This dissertation explores how afterschool programming shaped New York City children’s experiences from the 1930s-1960s. Centering the many organizations that planned activities for children, I explore the beliefs and institutional dynamics that determined what the work of afterschool involved. With purposes spanning education, recreation, physical and mental health, childcare, assimilation, racial equity, and more, afterschool was both a practical resource and a place to imagine what urban childhood should look like. It became part of the landscape of New York City neighborhoods, inhabiting schools, settlement houses, community centers, storefronts, churches, and housing. By framing afterschool as a resource and investigating how it was administered and operated, we see that it could provide unprecedented opportunities, but it was not distributed fully and equitably. Designated as a supplemental service for parents and schools that lacked other options, afterschool has long been called upon to fix social and educational problems without sufficient funding or attention.

“What does it mean to be a person in the world?” has been a question that initiated this study with young people in an alternative-to-detention afterschool program. I used a participatory ethnographic approach to explore how a group of young people identify themselves by negotiating the labels placed on them. This study engaged with the philosophical reflections of Du Bois’s double consciousness and Greene’s continuous being to offer a conceptual framework of multi-consciousness. This multi-consciousness framework offered a way to examine young people’s geographical, ideological, linguistic, social, economical, and other representational boundaries. Similar to the intrinsically intertwined banyan tree, young people's lives intertwined through their demographic identities, their involvement in the digital and physical spaces, and their status in the justice system. The data for the study were collected through a participatory ethnographic approach using traditional ethnographic methods, such as conducting interviews, making participant observant, and co-producing artifacts with young people. These artifacts provided insight into the intricate relationships of how young people practice everyday citizenship in their daily lives. This study called for the embodiment of humane citizenship that included young people—particularly those in the juvenile justice system—to engage not as ornamental collaborators, but rather as genuine contributors who shape how we freely include and participate across the multiple networks in which we live and exist.

Children who are overweight and physically inactive are a great concern due to the potential negative health consequences. Afterschool physical activity interventions have become increasingly popular in hopes of addressing these health risks. An afterschool program that has drawn attention in recent years is one with a physical activity component known as Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH). The present study examined the effect the CATCH program had on MVPA and physical fitness in children in grades 3 to 6 attending the YMCA afterschool program. Results indicated a significant increase in overall daily MVPA (p=0.047) as well as physical fitness (p=0.000) from baseline to post-test. It was also found that children attending the afterschool program were already accumulating substantial daily MVPA during their regular afterschool program. These findings indicate that while CATCH was successful in increasing MVPA, students attending afterschool programs may already be obtaining sufficient MVPA during afterschool time.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 2, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-120). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2008. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Under the direction of Linda M. Arthur. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-128) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2010. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-145).

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-152).

This thesis explored the connection between rural youth health/wellbeing and after-school programs as perceived by adult after-school program staff and affiliated community members. For this qualitative case study, purposive sampling was used to recruit eighteen key informants who participated in individual semi-structured interviews and one validation focus group. Informants described health and wellbeing in relation to youth as including three integrated dimensions – mental health, physical health, and having resources and supports. Three intervening factors connected attendance at the program with health and wellbeing – the eclectic mix of activities, relationships and connections, and having a designated “place for youth”. Positive health/wellbeing outcomes included reduced stress, staying positive, feeling accepted, engaging in physical activity, learning to have goals, building skills, making healthy choices, and reducing the need for risk-taking behaviours. These results can inform future impact evaluations addressing youth health/wellbeing and guide program planning decisions.

No description available.