<p>Despite generous funding, the current data shows slow-moving demographical changes in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, and little to no slowing in the decline of STEM-associated career interests in underserved communities (Leeker, Maxey, Cardella & Hynes, 2019). While a considerable amount has been written about the evaluation of formal pre-college STEM programs, little research has been carried out regarding the success of informal programs to encourage interest in STEM-related careers and develop skills needed to succeed in such environments. </p> <p>A common method of education for elementary school students is to use informal programs, usually with the help of professional mentors. To better understand such programs, the qualitative research that formulates this dissertation is a collective case study of after-school elementary robotics programs in Indiana, the United States, which successfully implemented the State Robotics Initiative (SRI) to provide hands-on STEM learning opportunities. This program relies on mentor expertise for after-school program instruction.<a> The purpose of this study is to investigate mentor involvement in informal STEM programs, including to answer the following research question: How do mentors impact student participants’ advancement of specific engineering skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication?</a></p> <p>In this case study, the researcher collected documents, observed activities involving mentors and students, and interviewed mentors and students to determine how mentor involvement impacts students who participate in informal STEM programs. The researcher then conducted a holistic analysis of the data. To understand how knowledge of STEM skills gained from mentors impacts students, the researcher focused on a coding scheme to correspond with a framework developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21). </p> <p><a>Themes, the outcome of coding, were developed by “layering the analysis” (Creswell & Poth, 2017), first by showing unique situations of each participant, followed by grouping by the program of these unique situations into comprehensive groupings. This resulted in three separate cases covering multiple participants that serve as examples of mentor impact of specific STEM skills learned by students in three robotics programs. </a></p> <p>While the results were not analyzed across cases, all programs sought to increase knowledge with students even though each program had a different background and reason for starting the robotics program. In addition, each program had very different demographics and cultural styles, but all showed the integration of STEM and robotics in an afterschool program, with emphasis on problem-solving. This dissertation includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, and a discussion. Recommendations for educators and future researchers are also presented in a final chapter. </p>

The erasure of Latino/a adolescents' multiliteracies in school settings affects both their views of education and their entry into the community outside of school. Framed by literacy-as-social-practices perspectives and communities of practice theory, this case study explored what happened when a group of 13 Latino/a adolescents and their Latina teacher engaged in a six-week play production in an after-school program and performed the play for parents. It examined the relationship between the participants' discourse practices and their performance, and determined how they validated their performances. Data collected included observations, interviews, students' written reflective responses, a fieldwork journal, and a DVD of the performance. Data were analyzed using Discourse Analysis (Gee, 2005), three characteristics of multimodal literacy adapted from three features Cowan (2003) used to analyze Latino visual discourse, and Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The findings revealed a complex performance community mediated by a set of discourse practices and tools, including a script and a video. The video's history, traced to a former 7th grade after-school group, and the participants' social practices framed their interactions. The findings revealed the discourse practice of playing around was constructed in relationship with the teacher's expectations and became an intractable binary. After one actor assessed the situation as hopeless because of the teacher's involvement in the construction of the discourses, she "left" the play and constructed herself through a new critical discourse, and imagined an easier and more equitable discourse. Another discourse juxtaposed Discourses of immigration, recognizing them as speaking to one another across history. Although the methodology was adequate for answering the research questions, it was inadequate for reaching findings on how the performances created effects for both the actors and audience. Both pedagogical and methodological errors were the result of how the visual world of print shaped our thought, extending the visual into the social world, separating it from the other senses. The actors drew from elements of the six modes of meaning to create a system of multimodal design in their performance text, and although they validated their final performance in reflective responses, they invalidated their rehearsal performances. Elements of their Discourse model serve as a blueprint for a Design for Performance Learning. The Design proposes that Latino/a adolescents take responsibility for their learning by producing sharable digital artifacts in after-school performance communities, which might prove to be contexts in which Latino/a adolescents' multiliteracies are validated rather than erased.

