Litteraturstudien tar sin utgångspunkt i användandet av lärandemiljöer utanför klassrummet. Två begrepp bearbetas: ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´. Denna litteraturstudie avser att jämföra fyra centrala studier inom de båda ovan nämnda begreppen för att sammanställa och analysera vad de behandlar. Likheter och skillnader i användningen av de båda begreppen lyfts fram. Förutom detta komparativa syfte är syftet också att redogöra för huruvida skolor kan använda dessa båda perspektiv i den naturvetenskapliga undervisningen i grundskolans senare årskurser.   I den första delen av analysen som behandlar studiens komparativa syfte framgår att det främst är likheter mellan de båda begreppen som återfinns, som exempelvis att de berör både de kognitiva och affektiva dimensionerna samt vikten av att ta tillvara på elevers erfarenheter. De båda begreppens innebörder är breda och innefattas bland annat av att förlägga undervisning utanför klassrummet men också att ta in omgivningen i klassrummet. I den andra delen av analysen som behandlar tillämpningar av de båda perspektiven framkommer att ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´ med fördel kan användas i grundskolans senare årskurser då användandet bland annat visat sig ge positiva effekter på elevers motivation och intresse samt att naturvetenskapen blir mer autentisk för eleverna.  Flera av studierna använder sig av ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´ för att belysa miljö- och hållbarhetsfrågor.   Fem kategorier som berörs av ´outdoor education´ och ´out-of-school learning´ urskiljs i denna uppsats: elevers lärande, hälsoaspekter, arbetssätt, elevers roller och elevers erfarenheter.

Social stratification research has consistently found persistent inequalities in the academic outcomes of children from different socio-economic status (SES) groups. Research in the sociology of education has shown that students from higher SES groups outperform peers from lower SES groups on various academic indicators as well as make greater academic progress when assessed at two or more separate points in time. Recent evidence from the US has also shown that participation in leisure out-of-school activities (OSA) is among the factors which may contribute to maintaining or even widening these inequalities. Similar evidence is lacking in the UK. The present research focuses on this issue by analysing the role of participation in leisure OSA in the process of reproduction of social inequalities in academic outcomes among British school-aged children. The study draws on social and cultural capital theories to address the following questions: a) Are there differences in participation in OSA among school-aged children in dissimilar SES groups?; b) Taking into account children’s SES, is participation in OSA associated with their academic outcomes?; c) Does the association between participation in OSA and children’s academic outcomes vary across different SES groups? Using data from the third and fourth sweeps of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), when cohort members were aged 5 and 7 years old, the research explores participation in three categories of leisure activities; a) social-group activities, b) commercial-public activities, and c) home-centred activities. Children’s academic outcomes are assessed using verbal and non-verbal standardised tests, as well as by teachers’ assessment. The study applied regression models to examine the relationships between children’s SES, participation in OSA and academic outcomes. The statistical analyses were carried out in a multilevel framework which enabled the MCS hierarchical data structure and area variations to be accounted for. The findings suggest that participation in some, but not all leisure OSA is one of the factors which contributes to socio-economic inequalities in educational outcomes among British school-aged children. This is because participation in OSA is associated with better academic performance among all students, however those in high SES groups are more likely to be exposed to such activities. After controlling for SES, gender, family characteristics, school type, absenteeism and geographical variation, there is a small to moderate positive relationship between participation in a number of different leisure OSA and 7-year-olds' academic performance. Interestingly, variations among children from different SES groups were found in the extent to which attendance at certain OSA (e.g. after-school clubs) is associated with academic development between age 5 and 7: children from lower SES who attend such activities tend to progress more academically than children from intermediate and higher SES.

<p>Despite the fact that natural disasters have always existed, the number and intensity of natural disasters have increased. Progress has been made in preparing for natural disasters, but the consequences are still severe. This study takes on the task of identifying the features that make schools more vulnerable to natural disasters. Using a simple OLS (N=387). The study analyses the effect of natural disasters on school closures. Using six different disasters as our study area, we capture different demographic and socioeconomic features of a school impacted by natural disaster at different geographic levels: the individual school, the school district, and the Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA). The regression results show that factors such as increased disaster severity, higher levels of poverty, and larger numbers of at-risk individuals within a puma have significant positive associations with an increase in the number of days a school closes. At a practical level, understanding the impact of a disaster on school closure can depend on multiple factors and is important for local, state and federal governments. Policies must be implemented by local communities throughout the nation to increase community resilience. By understanding vulnerability factors adequately, their impact on school closure can be mitigated by increasing appropriate preparedness, efficient recovery strategies, evacuation strategies, and interpersonal awareness. Climate change and its effects, present and future, is a major concern for the whole world. Our efforts to understand and seek solutions to prevent and limit the damages rendered by natural disasters are critical to an effort to reduce the impacts of climate change in the U.S. and other affected countries. </p>

