Twenty-first century learning after school: the case of Junior Achievement Worldwide

Efforts to increase after-school programming indicate the nation's concern about how youth are engaged during out-of-school time. There are clear benefits to extending the learning that goes on during the school day. Research from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice shows that after-school participants do better in school and have stronger expectations for the future than youth who are not occupied after school. And the need is evident: 14.3 million students return to an empty house after school, yet only 6.5 million children are currently enrolled in after-school programs. If an after-school program were available, parents of 15.3 million would enroll their child. JA Worldwide began in 1919 and has been rooted in the afterschool arena from its origins. Its after-school programs teach students about the free enterprise system through curriculum focusing on business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics and character, financial literacy, and career development. At the same time, JA Worldwide incorporates hands-on learning and engagement with adults as role models, both key elements to a successful after-school program. Now focused on developing curriculum emphasizing skills needed for the twenty-first century, JA adopted the key elements laid out for after-school programs by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. To ensure that the next generation of students enters the workforce prepared, America's education system must provide the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Programs such as JA Worldwide serve as models of how to provide the twenty-first century skills that all students need to succeed.     

Why America's disadvantaged communities need twenty-first century learning

Current school reform efforts, emphasizing data and accountability, have shed additional light on racial and income-based inequities in education. To tackle this achievement gap, the discrepancies in the nation's educational system must be examined within the context of the increasing economic demand for higher skill levels. The author asserts that the education system is not educating all students to the levels necessary to fulfill America's quest for international excellence. Demonstrating the inadequacies of the current educational system, this chapter draws from Murnane and Levy's research emphasizing a need for new basic skills. The author cites Murnane and Levy's finding that up to half of all graduates leave high school without the skills necessary to compete in today's economy. Students are not getting enough out of school to succeed in the workforce. These data prompt the author's support for out-of-school-time programs. An opportunity gap exists when it comes to how children from various socioeconomic backgrounds spend their out-of-school time. Children from disadvantaged families experience much less enrichment, further contributing to the achievement gap. Quality after-school programs-not just "more school"-can fill this void, providing the enrichment and academic support needed to gain the skills required to succeed in the modern workforce. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation's Critical Hours: Afterschool Programs and Educational Success confirms the need for out-of-school-time programs by showing the relationship between an effective after-school program and academic success. Ultimately the after-school movement will reduce educational inequality, allowing today's youth to contribute to America's international competitiveness.     

Full-service community schools: a strategy--not a program

The concept that drives the emerging full-service community school movement is this: Schools cannot address all the problems and needs of disadvantaged children, youth, and families. Community schools are operated jointly by school systems and community agencies, are open extended hours, and may provide the site for after-school programs, primary-care health services, mental health counseling, parent education and involvement, and community development. No two community schools are alike. They grow out of a planning process that involves all stakeholders, school personnel, community-based organizations, city and county government, parents, and students. The Quitman Street Community School in Newark, New Jersey, exemplifies this approach.     

Marketable job skills for high school students: what we learned from an evaluation of After School Matters

This article summarizes findings from an experimental evaluation of After School Matters (ASM), a paid, apprenticeship-based, after-school program in Chicago for high school students. Analysis of quantitative data from a mock job interview revealed that ASM participants did not demonstrate more marketable job skills than youth in the control group. Qualitative data suggested that the nature of interpersonal interactions and the degree of professional orientation in apprenticeships contributed to variation in marketable job skills across apprenticeships. The article considers the perspective of human resource professionals who participated in the evaluation and describes an interviewing skills curriculum developed in response to the evaluation findings.     

Twenty-first century skills for students: hands-on learning after school builds school and life success

At the core of the movement for twenty-first century skills are students. The growing efforts to increase programs leveraging out-of-school time are focused on giving American youth everything they need to compete in this increasingly complex world. The author is one of many students who have been well served by initiatives imparting twenty-first century skills during after-school hours. Now a senior at Boston Latin School, the author has been helped along the way by Citizen Schools, an after-school education program focused on hands-on learning apprenticeships and homework help. While enrolled in the program as a middle school student, the author took part in projects that exemplified hands-on, inquiry-based learning that helped her develop twenty-first century skills. For example, along with dozens of other students, she advanced her data analysis skills by analyzing statistics about Boston Public high schools, which also helped her select and enroll in one of the city's premier exam schools. Also, she and her peers worked with corporate attorneys who served as writing coaches and whose expertise the author drew from in producing a published essay and greatly improving her writing skills. The author now finds that the public speaking, leadership, organizational, social, and management abilities she built through her participation in Citizen Schools are a great asset to her in high school. The confidence with which she tackles her responsibilities can also be traced back to her experiences in the program. As she looks toward college, the author reflects and realizes that being actively involved in a quality after-school program put her on track for a successful future.     

