Much educational research is currently devoted to determining the most effective instructional strategies for raising student achievement. The instructional strategy used in this study is curriculum integration, which is defined as the process of students and teachers collaboratively designing curriculum and studying real-world problems. The purpose of this study was to understand the implementation of curriculum integration with upper elementary school students in an afterschool program. For this study the guiding research question was "What are the dynamics of implementing curriculum integration with fourth through sixth graders in an afterschool program setting?" The subquestions were (1) What is the teacher's role in implementing curriculum integration in the program? (2) What is the role of student diversity in the implementation of curriculum integration in the program? (3) What is the role of the democratic classroom model in curriculum integration in the program? and (4) What is the role of college-age tutors in curriculum integration in the program? There are several factors to consider when examining a complex concept like curriculum integration. The study concluded that a number of conditions impact the success of implementing curriculum integration in an afterschool program for fourth to sixth graders, including the impact of the federal No Child Left Behind accountability act on the tutors', parents', and children's perceptions of the value of instructional activities that were not textbook-based and awareness of the importance of homework. The study concluded with eight recommendations for those who attempt to implement curriculum integration in an afterschool program. All stakeholders should understand the program's goals, and all program staff should have extensive training in curriculum integration and homework tutoring before and during the program's operation. Resources should be allocated with flexibility. Program evaluation should take into consideration factors not easily quantified. The program should meet daily for at least 3 hours at the school site. Ongoing supervision should prevent a lapse in program implementation. Program implementation should be considered on a continuum, with the goal being a fully implemented program. Mandatory staff meetings should be held each week. More research needs to be conducted on the full implementation of curriculum integration.

This thesis provides a review of after school research with a special focus on selected research methods. It identifies several important methodological issues in the literature which have contributed to a sometimes confusing body of research for after school program coordinators and service staff to interpret. The potential utility of evaluability assessment (EA) in the field of after school program research is discussed, and EA is proposed as a pre-evaluation method to be adapted as the first step in the scientific process for subsequent evaluative research. EA techniques are then applied in the initial phase of a partnership with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation's after school program. Structural and theoretical recommendations are provided, and specific topics for future research initiatives are identified. The incorporation of a specified EA criteria into the evaluative process is recommended, so as to provide timely, relevant, and useful information for both practitioners and academics. This thesis aims to further reduce the disconnect between research and practice in the field of after school, out-of-school-time, and youth recreation research. / Tourism and Sport

The study involved 87 school-age participants in the Zhang Sah afterschool program located in Philadelphia, PA during the 2015-2016 school years. The study sought to identify if relationships exist between the participants’ results for physical competency as measured by Fitnessgram™, socio-emotional competency as measured by SAYO™, and cognitive competency as measured by school report card grades and literacy levels. The study’s findings revealed participants’ achieving levels of competency in fitness, socio-emotional learning and academic achievement. The most significant variables related to the participants’ results were adiposity, Body Mass Index, and low socio-economic status. The older school-age participants’ results revealed few significant associations between fitness and socio-emotional learning except for associations between core body strength and leadership, and resilience and science grades. The young school-age participants’ results revealed significant associations between flexibility and science grades, as well as socio-emotional learning and grades and reading level. / Educational Leadership

Studiens syfte är att belysa och analysera hur fritidspersonalen uppfattar uppdraget i fritidshemsverksamheten samt om deras uppfattning påverkas av deras olika bakgrunder. Vi menar med bakgrund vad de har för erfarenhet samt deras utbildningsnivåer. I vår studie har vi använt oss av kvalitativa intervjuer för att införskaffa datamaterial, detta har vi gjort i två fritidshemsverksamheter. För att kunna analysera och kategorisera vårt inhämtade datamaterial har vi utgått från den teoretiska utgångspunkten fenomenografi.   Vi intervjuade fjorton personer som arbetar i fritidshemmet och av dem var det bara en högskoleutbildad fritidspedagog, resterande hade ingen liknande utbildning och baserade sina kunskaper på erfarenhet. Med fenomenografi som utgångspunkt kunde vi kategorisera fritidspersonalens uppfattningar om uppdraget i fyra kategorier. Dessa kategorier var fostran, barnen, aktiviteter och vuxnas samverkan. Vi fick även fram uppfattningar om deras syn på utbildning och dess relevans för fritidshemsverksamheten. Ytterligare framgår det om hur fritidspersonalen beskriver hur det är att arbeta i fritidshemmet. / The purpose of this study is to illuminate and analyze how afterschool educators perceive their assignments in leisure activities and whether the perception is influenced by their backgrounds. With backgrounds we mean what experience they have and what their level of education is. In our study we have used qualitative interviews to acquire data, we have done this in two afterschool centers. In order to analyze and categorize our collected data we have used the theoretical point of phenomenography.   We have interviewed fourteen people who works in afterschool centers and it was only one of them who had an afterschool teacher degree, the rest had no similar education and based their knowledge on experience. With phenomenography we could categorize the perceptions of the afterschool teachers in four categories. These categories were nurture, children, activities and cooperation between teachers. We also obtained perceptions about their views on education and its relevance to afterschool center. Furthermore the afterschool teachers describe how it is to work in afterschool center.