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Thesis advisor: Anderson J. Franklin / The differential effects of the achievement gap on lower-income youth persist in this country (National Association of State Boards of Education, 2013). Recognition of the role of Out-of-School Time (OST) factors contributing to achievement differences has been growing (Gordon, Bridglall, & Meroe, 2005). As a result, OST programs have been gaining popularity; however, program efficacy varies. Socio-emotional climate represents one area of quality that likely influences student outcomes. Socio-emotional climate was assessed through a custom observation tool from a larger study. Social competence and resilience was the outcome variable as measured by the DESSA-RRE. Factor analysis empirically profiled the socio-emotional climates of 37 summer learning programs from five school districts across the country, resulting in four “GROW” dimensions of socio-emotional climate: (1) Growth-promoting Instruction, (2) Resolve and Focus, (3) Organization, and (4) Warmth. Given the randomized control design of the larger study, variability among the 37 climates was limited. Thus, hierarchical linear regression examined the influence of climate on students’ outcomes. HLR found that the socio-emotional climate explained a statistically significant (R2=0.12, p<0.001, f2=0.14) amount of variance in students’ social competence and resilience, above and beyond demographics alone (􏰀 R2=0.005, p=0.007, f2=0.01). Moderation results were non- significant. Limitations to the study centered on data collection and quantitative methodology. Implications for both counseling psychologists and OST providers were discussed at length, notably supporting programs towards Growth-promoting Instruction. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

abstract: There has been growing interest among learning scientists in the design and study of out-of-school time (OST) learning environments to support equitable development of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) interests among youth from groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields. Most of these design studies assumed the youth came to the learning environments without well-developed STEM interests. I challenged this assumption by enacting a social design participatory study to engage youth (aged 11 to 14), from groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields, as partners in designing an OST networked club to support the youth in growing their own STEM interests. Based on longitudinal ethnographic data, I report a three-year iterative design of this networked club. I characterize the heterogeneity of STEM interests that emerged and grew across the networked club. Building on ecological theories of interest development, and leveraging the cultural assets of the nondominant community, I argue that heterogeneity of interests, resources, and practices served as a design tool and a catalyst for the development of STEM interest in the OST networked club. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Learning, Literacies and Technologies 2019

Previous research suggests that parents can benefit from youth participation in after-school programs. However, little research has explored parent involvement in after-school programs as an important program characteristic leading to youth development. Bioecological Systems Theory suggests that individuals are influenced by the interactions of others within their environment. Building from this theory, it was posited that parent benefits resulting from involvement in after-school programs can facilitate positive youth development. Surveys were completed by 117 parents whose daughters participated in the Cool Girls, Inc. after-school program, a program serving primarily low-income, African American, urban youth. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, a three factor structure of parent benefits was identified. Parent benefits include increased (1) parent-child communication, (2) parent social capital, and (3) parent-school involvement. A fourth parent benefit of help for working parents was identified in subsequent analyses using a smaller sample of only working parents (n = 86). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that more parent after-school program involvement was associated with increases in each of the four parent benefits. As predicted, each of the four parent benefits mediated the association between parent involvement in after-school programs and parent reported changes in positive youth development outcomes due to participation in Cool Girls, Inc. These results suggest the importance of further research into ways parents benefit from their child’s participation in after-school programs and how those benefits can influence youth developmental trajectories. These findings also demonstrate the importance of involving parents in after-school programs.

Utvecklingen under de senaste decennierna visar att färre elever intresserar sig för naturvetenskapliga studier och många har svårt att se meningen med innehållet. Det finns en omfattande forskning som visar att det inte är naturvetenskapen i sig som eleverna avfärdar utan att det mer handlar om hur innehållet hanteras i skolan. Utanför skolan verkar många ta del av viktiga diskussioner kopplade till naturvetenskap och ställer bland annat frågor till olika medier där forskare bemöter och svarar på allmänhetens intresse. Detta spontana intresse undersöks i detta arbete med hjälp av innehållsanalys. Urvalet är hämtat från två populärvetenskapliga tidskrifter med omfattning av 1492 antal frågor. Frågorna är beskriva med huvud- och underkategorier och skildrar hur allmänhetens spontana intresse ser ut utifrån nordiska förhållanden. Resultaten visar att allmänheten har stort intresse för naturvetenskap. Biologi dominerar med stora intressen för zoologi och människan. Fysik är den näst populära kategorin där astronomi är den klart dominerande underkategorin. Kemi får minst antal frågor. Resultaten visar stor likhet med internationella studier och diskuteras i relation till dessa samt utifrån implikationer för lärares arbete med att möta elever i skolan.