Rural High School Youth's Access to and Use of School‐to‐Work Programs

Rural youth face numerous barriers that may limit career exposure. School‐to‐work (STW) programs are one tool used to increase exposure and facilitate connections between school and work. Using a nationally representative data set, the authors investigated whether rurality relates to the availability of STW programs and rural youth's program use. Results indicate that most schools provide school‐based services (e.g., career plans/career majors), but few schools offer work‐based services (e.g., internships). Rural schools were more likely to offer vocational–technical prep programs and job shadowing but were less likely to offer school‐based enterprise. After controlling for program availability, the authors found that rural students were less likely to take part in job shadowing and community service. Conclusions are offered for career development research, policy, and practice.     

How first-generation students learn to navigate education systems: a case study of First Graduate

Students from underrepresented groups who seek to become the first in their family to attend college confront economically and racially stratified education systems. This article reports findings from an evaluation of First Graduate, an organization that offers college advising, mentoring, tutoring, and case management to first-generation students starting in seventh grade. We highlight three systems that youth say they encountered on their pathway to college: open enrollment, course taking, and college admissions. We describe how youth navigated these systems and the roles that adults played in support. Our conclusion discusses implications for how after-school programs can support first-generation students.     

Adolescent attitudes toward random drug testing in schools

The current research examined students' perceptions of random drug testing for students participating in after-school activities. Results found students were more likely to endorse drug testing at their school if they are already engaged in after-school activities and not currently using drugs and/or alcohol. While middle and high school students' scores fell within the median, most reported if drug testing were implemented in their school they believed it would not deter continued participation in after-school activities. However, if drug testing were a prerequisite for participating in after-school activities, high school students were more apprehensive about getting tested than middle school students. Student respondents were more likely to endorse drug testing, if all members of the school system (i.e., teachers, coaches and staff) participated in drug testing. High school students' believed they had enough knowledge about drug abuse and were less likely to endorse drug testing because they believed it would violate their personal privacy compared to grade school students. Results also differed as a function of gender and self-reported drug and alcohol use.     

Training Students as Facilitators in the Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) Project

SUMMARY

This article describes the training of students as facilitators for the Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) project designed to promote problem-solving, social action and civic participation among underserved elementary school youth in West Contra Costa County, California. This project involved 160 fifth grade students in after-school activities which identified their capacities and strengths in ways which aimed to decrease rates of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and other risky behaviors. The article describes the recruitment and training of high school students and their graduate student counterparts as facilitators in this university-community partnership, and discusses the implications for other youth-focused community-based projects.     

Supporting systemic social and emotional learning with a schoolwide implementation model

A strong body of research indicates that evidence-based programs designed to promote social and emotional learning (SEL) can lead to positive developmental outcomes for children and youth. Although these evidence-based programs have demonstrated benefits for students, it is also well-established that programs must be implemented with quality and sustained to maximize positive outcomes. To support schools in implementing SEL that is integrated into all aspects of a school community, the CASEL School Guide implementation model was developed to guide school leadership teams in establishing a vision; selecting, implementing, and sustaining evidence-based programs; and integrating SEL schoolwide. The School Guide model is based on CASEL’s School Theory of Action which includes planning, implementing, and monitoring schoolwide SEL. This paper describes findings about the feasibility and degree of implementation of this model as carried out by 14 school leadership teams who were supported by SEL coaches. The participating schools implemented an evidence-based SEL program as the foundation of their efforts to promote schoolwide SEL. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of implementing this model in urban schools that primarily serve students of color, as all teams successfully carried out the implementation model and demonstrated increased levels of capacity related to supporting schoolwide SEL.     

