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Forskning visar att utevistelse har en positiv inverkan på elevers lärande och kan vara länken mellan teori och praktik. Genom att vara utomhus och vistas i olika utemiljöer påverkas både vårt fysiska och psykiska välmående positivt, vilket vidare påverkar vår inlärning. Enligt läroplanen ska fritidshemmet komplettera skolan genom att erbjuda eleverna undervisning i olika utemiljöer och genom upplevelsebaserade lärandesituationer. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka fritidslärares erfarenheter och uppfattningar av utemiljöns pedagogiska möjligheter. Studien grundar sig på två frågeställningar: Vilka möjligheter kan fritidslärare se i olika utemiljöer som pedagogiska arenor? Hur uppger fritidslärarna att de använder utemiljöer i den fritidspedagogiska verksamheten? Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i studien grundar sig utifrån teorin om affordance. I vår undersökning används kvalitativ metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer, där sex fritidslärare deltog. Utifrån den kvalitativa analysmetoden resulterade detta till studiens fyra olika huvudteman: Utemiljö- en viktig lärmiljö, Skogen som upptäcksplats, Vatten- ett viktigt element och Skolgård- en planerad och spontan arena. Resultatet visar att fritidslärarna ser utemiljön som en självklar och viktigt lärmiljö i undervisningen på fritidshemmet. Fritidslärarna lyfter fram pedagogiska möjligheter på skolgården, skogen samt platser där det finns tillgång till vatten. Slutsatser som kan dras utifrån studien är att olika utemiljöer används för att utveckla elevernas kognitiva, sociala och fysiska förmågor. Utemiljön kan vidare användas för att eleverna ska få uppleva ett mer praktiskt och utforskande arbetssätt, vilket kan förstärka elevernas teoretiska kunskaper. / Research shows that the outdoor environment has a positive impact on students learning and can be a supporting link between theory and practice. Being outdoors and visiting different outdoor environments, both human physical and mental well- being are positively affected, which supports learning. According to the curriculum, the after school program should supplement the school by offering students teaching in different outdoor environments and through experience-based learning situations. The aim of this study is to examine after school teachers experiences and perspective of the educational opportunities of the outdoor environment. The study is based on two questions: What opportunities can after school teachers see in different outdoor environments as educational arenas? How do afterschool teachers state that outdoor environment are used in after school programs? The study is based on the theory of affordance. In our study, qualitative methodology was used in the form of six semi-structured interviews with after school teachers. Based on a qualitative method of analysis, this resulted in four main themes: The outdoor environment – an important learning environment, The forest as a place of discovery, Water – an important element and The schoolyard – a planned and spontaneous arena. The result shows that the after school teachers see the outdoor environment as an obvious and important learning environment in the education at the after school program. The after school teachers highlight educational opportunities in the school yard, the forest and places where there is access to water. Conclusions that can be drawn from the study are that different outdoor environments are used to develop students cognitive, social and physical abilities. Furthermore, the outdoor environment can be used to allow students to experience a more practical and exploratory way of working, which can strengthen the student’s theoretical knowledge.

Previous research has shown that the existence of after school program is beneficial for children's health and their academic performance. Lorensborgsskolan, an elementary school situated in Malmö, implemented a project called “From movement in school to being active in organized sports” where they started a school sport organization. The project seeks to increase the amount of children active in external sport organizations and to make the transition more accessible. The project collaborated with Hemmaplan which is an initiative from the Scanian Basketball Federation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to discuss the prerequisites for implementing Lorensborgsskolans project “From movement in school to being active in organized sports” from a sustainable perspective. The sustainable perspective contains three concepts: social, environmental and economical. Three research questions has been formulated.How was the preparation of this project in relation to sustainability?What challenges can be identified when implementing this project?What benefits can be identified when implementing this project?Interviews, observation and document analysis were the methods used in this research and the data was analyzed through a six step coding process. The result and analysis were divided in three paragraphs named after the research questions connected to the theory. The research findings indicate how this project would give the children a protective factor outside of school. According to the collected result the children should be given the access to pursue sport in the entire city of Malmö and to work on their social skills. In conclusion, an external analysis should have been done before the implementation of the project. The financial aspect is identified as a challenge. For the children to be a part of the school’s sport organization is free of charge in contrast with external sport organizations where this does not imply.