As government agencies face a complexity of economic and political issues the availability and utilization of resources through private voluntary organizations (PVOs) have become increasingly important. A review of the literature covering the role of PVOs in developing countries indicates the significant contribution these agencies can have in the development process. There are only a handful of situations where small organizations are working directly with a government agency in the provision of a public service. Theoretically, PVOs are adaptable to a variety of settings, are effective conduits for delivering aid to the grassroots level, and are able to initiate long term development activity. This study considers these characteristics in the midst of the relationship that exists between a foreign PVO and a host government in the delivery of public education to a rural indigenous population. A U.S. based organization named "Adopt-A-School" has been working in 3 districts of northern Guatemala's Cuchumatanes Highlands since 1984. The focus of its work has been to provide students in selected public schools with basic supplies (e.g., paper, notebooks, pencils, and dictionaries). The organizational structure of the PVO consists of a constituency group from whom donations are received, a board of directors that manages the available resources, and field workers who implement the program. The analysis of this PVO-government relationship is based on qualitative and quantitative data collected by interviewing participants on local and national levels, distributing questionnaires to teachers (N = 156) and PVO donors (N = 32), and performing participant observations in selected communities and schools. The decisions regarding site selection have been important factors in the effectiveness of the AAS program and has contributed to the strength of its durability. Data indicate that the longevity and replication of this program rests on the fragile relationship network that exists between the PVO, its donors, and the host-government. This study shows that foreign PVOs can play a significant role in local communities by encouraging the growth and development of new structures that link grassroots organizations with those who maintain economic and political power.

Many school districts are using research-based strategies to increase student achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was created and implemented to assist all students becoming proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. One strategy many school districts implemented includes an after-school program. One school district in Mississippi operated an after-school program to help increase the academic achievement of 7th and 8th grade students scoring minimal and basic on the MCT2. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of regular participation in an after-school program on indicators of student academic achievement. The dependent variables for this study consisted of (a) math grade point averages, (b) reading grade point averages, (c) language arts grade point averages, (d) MCT2 math scores, (e) MCT2 language arts scores, (f) number of absences, and (g) number of discipline referrals. The independent variable for this study was program participation, which had two levels. One level was program attendance for at least 40 days and the other level was program attendance for less than 40 days. In this study, 7 hypotheses were tested by comparing the measures of the dependent variables for the two levels of the dependent variables. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the 7 hypotheses. The results of the ANCOVAs failed to detect any statistically significant differences in the dependent variables between the students who attended the after-school program for at least 40 days and students who did not attend the after-school program for 40 days. However, there were differences in the measures between the two groups. Not only did the regular attendees have lower averages in absenteeism and discipline referrals, they also had higher averages in mathematics (both GPA and MCT2), reading GPA, and language arts GPA. The only measure where the non-regular attendees demonstrated better performance was on the language arts MCT2. The recommendations for future research are as follows: implementation of adequate professional development for after-school program teachers, a research based reading program to assess student achievement, and a longitudinal study on after-school programs.

Pink and Dude Chefs: A nutrition and culinary intervention for middle school students Tianna Sheehan The prevalence of obesity in US adolescents has more than tripled in the past 35 years, and the greatest impact has been among low-income and minority racial/ethnic populations. Adolescents report inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, an overconsumption of sweetened beverages, and a high reliance on fast food locations for meals or snacks; increasing the risk of adolescent obesity. Building knowledge and skills through culinary interventions may empower middle school students to create and also choose healthful foods. Pink and Dude Chefs, a six-week nutrition and culinary intervention, aims to improve healthy eating behaviors by increasing nutrition knowledge and culinary ability. Trained research assistants from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) led middle school boys and girls in lessons ranging on topics including macronutrients, real-world application of USDA MyPlate guidelines, and meal planning and budgeting. Cal Poly research assistants supported middle school participants in cooking recipes that were specifically chosen to highlight themes covered in the nutrition lesson and to progress in difficulty throughout the program. The program consisted of 12 lessons that were each divided into 1 hour of classroom nutrition instruction and 1 hour of hands-on cooking practicum. The program took place in two locations, at Mesa Middle School in Arroyo Grande, California and Carpinteria Middle School in Carpinteria, California with 15-20 middle school volunteer participants who enrolled in each program. Questionnaires were used to measure fruit and vegetable preferences, dietary behavior, and barriers to healthy eating, culinary skill, culinary confidence, and basic nutrition knowledge pre- and post-intervention. Participants’ responses indicated an improved dietary profile as indicated by fruit and vegetable preferences, and fruit and vegetable intake. Responses also indicated increased culinary confidence and improved nutrition knowledge. More research is needed to test the long-term impact of participation in nutrition and culinary interventions.

