<p><a>In-school
interactions between afterschool educators and high school youth can increase
youth participation in afterschool programs. As a result of participation, afterschool
programs may offer a range of academic, social, and emotional outcomes to
support positive youth development and prepare high school students for
post-secondary education.</a> However, high school youth have the lowest
afterschool participation rates of any age group due to competing interests
such as home responsibilities, jobs, tougher academic courses, and other
extracurricular activities (Afterschool Alliance, 2020). Previous research
indicates repeated positive adult-youth interactions lead to the development of
relationships that support the needs of the youth (Rhodes, 2002). If
afterschool educators and youth have positive interactions during the school
day, youth may be more likely to attend afterschool to seek academic assistance
and further develop a mentoring relationship with the afterschool educator.
Additionally, continuous youth afterschool participation can be shaped by the
afterschool physical learning environment and an afterschool educator’s
self-efficacy, beliefs, and behaviors due to their impacts on the youth’s
afterschool experience. Therefore, this study investigated the in-school and
afterschool factors predicting high school youth participation in a GEAR UP
afterschool program. </p><p>The purpose of this study was to explain
and predict high school student participation in a Midwestern state GEAR UP afterschool
program based on the in-school adult-youth interactions, afterschool physical
environment, and afterschool educator self-efficacy, behaviors, and beliefs.
Participants of this study included 9<sup>th</sup> and 10<sup>th</sup> grade
youth enrolled in a GEAR UP school (<i>N</i> = 6767) as well as GEAR UP
afterschool program regional directors and building coordinators (<i>N</i> =
18). Quantitative data for youth participants was collected from GEAR UP
database records regarding measures of in-school adult-youth interactions and
afterschool participation. Quantitative data for afterschool educators was
collected using a web-based survey, which
gathered information about the afterschool physical learning environment
and the educator’s self-efficacy, beliefs, and behaviors during the afterschool
program. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations,
multiple regression analysis, and inferential statistical tests. </p><p></p><p>There were five conclusions for
this study. First, afterschool educators were somewhat self-efficacious,
believed STEM education to be very important, demonstrated STEM behaviors
occasionally, and agreed the afterschool physical learning environment was
suitable. Second, free and reduced lunch status; educator behaviors; one-on-one
instruction; and counseling, advising, and academic planning predicted 5.3%
variance in high school student afterschool participation. Third, individualized
adult-youth interactions were positively related to afterschool participation.
Fourth, youth afterschool participants reported greater hours of one-on-one
instruction than nonparticipants, and nonparticipants reported greater hours of
counseling, advising, and academic planning than participants. Fifth, youth
afterschool participation rates and hours spent in afterschool program
activities varied at the school level. Recommendations for future research,
implications for theory, and practical applications for afterschool educators, afterschool
program developers, and school administrators were discussed. </p><br><p></p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/17155814 |
| Date | 19 December 2021 |
| Creators | Brooke M Stafford (11820689) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Exploring_High_School_Students_Participation_in_a_GEAR_UP_Afterschool_Program/17155814 |
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