In the past 20 years, the way in which food is prepared has rapidly changed. Convenience has become a way of life and Americans have replaced meals made from scratch with meals that are quick and easy. During that time, body mass index has risen steadily. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children has become common in the American population. “Pink Chefs,” a six-week culinary intervention for middle school girls 12 to 14-years-old, was developed and piloted to combat childhood obesity by teaching nutrition through basic cooking skills. The social cognitive theory was used as the theoretical framework. The goals of this program were to increase the subjects’ self-efficacy for cooking; to build knowledge for healthful dietary practices; and to provide a fun and safe environment conducive for interactive learning. This culinary enrichment program was piloted in reduced-income communities in south San Luis Obispo County, California, with 22 self-selected participants. Surveys were used to measure self-efficacy, knowledge, barriers and diet pre- versus post-intervention. Post-intervention measures demonstrated a significant (p = 0.005) intervention effect on self- efficacy for cooking. No significant increases were observed for knowledge, barriers and diet. This research, like that of Larson et al. (2006), illustrated that honing both skills and knowledge learned in a practical setting is one of the first steps for increasing self-efficacy for dietary improvements.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att belysa hur pedagoger tänker kring och arbetar med genus på fritidshemmet. Frågeställningarna behandlar även hur genusordningen på skolan och skolkulturen påverkar verksamheten ur ett genusperspektiv. Som empirisk grund för arbetet har vi gjort fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med pedagoger som arbetar på fritidshemmet på två mångkulturella skolor i Stockholm samt på en svensk skola i ett spansktalande land. Med hjälp av genusteoretiska perspektiv visar resultatet av studien att pedagoger på fritidshemmet tänker och arbetar olika med genus i verksamheten. Vi har sett exempel på att pedagoger bidrar till upprätthållandet av stereotypa könsdefinitioner genom att till exempel tala om flickor och pojkar som två olika enhetliga grupper. I resultatet har vi även sett hur pedagoger kan möjliggöra elevers identitetsskapande genom att inte göra skillnad på elever grundat på föreställningar om kön. Det har också framgått att det råder olika kulturer på varje skola och gemensamt för alla tre skolor i undersökningen är att skolkulturen påverkar hur pedagoger tänker kring och arbetar med genus i verksamheten. / The purpose of this study is to illustrate how educators relate to gender in after-school programs and how school culture affects educators and students. Our questions also deal with gender order in school and how cultural factors affect the gender perspective in after-school programs. As empirical basis for our study we did four qualitative interviews with educators at two multicultural schools in Stockholm and one Swedish school in a Spanish-speaking country. The results of the study show that the educators at the after-school programs relate different to the students in school from a gender perspective. We have seen examples of educators maintaining stereotyped gender definitions by talking about girls and boys as two different uniform groups. The results also show how educators can create possibilities for students to find different identities by not making any differences between the students based on gender. It has also emerged that there are different cultures at each school and common to all three schools in the survey is that the school culture affects how educators think about and work with gender.

As of today, gender questions in Swedish schools is an emerging paradigm where pedagogues work with different kinds of methods in order to teach kids the importance of equality between the genders. However numerous studies and reports show that there is an asymmetrical balance in how boys and girls get differed based on group identity. This imbalance changes the pedagogues’ approach on how he or she communicates and approaches their students based on students’ gender. In this study we have chosen to look through the kids’ perspective with quantity methods such as an inquiry to find out if there is a difference between boys and girls on how they perceive their existence during the time they spend in after-school programs. We have also chosen to look if there is a difference between two after-school programs in two different schools. The two after-school programs are categorized as monocultural and multicultural and this is based on school location. We analyzed the empirical data evidence from the two different after-school programs through an intersectional perspective and a cognitive perspective. What the study found out was that boys and girls have different opinions on what they think about their afterschool programs. Despite the two different locations, both after-school programs had similar answers, which means that boys and girls are experiencing the same things although the location of the schools differ. The outcome was that girls might have a slight advantage than boys going to after-school program because girls find their experience more positive than boys during the time they spend in afterschool programs. Girls thrive to a greater extent than boys, girls find it easier to talk to a teacher than boys, girls had a much better understanding how school and after-school programs are inter related. This paper shows how important it is to give all students the same equality of opportunity in order for everyone to thrive and have similar feelings towards their after-school program.

Public libraries are evolving from their traditional role as promoters of literacy to a new role as providers of community resources, including after-school activities for teenagers. A policy mandate for such activities appears to be lacking though, which might impact negatively their effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of the existing policy and implementation mechanisms of after-school activities offered by the Atlanta Fulton Library System in Georgia to at-risk teenaged patrons. Moore's theory of innovation and public value provided the theoretical framework for the study. An embedded case study research design was used to explore the perceived role of the public library, guiding policy framework, and factors constraining the implementation of after-school activities in 3 of the system 20 branches serving at-risk youth; semi-structured interviews with 21 participants comprising teenagers engaged in after-school activities, parents, librarians, library managers, and members of the Friends of the library; observations of teenagers' behaviors in the library setting; and publicly available document on the subject. The data were inductively coded and then subjected to a content analytical procedure, which revealed 5 after-school themes: bridging a digital divide, teen and community needs, public policy, and public service. The key finding of this study indicates an absence of a system-wide formal policy in how after-school services are provided across library branches for at-risk teenagers. The study concludes with recommendations to reexamine the existing after-school programs in a way that better incorporates the unique needs of library patrons and to align policies with these needs in order to better serve at-risk youth within the context of their communities.

Regarding California's current educational system, educators, legislators and parents express concern about state standards and what happens when students do not meet the standards. Schools are implementing state- and district-mandated curricula to assist the students in meeting the state standards, but not all students are achieving this learning goal. Many districts are turning to after-school programs to help meet the needs of the students. Programs have spread throughout the country because of the federal and state grants, such as the 21 st Century Grant. One district that received money was the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD), which serves students in Watsonville and Aptos, California. This study focused on a curriculum model for the after-school program in PVUSD. The curriculum incorporated theories of language learning and acquisition, appropriate curriculum models for English Learners, and research-based effective teaching strategies. The study is a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative data. Twenty-four students from three schools in PVUSD participated in interviews, classroom observations and analysis of classroom work. Sixty students took a pre-and-post IPT Reading Tests and the QIA Oral Reading Test. Thirty of the sixty students were in classes using the content based ELD curriculum in an after-school program and the other thirty were also in the after-school program using the district adopted Hampton Brown program. The data from the total scores on both the reading and the oral language tests showed that the group that used the district created ELD curriculum scored significantly higher than the group that used Hampton Brown. The group that used the district created ELD curriculum also scored significantly higher on three of the four subtests on the IDEA Reading Test. From the interviews, classroom observations and analyzing student work, four themes emerged. These themes were enjoyment in learning English, feeling safe at school and getting help, lower anxiety and engaging activities. The curriculum was proven to be successful to some degree and the students were able to give the researcher and the district input as to the effect that the curriculum and the after-school program has had on their learning and their lives.