Afterschool Program Quality

H210D Class 3April 9, 2008

Understanding the Customer—Youth Perspective

Chapin Hall and P/PV studies

H210D, Spring 2008

Chapin Hall

• In-depth interviews with 99 tenth graders in Chicago public schools

• Highest and lowest quartiles of OST availability

• What influences choices about participation?

H210D, Spring 2008

• School vs. community services

• Valued personal relationships

• Earlier experience influences later participation

• Indirect peer influences and decisions to remain over time

H210D, Spring 2008

• Neighborhood influences-safety considerations and civic action potential

• Gaps in availability and in compelling activities

H210D, Spring 2008

Adolescents Speak

• Exposure to new ideas, challenges and people

• Comfort, welcome, respect, acceptance

• Freedom from unnecessary rules, inflexible adults, and strict expectations

• Autonomous exploration, interaction and relaxation and fun

H210D, Spring 2008

Implications

• Outreach-schools, relationships and novelty, potential for youth leadership and social potential of activities

• Support for continuous involvement• Staff training—capacity to deal with youth and

organizational capacity building• Youth input and an array of activities different

from school• Importance of developmental perspective • Parent roles

“Youths can become frustrated over time with adults who are not

effective leaders, and do not provide a sense of safety and

structure.”

“This is complicated by the fact that different youth have different

expectation, and respond differently to adults’ styles of interaction, which may lead

young people’s selecting in or out of particular activities at any

given time.”

“…you want to have somebody to care. You don’t want to be there

even though you’re with your friends and you’re having fun,

you’re still with the person who’s in charge of you and who don’t

care. So there’s no point of going if they don’t care about

you.”

H210D, Spring 2008

P/PV study

• Five Philadelphia Beacon centers

• 402 youth surveys, 45 staff surveys and 50 activity observations and open-ended interviews with 16 strong instructors and 22 teen interviews

• What conditions lead to attendance, engagement and youth perceptions of learning?

H210D, Spring 2008

The two most important things for engagement and learning are:

• Effective group management so that youth feel respected by adults and other youth

• Positive adult support for learning and youth engagement

H210D, Spring 2008

Group management

• Youth report they get more from the activity at each step in the learning process and they are more engaged.

• Four behavior management techniques: reasonable ground rules; ongoing positive reinforcement; consistent and fair reinforcement of expectations; firm, not harsh responses, when ground rules broken.

H210D, Spring 2008

Positive Adult Support

• Youth are more engaged, enjoy the experience more, perceived they learned more.

• Level of enjoyment most affected by adult support for middle school youth

• Importance of emotional and instructional support

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Emotional Support

• Forging trusting relationships

• Learning about youth culture

• Allowing informal socializing

• Taking time to talk with individual youth as needed

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Instructional Support

• Careful one-on-one instruction

• Challenge youth to move beyond current skill level, balanced feedback with a mix of positive reinforcement and critical assessment of progress.

Youth Voice

The more input or voice participants felt they had in

shaping an activity, the more engaged they felt and the more

they liked the activity.

H210D, Spring 2008

Youth input and agency

• Quantitative and strong instructor results

• Observations: clear expectations on type of youth input and direction on task completion; instructors removed from decision-making and youth craft project or solution; instructors step back, recognize progress and support next steps to carry project to completion

H210D, Spring 2008

Implications

• Intensive focus on high-quality instructional methods keyed to developmental trajectory

• Directors supervision and coaching

• Funder-Quality costs money and need time for quality enhancement and continuous improvement

H210D, Spring 2008

What’s Up Study

• Exploration of participation in five diverse communities (rural and urban high poverty and alternative schools and mental health centers)

• Written surveys and interviews with middle and high school youth (ages 10 to 15) and their parents

H210D, Spring 2008

Findings

• Parents are key in participation and promote or discourage it

• Parents and kids: do well academically and socially and not waiting for activity to fill their time

• Youth want physical and recreational activities and opportunities to socialize with friends

• Those involved have been so from an earlier age

• Uninvolved may be put off by structure in structured programs

How do we merge what we know about quality learning

environments with what young teens want?

H210D, Spring 2008

• Less structure and more connection (the wizard)

• Organic and free-spirited—does it “flow”

H210D, Spring 2008

Walker and Larson

• Tensions in relating to youth in a personal and a professional way

• Reacting intelligently to difficult situations as they arise, situations where competing objectives, values and warrants come into conflict

• Quality hinges on how staff respond to these challenging situations

The demands of being a professional and an authority can come into conflict with those of being a sympathetic participant.

“that’s a really tough thing to learn and figure out: how to really be a friend to young people, how to meet them where they’re at.

But the challenge is to take them where they haven’t been.”

H210D, Spring 2008

KEY TAKE-AWAYS

1. Research points to four critical program quality features:

- Appropriate structure and supervision- Well prepared staff

- Intentional programming - Effective partnerships

2. Quality and participation are two sides of the same coin.

3. Using a program quality assessment tool is essential to support and maintain a quality program.

4. Responsibility for program quality is shared across programs, initiatives, and systems.

H210D, Spring 2008

Quality is …

Quality is shaped by conditions and features that:

Reflect community needs and priorities

Align services to achieve goals and promote sustainability

Encourage regular program attendance . . .

That fosters sustained engagement…

In enriching, structured experiences…

That correspond to important developmental tasks…

That can enhance cognitive, social and physical

H210D, Spring 2008

Process (a.k.a. “point of service”) features examine aspects of the program that directly affect a participant’s experiences:

Youth-adult relationships and interactions, variety in program offerings

Availability of activities that promote sustained cognitive engagement

Opportunities for autonomy and choice The organizational supports necessary to

promote effective staff practices

H210D, Spring 2008

Youth Development Community’s Definition of Quality

Physical and psychological safety

Appropriate structure

Supportive relationships

Opportunities for meaningful youth involvement

Positive social norms

Learning-oriented, with skill-building activities

Balance of autonomy and structure

Connections with school, home and community

From Eccles & Goodman (2002) Community programs to promote youth developments. Washington, DC: National Academy press.

H210D, Spring 2008

Does Program Quality Make a Difference

in Getting Good Outcomes?

YES

H210D, Spring 2008

Quality is possible only when :

• Adequate numbers of participants . . .

• Can be recruited and retained . . .

• To permit the employment of trained, motivated staff . . .

• Who encourage youth attendance at levels of frequency and duration needed . . .

• To promote individual growth

H210D, Spring 2008

Participation is possible only when…

Key features of program quality are in place: Higher director salaries More advanced education credentials Parent liaison on staff Youth reported a greater sense of belonging More positive interactions between youth and staff Higher academic self-esteem Strong academic or arts focus Improved academic performance through enrichment

www.policystudies.com/studies/youth/OST.html