Informal learning experiences have become increasingly effective in enhancing self-efficacy and interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).This study investigated the impact of access to informal STEM learning experiences on student self-efficacy and interest in STEM before and after participating in the 2018 See Blue See STEM Summer Experience. Pre-survey results indicated that middle school students who had previous access to informal STEM learning experiences are 3.21 times as likely to demonstrate high self-efficacy in STEM as those who had no previous access. After engaging in the 2018 summer experience, post-survey results showed a statistically significant increase in student self-efficacy in STEM and indicated that students who had previous access to informal STEM learning experiences are 4.13 times as likely to manifest interest in STEM as those who had no previous access. These results suggest that increasing exposure to informal STEM learning experiences enhances both self-efficacy and interest in STEM.

This qualitative research aims to investigate identity positions of elementary school students with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) background in an afterschool book club. The increasing population of CLD students and their learning needs have become a national focus in American schools. Scholars have highlighted that understanding students’ identity positions and their interactions in social communities benefits teaching practices (Norton, 2013). Although the number of studies investigating identity in language and literacy education is increasing, most focus on English language learners (ELLs) who are currently enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) or ELL programs and few examine these students’ learning trajectories once they exit elementary school ESL programs. Research has shown that although the ELLs exit ESL programs, their culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds continue to impact their learning. This study attempts to investigate (a) what social practices contribute to elementary school students’ participation in the afterschool book club (b) how CLD students position their identities, (c) what discourses about CLD students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds emerge and shape their identities, and in an elementary school afterschool book club. The data sources of this study include audio and video recordings, observation field notes from the book club, semistructured interviews, and students’ written responses. I draw on Gee (2011) and Fairclough’s (2001) critical discourse analysis concepts and guidance to interpret responses during the data analysis process. The findings show that the afterschool book club provides multiple social functions that allows CLD students assume multiple identities, utilize their agency to negotiate, and create possible identities. For instance, this space allows the members of this book club to share their personal stories, challenge the conventions of a book club, maintain and expand their friendship circles, and share and listen to their peers’ diverse backgrounds. In addition, the discourses that emerge in the book club illustrate that the CLD students are keenly aware of their identities. However, power relations at different social levels also challenge these multiple identities. The findings of this study offer nuanced perspectives into the fields of foreign and second language education and literacy education. This study will contribute to teachers’ understanding of CLD students’ identity positions and to respond to Norton and Toohey’s (2011) call for a better understanding of how students learn in globalized sociocultural worlds. Implications for educators, teacher education programs, and researchers are also discussed in this study.

This study presents a formative evaluation of an afterschool program that combined youth development and school garden curricula. This program used a novel approach to teach elementary school children about fruits and vegetables and to engage them in advocacy for the physical activity and nutrition environments in their community. The youth development curriculum included sessions on team building, community pride, healthy eating and physical activity, and advocacy. Photovoice was used as a method to allow participants to assess their community and communicate findings with leaders. Participants selected community leaders to invite to their school and shared their findings via a presentation of the photographs and a plan for action. The school garden curriculum included lessons on plant parts, plant nutrients, site evaluation, and pollination. Participants planted and harvested vegetables in a raised bed constructed at their school. Formative evaluation was conducted through the use of an evaluation form to collect information about each session. Evaluations were examined to provide recommendations to strengthen future program design and implementation. Themes of the evaluation were: successful methods for engaging youth, issues within the social environment, and implications for program management. Successful methods for engaging youth included creative activities, working in pairs, and experiential activities. Issues in the social environment were behavioral problems, shyness, gender groups, and competition. Areas of concern for program management included recruitment, attendance, volunteer training, team building activities, and survey administration.

ABSTRACT THE REVOLUTION BEGINS AT 3PM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF A STATEWIDE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS PROGRAM by Corrie L. Davis The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers and staff members demonstrated caring toward their students within a statewide 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) afterschool program. The participants in the study included 17 program directors, 22 site coordinators, 16 teachers, 3 paraprofessionals, 11 parents, 11 principals, and 18 other stakeholders associated with the program. This multi-site case study utilized the naturalistic paradigm of qualitative research. The data collection process included 98 semi-structured interviews, 22 participant observations, 112 photographs, and document analyses with materials from the 20 grantees selected in the sample. The qualitative software program, Atlas.ti: The Knowledge Workbench (2003) assisted with the management and analysis of data during the coding, categorizing, and interpretation process. Findings from the study revealed 3 central themes: (a) staff members that care about the whole child educate the whole child, (b) using culture as an asset increases students’ desire to learn and (c) building character promotes positive change. By incorporating these attributes, the program’s staff demonstrated their commitment to the academic and democratic advancement of the students in their care. This study will help inform policy makers, afterschool advocates, and 21st CCLC stakeholders about the importance of incorporating caring, culturally relevant pedagogy, and character education within local and national afterschool programs.

This thesis explores the impacts of afterschool programs on youths’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion in small communities. A case study of the Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre in Ingersoll, Ontario was conducted to learn from youth about their experiences growing up, about the challenges they faced and the benefits they gained from participating in Fusion’s programs. This project focused on the youths’ perspectives, and employed various task-centered activities such as visualization and narrative techniques to engage youth and gather data. It also highlighted different tensions between youth and the community and how youth navigate these tensions while growing up. The study found that the space, staff and programs offered by the Fusion Youth Centre do change youths’ feelings of inclusion and exclusion in Ingersoll. However, there remains work to be done to change the systems of exclusions that make youth feel disconnected from their community.

