TY - JOUR
T1 - From quality to outcomes
T2 - a national study of afterschool STEM programming
AU - Allen, Patricia J.
AU - Chang, Rong
AU - Gorrall, Britt K.
AU - Waggenspack, Luke
AU - Fukuda, Eriko
AU - Little, Todd D.
AU - Noam, Gil G.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Ron Ottinger of the STEM Next Opportunity Fund, Gwynn Hughes of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and Victoria Wegener of Mainspring Consulting for their continuous support throughout this project. We also thank Dr. Ashima Shah and Rebecca Brown at The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience for leading trainings and aiding quality observations and interpretations using the Dimensions of Success (DoS) observation tool. We thank the network leads of the 11 state afterschool networks, their staff, and all 158 programs, especially their educators, children, and youth. We could not have done this work without everyone’s active participation.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank Ron Ottinger of the STEM Next Opportunity Fund, Gwynn Hughes of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and Victoria Wegener of Mainspring Consulting for their continuous support throughout this project. We also thank Dr. Ashima Shah and Rebecca Brown at The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience for leading trainings and aiding quality observations and interpretations using the Dimensions of Success (DoS) observation tool. We thank the network leads of the 11 state afterschool networks, their staff, and all 158 programs, especially their educators, children, and youth. We could not have done this work without everyone?s active participation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Author(s).
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - Background: State afterschool networks across the US are engaged in system-building efforts to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-focused afterschool programming. This study examined national trends in STEM program quality, youth outcomes, and the connections between these two data sources. Methods: One thousand five hundred ninety-nine youths (grades 4–12) enrolled in 158 STEM-focused afterschool programs across 11 state networks completed a retrospective self-assessment measuring STEM attitudes and social-emotional learning (SEL)/twenty-first-century skills. Two hundred fifty standardized observations of STEM activities were performed to measure STEM program quality. Results: (1) Most youth (65–85%) reported increases in STEM engagement, identity, career interest, career knowledge, relationships, critical thinking, and perseverance, with the largest gains reported by those engaging with STEM activities for 4 weeks or more; (2) there were significant, strong correlations between STEM and SEL/twenty-first-century outcomes reported by youth; and (3) youth participating in higher-quality STEM programming reported more growth than peers participating in lower-quality programs. Conclusion: This effort demonstrates how investments in STEM program quality yield high returns for programs and youth and how collaborations between research and practice can track successes and challenges, determine investments in program management, and expand advocacy and policy efforts. Additionally, this study supports a growing body of literature that suggests a synergy between youth development and STEM learning approaches that can improve outcomes for youth.
AB - Background: State afterschool networks across the US are engaged in system-building efforts to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-focused afterschool programming. This study examined national trends in STEM program quality, youth outcomes, and the connections between these two data sources. Methods: One thousand five hundred ninety-nine youths (grades 4–12) enrolled in 158 STEM-focused afterschool programs across 11 state networks completed a retrospective self-assessment measuring STEM attitudes and social-emotional learning (SEL)/twenty-first-century skills. Two hundred fifty standardized observations of STEM activities were performed to measure STEM program quality. Results: (1) Most youth (65–85%) reported increases in STEM engagement, identity, career interest, career knowledge, relationships, critical thinking, and perseverance, with the largest gains reported by those engaging with STEM activities for 4 weeks or more; (2) there were significant, strong correlations between STEM and SEL/twenty-first-century outcomes reported by youth; and (3) youth participating in higher-quality STEM programming reported more growth than peers participating in lower-quality programs. Conclusion: This effort demonstrates how investments in STEM program quality yield high returns for programs and youth and how collaborations between research and practice can track successes and challenges, determine investments in program management, and expand advocacy and policy efforts. Additionally, this study supports a growing body of literature that suggests a synergy between youth development and STEM learning approaches that can improve outcomes for youth.
KW - Afterschool
KW - Quality
KW - STEM
KW - Social-emotional learning
KW - System-building
KW - Twenty-first-century skills
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075138511&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s40594-019-0191-2
DO - 10.1186/s40594-019-0191-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075138511
SN - 2196-7822
VL - 6
JO - International Journal of STEM Education
JF - International Journal of STEM Education
IS - 1
M1 - 37
ER -