This thesis is about the Reading and Writing for Filmmaking Afterschool program, an extracurricular focus group centered around engaging urban immigrant and minority working-class high school students in a discussion about high school dropout using participatory video as a methodological tool. The program was created under the assumption that, (1) within 'free spaces' students who are encouraged to express themselves and explore their social realities through innovative methods will reveal their understanding of high school dropout and the factors contributing to it, and (2) the way these students conceptualize and talk about high school dropout is significant to understanding this phenomenon. Through participatory video, observation, interviews, and storyboard narratives, I examine the discourse of minority and immigrant students as a means of understanding their cultural assumptions and observations of school dropout. As a result, this paper illuminates the issue of immigrant educational retention and attrition in an urban public school setting.

The purpose of this study is to look into what qualifications required necessary to a collaboration between the school library and the afterschool recreational center. The research questions are: 1) What is the position regarding school librarians to collaboration between the school library and the afterschool recreational center? 2) What qualifications are required of school librarians, according to themselves, in order to collaborate with recreational teachers? 3) How can school librarians view on collaboration and need of competence relate to the Afterscool Recreational Center with the support of the TLC- model? The method used is qualitative research interviews with six school librarians. The interviews took place at their place of work. The theoretical framework for the study have been Montiell-Overalls Theory on collaboration between school librarians and teachers, TLC. The outcome of the interviews shows that in collaboration and competences, as requested in research issues, is of importance of how the principal and school management organizes the work at the schools and it plays a major role in the ability to collaborate. It also shows that school librarians are positive of collaboration but the school's organization is one reason why it is difficult to find time to collaborate. The outcome also shows that the activities of the school library are important for collaboration. Connections between the School Library and the Afterschool Recreational Center lies in the difference and the similarities between them. The qualifications school librarians believe they have can also be used during recreational time. Their functions in their pedagogical work are meant to operate enriching for the students’ progress growth.  Further research within the area is to look into what priorities the school management think is the school libraries assignment towards the after school recreational center and what result the students will get with that pedagogical method that TLC is.

This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate improving the reading performance of fifthgrade students through an afterschool reading program to determine whether it was effective in teaching Native American and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This study compared the reading performance of fifth-grade students who struggle with reading, with those who attend an afterschool reading program, and students in both conditions were taught to apply the strategies to reading comprehension, spelling, coached reading, and vocabulary, and then practiced the strategies to independent reading performance. Reading intervention was introduced to improve students who had difficulties with learning expository reading performance. The students‟ scores on the Florida Instruction in Reading (FAIR) were used as pre-assessment data and included the instructional sequences and practices with struggling readers as well as the data collected through classroom observation. It focused on improving the fluency and the reading comprehension of these students and FAIR was used as a post-test assessment. It addressed the problem of poor reading skills of students at Southeastern Elementary School (SES). Statewide tests had shown that fifth grade students at SES were reading on a third-grade level, and these students were reading below two grade level gaps as evidenced by test scores on the FCAT. The purpose of this study was to describe and investigate the long-term impact of the program on the student, as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores, in reading performance as well as report scores, in elementary schools in Florida