I fritidshemmets verksamhet arbetar fritidspedagoger med IKT och digitala verktyg på olika sätt och i olika grad, och har i uppdrag att ge barnen en meningsfull fritid där deras behov och intresse står i centrum. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur fritidspedagoger uppfattar olika möjligheter som IKT erbjuder dem i sin undervisning samt vilka svårigheter som de upplever i sitt arbete med IKT i fritidshem. Metoden i denna studie är av kvalitativ ansats, där insamling av data har skett med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem verksamma fritidspedagoger. Studiens resultat visar att IKT och digitala verktyg erbjuder många olika möjligheter för såväl lärarens undervisning som barnens lärande och utveckling. Dock framkommer det att det finns aktuella svårigheter som upplevs av respondenterna, vilket i sin tur begränsar användandet av IKT i fritidshem.

Background: The rate of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 12-19 years has quadrupled since 1980. Reducing obesity is a key public health priority, as obesity is associated with individual and population-level health and economic consequences. Afterschool-based obesity prevention programs that aim to develop nutrition and culinary self-efficacy have shown promise. However, the level of aptitude among program instructors is directly correlated with student success, suggesting the importance of effective train-the-trainer (TTT) mechanisms for implementing and scaling up these strategies. Pink and Dude Chefs (PDC) is an afterschool nutrition education and culinary skills program for middle-school adolescents aged between 11-14 years. The PDC online TTT platform trains lay instructors on program content and preparation, lesson delivery, and classroom and kitchen safety. Trained instructors deliver PDC lessons on topics ranging from macronutrients and USDA MyPlate to knife skills and food preparation. The literature on online TTT models and instructor impact on student outcomes is limited and the PDC online training mechanism has not been evaluated. The current project sought to address these critical gaps with the aim of creating the most effective intervention model. Methods: This project was implemented in Santa Maria, Guadalupe, and New Cuyama, California from Fall 2015 to Spring 2016. Eleven instructors and 68 middle school students participated and comprehensive surveys were used to evaluate instructor and student outcomes. Results: Instructors’ performance on all three domains (food and kitchen safety, program knowledge, and overall knowledge) increased following training (45%, 63%, and 53%, respectively), all p≤0.01. Students outcomes (food and kitchen safety, nutrition knowledge, and overall knowledge) also improved following participation (14%, 33%, and 23%, respectively), all p≤0.001. Impact analyses revealed that students with instructors who scored high in overall knowledge performed better than students with low-scoring instructors (p=0.01). Conclusion: If obesity prevention programs that incorporate online TTT mechanisms, such as PDC, continue to show promising outcomes for both instructors and adolescents, larger scale efforts may contribute to decreasing the public health and economic burdens associated with obesity.

Peer-to-peer bullying negatively impacts over 20% of school-aged children annually. While much literature exists on bullying on school premises, peer-to-peer bullying outside of the classroom is still relatively understudied. Despite states' implementation of antibullying legislation, peer-to-peer bullying has continued in schools and other areas such as afterschool centers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate staff perceptions of peer-to-peer bullying in afterschool centers. It specifically investigated bullying and the hierarchical imbalance of power using Sidanius and Pratto's social dominance theory. The research questions were designed to investigate the staff members' knowledge of bullying at the Boys and Girls Club. A phenomenological approach was used and data were collected through one-on-one interviews of 11 Boys and Girls Club staff members. Data from the interviews were deductively coded and subjected to thematic analysis. Findings indicate that staff members do not have a uniform understanding of bullying behaviors, nor did they have a clear guidance on practices to minimize bullying which leads to continued peer-to-peer bullying at the Boys and Girls Club. Staff also reported that they have been offered little training on dealing with bullying behavior, nor are there clear policies in place to combat bullying behavior from participants in the afterschool program. Positive social change may be achieved by the implementation of recommendations to the Boys and Girls Club including mandatory antibullying training for staff and the creation and implementation of a comprehensive antibullying policy.

Den här studien handlar om de strategier som fritidshemslärare använder för att bygga relationer med elever, samt vilka faktorer och svårigheter som kan påverka dessa relationer. Studien analyserar data från kvalitativa, semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra fritidshemslärare från olika kommuner i Stockholm, Sverige, med hjälp av Lev Vygotskys sociokulturella perspektiv. Intervjuerna har genomförts på olika skolor för att jämföra erfarna och mindre erfarna lärares erfarenheter. I denna studie har vi även med tidigare forskning som undersökt olika aspekter av fritidshem och lärarnas roll i att skapa relationer med eleverna. Enligt resultaten av studien är både erfarna och mindre erfarna lärare engagerade i att skapa relationer med elever samt att utgå från deras behov, men de erfarna lärarna har en mer avancerad förmåga att identifiera individuella behov och styrkor och anpassa undervisningen därefter. Studien betonar vikten av kontinuerlig professionell utveckling för att lärare ska vara effektiva i sina roller för att främja elevers utveckling. Syftet med studien är att få en övergripande förståelse för de intervjuade lärarnas erfarenheter och perspektiv, samt att få insikter om deras strategier, viktiga faktorer och utmaningar i att bygga relationer med sina elever. / This study is about the strategies used by after-school teachers to build relationships with their students, as well as the factors and difficulties that can affect these relationships. The study analyzes data from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with four leisure teachers from different municipalities in Stockholm, Sweden, using Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective. The interviews were conducted in various schools in order to compare the experiences of experienced and less experienced teachers. The study builds on previous research that has investigated various aspects of after-school centers and the role of teachers in creating relationships with students. According to the study's findings, both experienced and less experienced teachers are committed to building relationships with students and addressing their individual needs, but the experienced teachers have a more advanced ability to identify individual needs and strengths and adapt teaching accordingly. The study emphasizes the significance of ongoing professional development for teachers for them to be effective in their roles of promoting student development. The study's goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the teacher’s interviewee’s experiences and perspectives, as well as to provide insights into their strategies and challenges in building relationships with their students.

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