronongan, Eric Dearing, Sandra Simpkins, Priscilla M. D. Little, Heather Weiss (March 2006) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

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.

Zenub Kakli , Holly Kreider, Priscilla Little, Tania Buck, Maryellen Coffrey (February 2006) Research Report

Free. 48 Pages.

Harnessing Technology in Out-of-School Time Settings

This Snapshot reviews the role of technology in OST programs, highlighting the evaluation methods and findings about implementation and youth outcomes.

Christopher Wimer , Billy Hull, Suzanne Bouffard (January 2006) Research Report

Free. 8 Pages.

Exploring Quality Standards for Middle School After School Programs: What We Know and What We Need to Know Summit

This summit, made possible through a grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, brought together after school staff, administrators, researchers, and funders to discuss how quality assessment looks and feels different for after school programs that serve middle school youth.

Helen Westmoreland , Priscilla Little (December 9, 2005) Conferences and Presentations

Free. Available online only.

American Youth Policy Forum

In this presentation, Engaging Adolescents in Out-of-School Time Programs: Learning What Works, Priscilla Little reported on the benefits of participation in out-of-school time activities, contextual predictors of youth participation in such activities, and strategies for improving recruitment and retention in out-of-school time programs. Remarks were presented at a session on engaging adolescents in out-of-school time programs at the American Youth Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., on October 7, 2005.

Heather B. Weiss , Sherri Lauver, Stephanie Davolos Harden (October 7, 2005) Conferences and Presentations

Free. Available online only.

After School for Cindy: Family, School, and Community Roles in Out-of-School Time Teaching Case

Second grade teacher Nikki believes that participation in a formal after school program would help her student Cindy academically at school. However, Cindy's single working mother Marla prefers to keep Cindy with her in the afternoons after her numerous struggles with securing quality affordable care in the community. What are the roles of family, school, and community in promoting children's learning and development in out-of-school time?

Ellen Mayer (2005) Teaching Case

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.

Harvard Family Research Project (September 22, 2005) Conferences and Presentations

Free. Available online only.

Participation in Youth Programs: Enrollment, Attendance, and Engagement

This is a special issue of New Directions for Youth Development journal edited by Heather B. Weiss, Priscilla M. D. Little, and Suzanne Bouffard, Vol. 2005, No. 105, Spring 2005. This issue unpacks the construct of participation in out-of-school time programming, posing a three-part equation: participation = enrollment + attendance + engagement.

Heather B. Weiss , Priscilla M. D. Little, Suzanne Bouffard (Spring 2005) Research Report

Finding the Right Hook: Strategies for Attracting and Sustaining Participation in After-School Programs

This article offers promising recruitment and retention strategies to school administrators seeking to boost participation rates in their school-based after school programs.

Sherri Lauver , Priscilla M. D. Little (May 2005) Research Report

Selection Into Out-of-School Time Activities: The Role of Family Contexts Within and Across Neighborhood

This poster examined disadvantage at the family and neighborhood level and their associations with participation in out-of-school time activities. Specifically, the authors demonstrate that neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) characteristics (i.e., income, education, and employment) mediate the association between family income, parent education, and ethnicity and children's participation in a variety of activities outside of school. Family income and parent education, for example, are positively associated with an increased probability of youth participating in before- and after-school programs, community programs, and community center activities, but this increased probability is explained entirely by the fact that children in higher income and more educated families live in higher SES neighborhoods. Poster session submitted to Society for Research on Adolescence 2006 Bienniel Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Christopher Wimer , Eric Dearing (2005) Research Report

Engaging Adolescents in Out-of-School Time Programs: Learning What Works

This article examines both the incentives and barriers that affect adolescents' participation in out-of-school time programs.

Priscilla M. D. Little , Sherri Lauver (2005) Research Report

Health and Sports/Recreation Program Evaluations

The Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) Out-of-School Time Program Evaluation Bibliography and Out-of-School Time Program Research and Evaluation Database both provide information on evaluations that have been conducted on sports/recreation and health-related out-of-school time (OST) programs, among other categories.

Erin Harris (March 2005) Research Report

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Published by Harvard Family Research Project