I denna uppsats presenteras en studie med tre fokusområden. -Hur tre utbildningsreformer påverkat fritidshemmets undervisning och/eller fritidshemslärarens yrkesprofession. Syftet med studien är att belysa hur yrkesrollen fritidshemslärare förändrats utifrån ett historiskt och politiskt perspektiv genom införandet av tre olika utbildningsreformer. Genom studiens frågeställning undersöks vilket sätt dessa förändringar samt införandet av reformerna kan ha påverkat yrkesrollen. Den metod som används i denna uppsats är en kvalitativ studie i form av intervjuer. I avsnittet tidigare forskning presenteras fyra studier med koppling till kommunaliseringen, läroplansreformen samt yrkesidentitet och nya benämningen ”lärare i fritidshem”. Studiens teoribildning bygger på Guthrie och Koppichs samt Dauns tolkningar av teorier kring utbildningsreformer. I slutresultatet kategoriseras det empiriska materialet under teman som yrkesrollen, status samt samordning. Varje tema analyseras utifrån begrepp som ingår i det teoretiska utgångspunkterna. Utifrån det empiriska materialet går de att se att reformerna haft en viss inverkan på yrkesrollen. Det framkommer också att respondenterna har haft svårigheter att beskriva hur deras yrkesroll har påverkats - vilket också beskrivs i den slutliga diskussionen. / In this essay, a study with three focus areas is presented. -How three educational reforms have affected the after-school centre's teaching and/or the after-school centre teacher's profession. The purpose of the study is to shed light on how the professional role of after-school teachers has changed from a historical and political perspective through the introduction of three different educational reforms. The study's question examines the way in which these changes and the introduction of the reforms may have affected the professional role. The method described in this essay is a qualitative study in the form of interviews. In the section previous research, four studies are presented in connection with communalisation, the curriculum reform and professional identity and the new term "teachers in after-school centres". The study's theory formation is based on Guthrie and Koppich's along with Daun's interpretations of theories about educational reforms. In the end result, the empirical material is categorized under themes such as professional role, status and coordination. Each theme is analyzed on the basis of concepts that are included in the theoretical starting points. Based on the empirical material, it can be seen that the reforms have had a certain impact on the professional role. It also appears that the respondents have had difficulty describing how their professional role has been affected - which is also described in the final discussion.

The aim of Masters Thesis Business plan, Afterschool Activities for Kids is to create a business plan for the new organization providing school activities for children. The first part will introduce the theory for a business plan. In practical part concrete plan will be settled which shows up every necessary steps to needed to get through while realization and outlines the various ideas and solutions to achieve good economic results of the organization. The author of this Masters Thesis deepens the knowledge of the preparation of business plans and complex view of critical sections of the analysis and indicators of project that will be implemented in the future.

This study is based on previous quality reviews of the afterschool program and previous research that points to a problem in the businesses. The problem consists of deficiencies in planning, developing and evaluating the activities of the afterschool program, which means systematic quality work. An ongoing state investigation describes continued problems with quality work in afterschool programs. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the extent of the systematic quality work in the afterschool program and the conditions for the work, which must be carried out in accordance with the Education Act. To get answers to our questions, we have departed from John Dewey's theory of education and democracy and interviewed two researchers with experience in the subject as well as a former principal in compulsory school to obtain evidence of the systematic quality work. In addition, reports of systematic quality work in various municipalities in Sweden have been analyzed. The results of our survey show that there are often no conditions for conducting systematic quality work. Principals have a primary role for systematic quality work to be carried out, but at the same time, there seems to be a need for skills development for principals regarding systematic quality work in the afterschool program. In addition, more and more competent and legitimate staff are needed to achieve the goals and requirements set by the curriculum, and then supporting principals who are familiar with the afterschool program's mission are also needed. / Denna studie grundar sig på tidigare kvalitetsgranskningar av fritidshemmet och tidigare forskning som pekar på en problematik i verksamheterna. Problematiken utgörs av brister i att planera, utveckla och utvärdera fritidshemmets verksamhet, vilket betyder systematiskt kvalitetsarbete. I en pågående statlig utredning beskrivs fortsatta problem med kvalitetsarbetet i fritidshem. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka omfattningen av det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet i fritidshemmet och förutsättningarna för arbetet, vilket ska genomföras enligt skollagen. För att får svar på våra frågor har vi utgått från John Deweys teori om utbildning och demokrati och intervjuat två forskare med erfarenhet av ämnet samt en före detta rektor i en grundskola för att få evidens för det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet. Därtill har rapporter av systematiskt kvalitetsarbete i olika kommuner i Sverige analyserats. Resultatet i vår undersökning visar att det ofta saknas förutsättningar för att bedriva ett systematiskt kvalitetsarbete. Rektorer har en huvudsaklig roll för att ett systematiskt kvalitetsarbete ska kunna bedrivas, men samtidigt tycks det finnas ett behov av kompetensutveckling för rektorer gällande systematiskt kvalitetsarbete i fritidshemmet. Därtill behövs det i högre grad behörig och legitimerad personal för att verksamheten ska uppnå de mål och krav som läroplanen föreskriver och då behövs även stödjande rektorer som är förtrogna med fritidshemmets uppdrag.