Why the American public supports twenty-first century learning

Aware that constituent support is essential to any educational endeavor, the AOL Time Warner Foundation (now the Time Warner Foundation), in conjunction with two respected national research firms, measured Americans' attitudes toward the implementation of twenty-first century skills. The foundation's national research survey was intended to explore public perceptions of the need for changes in the educational system, in school and after school, with respect to the teaching of twenty-first century skills. The author summarizes the findings of the survey, which were released by the foundation in June 2003. One thousand adults were surveyed by telephone, including African Americans, Latinos, teachers, and business executives. In general, the survey found that Americans believe today's students need a "basics-plus" education, meaning communication, technology, and critical thinking skills in addition to the traditional basics of reading, writing, and math. In fact, 92 percent of respondents stated that students today need different skills from those of ten to twenty years ago. Also, after-school programs were found to be an appropriate vehicle to teach these skills. Furthermore, the survey explored how well the public perceives schools to be preparing youth for the workforce and postsecondary education, which twenty-first century skills are seen as being taught effectively, and the level of need for after-school and summer programs. The survey results provide conclusive evidence of national support for basics-plus education. Thus, a clear opportunity exists to build momentum for a new model of education for the twenty-first century.     

School Counseling Toward an LGBTQ-Inclusive School Climate: Implementing the SCEARE Model

The school environment is often perceived as hostile by sexual minority youth. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) students experience high rates of bullying and suicidal ideation yet are often underserved by school counselors. School counselors are uniquely situated to facilitate systemic change within a school. The proposed School Counselors: Educate, Affirm, Respond, and Empower (SCEARE, pronounced SKEER) model outlines components of an LGBTQ-inclusive school climate. It is designed to be a practical tool for helping school counselors conceptualize their interventions, and a theory of how systemic change might occur. It empowers school counselors to be catalysts of change toward an LGBTQ-inclusive school climate.     

Twenty-first century learning in afterschool

Twenty-first century skills increasingly represent the ticket to the middle class. Yet, the authors argue, in-school learning is simply not enough to help students develop these skills. The authors make the case that after-school (or out-of-school) learning programs are emerging as one of the nation's most promising strategies for preparing young people for the workforce and civic life. Most school systems have significant limitations for teaching twenty-first century skills. They have the limits of time: with only six hours per day there is barely enough time to teach even the basic skills, especially for those students starting already behind. They have the limits of structure: typical school buildings and classrooms are not physically set up for innovative learning. They have the limits of inertia and bureaucracy: school systems are notoriously resistant to change. And perhaps most important, they have the limits of priorities: especially with the onset of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are laserlike in their focus on teaching the basics and therefore have less incentive to incorporate twenty-first century skills. Meanwhile, the authors argue that after-school programs are an untapped resource with three competitive advantages. First, they enable students to work collaboratively in small groups, a setup on which the modern economy will increasingly rely. Second, they are well suited to project-based learning and the development of mastery. Third, they allow students to learn in the real-world contexts that make sense. Yet the after-school sector is fraught with challenges. It lacks focus-Is it child care, public safety, homework tutoring? And it lacks rigorous results. The authors argue that the teaching of twenty-first century skills should become the new organizing principle for afterschool that will propel the field forward and more effectively bridge in-school and out-of-school learning.     

Increasing college access for youth aging out of foster care: Evaluation of a summer camp program for foster youth transitioning from high school to college

Young people who transition from the foster care system face many challenges including lack of support and other educational barriers. They are less likely to graduate from high school than their counterparts and go on to college yet despite challenges, many succeed and take advantage of higher education programs.In Michigan, a state with one of the highest percentage of youth in foster care, Michigan State University developed a small scale, targeted intervention to help transitioning foster youth achieve their goals of pursuing higher education. Led by the School of Social Work in collaboration with other colleges and disciplines, it was demonstrated that a campus based learning program for transitioning foster youth can help contribute toward a perceived increase in knowledge and information about college life, funding and admissions procedures. The educational process involved peer support, role modeling, mentoring and active learning sessions led by the faculty and students who were often foster care alumni themselves. Leaders and speakers came from a range of disciplines, institutions and organizations. This approach and curriculum contributed to perceptions of the camp as enhancing life skills, self-concept, empowerment and sense of purpose. Consequently, this program contributed to the resilience of those who attended and potentially helped build steps from care to higher education.     

Examining Familial-Based Academic Success Factors in Urban High School Students: The Case of Puerto Rican Female High Achievers

ABSTRACT

This article works to dispel the myth that Puerto Rican female urban high school students living in poverty are not capable of performing at high academic levels. This article attempts to counteract these beliefs by describing the four success factors that seven Puerto Rican female high school students attribute to their high academic achievement. These success factors are: (1) religiosity and extracurricular activities as sources of social capital, (2) affirming and maintaining a Puerto Rican identity, (3) maternal influences on students' academic achievement and, (4) the potential for caring teachers and other school staff to influence high academic achievement. Finally, our findings suggest that opportunities for Latinas and other youth of color are still inequitably structured in large, comprehensive high schools. Hence, we argue that schools must continue to bridge the large gap between themselves and the families/communities they serve and utilize the funds of knowledge and social capital that their students already bring to school.     

