Student assets and commitment to learning in an afterschool leadership development program: Looking beyond the myths

The present study is the first reported analysis of participant data from an after-school leadership development program targeting the elementary to middle school transition for 5th grade students. Data were collected from 2012 to 2015 from 261 adolescents who self-selected to participate in the after-school program and provided parental consent/assent; 60% of the sample were female, 24% lived in rural areas, and 33% attended schools in low SES areas. Participants completed the Developmental Assets Profile (Search Institute, 2005) and a demographic questionnaire. Outcomes of interest for the analysis included relationships between sample characteristics (SES; rural vs. non rural), support and empowerment (external assets), and positive values and commitment to learning (internal assets). Cluster analyses identified three distinct groups of high, average, and low asset students; contrary to what was hypothesized, it is not only high asset students who self-select to participate in a