The epidemic of adolescent obesity has become one of the greatest public health concerns in the United States. Approximately 20.5% of adolescents of both sexes aged 12-19 years are considered obese. Higher rates of obesity are evident in ethnic minority and lower income status children with the highest prevalence among Hispanic/Latino and Black populations. The causes for obesity are multifactorial in nature and highlight disparities nationwide. These factors include socioeconomic status, education, environment, availability and access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and behavior patterns. Successful intervention methods that have reduced the impact of adolescent obesity have incorporated nutrition knowledge and culinary skill building into afterschool programs. Pink and Dude Chefs, a 12-lesson nutrition education and culinary skills afterschool program targeted toward middle school students, aims to improve nutrition knowledge and dietary behavior in low income and minority populations. Based off of evidence-based curriculum, the program focuses on culinary fundamentals while incorporating nutrition lessons about macronutrients, micronutrients, label reading, kitchen safety, and USDA guidelines. Research assistants from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, were trained to implement each lesson. The program took place at Mesa Middle School in Arroyo Grande, CA; Shandon, CA; and two sites in Nashville, TN from Spring 2014 to Fall 2014. Thirty-two middle school students participated in the study aged 11-14 years. Questionnaires were used to measure fruit and vegetables preferences, nutrition knowledge, and fruit and vegetable intake. Results indicate that participants’ fruit and vegetable preferences, nutrition knowledge and fruit and vegetable intake all increased. However, statistical significance was only achieved with nutrition knowledge, likely due to small sample size. If programs such as Pink and Dude Chefs show promise for decreasing risk for obesity, the public health impact could improve long-term health outcomes for adolescents and mitigate obesity related consequences.

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STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education for youth can lead to the development of skills to design technologies, innovate tools, optimize work processes, and solve problems to improve society. The public high schools in Senegal are reported to have a low enrollment of students in STEM-related subjects. Youth are taught to memorize theories, with limited opportunities for hands-on STEM activities. However, there are other opportunities for Senegalese youth to engage in STEM education outside the formal school system. This research used case studies to explore the experiences of Senegalese youth learners and educators engaged in hands-on STEM education within non-formal learning settings in Dakar, Senegal. The first case involved six youth and six educators from wood carpentry and metal joinery apprenticeships. The second case involved seven youth and five educators from Go4STEAM, an all-girls out-of-school STEM program. The Ecological Systems Theory was used as a theoretical framework to situate the youth and educators in their learning context and consider ways in which their self and environment influences their STEM learning and teaching experience. An asset-based analytical approach was used in both cases to identify and describe positive influences and educational practices related to learning STEM. Results of the study indicated that educators in the apprenticeship setting display elements of cultural-based education as they not only teach the youth learners engineering through guided instructions, but also help raise them into adulthood. The youth learners in this setting have dropped out of school, thus recommendations for this learning setting include leveraging apps, mobile training, and competitions to promote engineering education as well as ensuring a strong foundation in reading, writing, and math. The Go4STEAM learning setting was found to offer activities that were interesting and responsive for their youth learners, and their learning environment emphasized peer collaboration. Recommendations for this learning setting include encouraging youth to take leadership of their learning whilst positioning the educators as co-learners, and offering the youth opportunities to engage in STEM with various partners and settings around the community. By recognizing and valuing the strengths of non-formal learning settings, this study identifies opportunities to strengthen the Senegalese STEM Learning Ecosystem. The additional support can lead to opportunities for Senegalese youth to become innovators and problem solvers that use their skills for educational and career advancement, upward economic mobility, and improved community development. / Doctor of Philosophy / STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education can be beneficial for the youth because it gives them useful skills for their jobs and their community. There are many factors that influence how youth learn STEM, and youth are able to learn in school and out of school. In Senegal, there are a low number of students enrolled in STEM-related subjects in high school, and the schools do not offer hands-on STEM activities. This research uses case studies to investigate STEM education for youth in non-formal, out-of-school settings, in Dakar, Senegal. Six youth and six educators from the wood carpentry and metal joinery apprenticeships, and seven youth and five educators from the Go4STEAM all-girls program, participated in this study. For each case, the Ecological Systems Theory was used to help consider the various influences that may directly or indirectly impact the youth's STEM education. An asset-based approach was used to identify positive influences and educational practices from the two cases. The study determined that the educators in apprenticeships use cultural norms and values to teach the youth learners engineering and raise them to become adults. The learners do not go to school so they can potentially benefit from apps, mobile training, and competitions that facilitate learning engineering, and the basics of reading, writing and math. At Go4STEM, the study determined that the learning environment was fun for the youth and encourages teamwork. The learners at Go4STEAM may benefit from deciding what STEM topics they want explore and the educators support as co-learners. Also, the educators can help facilitate STEM activities that engage community resources. This study identifies the strengths of non-formal, out-of-school-learning, and identifies opportunities to improve the Senegalese STEM Learning Ecosystem. With the additional support, Senegalese youth can become innovators and problem solvers that use their skills to benefit themselves, their families, and their communities.