Purpose plus: supporting youth purpose, control, and academic achievement

Research in the past decade suggests that a persistent achievement gap between students from low-income minority backgrounds and higher-income white backgrounds may be rooted in theories of student motivation and youth purpose. Yet limited research exists regarding the role of purpose on positive youth development as it pertains to academic achievement. Using a sample of 209 high school students, this study examines the effectiveness of an intervention designed to promote purpose development and internal control over academic success in high school students from a low-socioeconomic-status community. Findings reveal that a short-term intervention was effective in significantly increasing internal control over academic success and purpose in life for students participating in the intervention group. In addition, analysis of academic achievement for students who experienced positive gains in internal control and purpose demonstrates significant gains in academic achievement as measured by grade point average. Implications are made for further study of internal control and life purpose as a means of academic intervention in the effort to address the achievement gap.     

Twenty-first century learning after school: the case of 4-H

Founded in the early 1900s, the 4-H Youth Development program can serve as a model for out-of-school programs of the twenty-first century. The 4-H pledge, repeated by its members--over 7 million, ranging in age from five to twenty--articulates its core values: "I pledge: My head to clearer thinking, My heart to greater loyalty, My hands to larger service, and My health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world." The 4-H Development movement was created to provide opportunities for rural children, to help them become constructive adults. Through an emphasis on "learning by doing," 4-H teaches children the habits of lifelong learning. Historically, 4-H has tapped into university-level advancements, extending such knowledge to youth and thereby giving them early access to scientific discoveries and technological progress. Members apply this learning in their communities through hands-on projects crossing a wide-range of pertinent topics. Research shows that 4-H members are more successful in school than other children and develop a wide range of skills essential in the twenty-first century. Thus, the author makes the case that the foundation of 4-H is exceptionally relevant in today's complex world, perhaps even more so than a century ago. 4-H is a leader in youth development, making it a natural model for twenty-first century after-school programs. Expanding on the 4-H pledge, the author outlines the principles a successful youth development program would have: an emphasis on leadership skills, a feeling of connection and belonging, a forum for exploring career opportunities, and a component of meaningful community service.     

The Promise of an Accumulation of Care: Disadvantaged African-American Youths’ Perspectives About What Makes an After School Program Meaningful

African-American youth growing up in dangerous, deprived homes and communities are at great risk of developing impaired relationship capabilities, which disadvantages them further in the workplace and in their personal lives. While after-school programs have well-documented positive effects, researchers have called for better understanding of improving youths’ engagement in services and their constructive relationship skills. Here, we report on a project using participatory action methods to engage poverty-level African-American youth in developing a leadership development program they would find most meaningful. Stand Up Help Out (SUHO) gave youth three layers of caregiving experience: receiving care from instructors, giving and receiving care from peers, and providing care through constructive community action initiatives and mentoring elementary school children. Findings were that: (1) participation and retention of youth in SUHO were considerably higher than national averages; (2) youth reported that SUHO made it possible for them to have better relationships as friends, romantic partners, and in academic settings, and they looked forward to being better parents, (3) youth developed positive peer relationships despite a context of mistrust and gang violence, (4) youth actively sought out relationships with caring adults and identified what was most meaningful in those relationships, and (5) youth deeply valued the opportunity to develop their ability to care for others.     

Promoting children's ethical development through social and emotional learning

In today's climate of increased emphasis on measuring achievement through high-stakes testing, academic subjects are too often divorced from the social context in which they are taught. We know that learning is a social process. In fact, many educators and other youth development practitioners recognize that social, emotional, and ethical development cannot be ignored in the name of better academic preparation, especially in the face of data showing that students are more disengaged than ever before. Social and emotional learning (SEL) offers educators and other youth development personnel a framework for addressing students' social and emotional needs in systematic way. SEL is the process of acquiring the skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations effectively. Research has shown that SEL has an impact on every aspect of children's development: their health, ethical development, citizenship, academic learning, and motivation to achieve. This chapter profiles one school in Illinois that has been implementing SEL programming for a number of years. The authors provide evidence of the impact of SEL on school climate, student behavior, and attitudes. Ultimately the authors see this as fostering the kind of understanding of the larger world that leads young people to make ethical choices. They propose that the lessons learned are applicable to a wide variety of settings, including other schools, after-school programs, and summer camps.