Student Engagement
Adolescent Out-of-School Time Participation: Contextual Predictors and Developmental Differences
This presentation by the Harvard Family Research Project discusses predictors and developmental differences in adolescent participation in out-of-school time activities. They looked at risk factors on various levels including risk of the child, family, school and neighborhood. Child and family risk were found to be the most consistent predictors of non-participation among middle and high school students. Finally, implications for policy and practice are made for increasing adolescent participation in OST programs. 2005
Program Participation Can Lower Risk of Youth Disconnection From School or Work
Youth who participate in a job training, job search, or school-to-work program during their high school years are less likely to experience subsequent disconnection than youth who do not participate in this type of program, according to a new Child Trends brief. The brief, Youth Who Are "Disconnected" and Those Who Then Reconnect: Assessing the Influence of Family, Programs, Peers, and Communities, analyzes factors that put youth at risk for disconnection as well as factors related to youth reconnecting after a period of disconnection. July 2009.
Engaging Youth on Their Turf: Creative Approaches to Connecting Youth through Community
The Healthy Teen Network, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, presents six creative approaches to engage youth. These six programs include an arts or sports component and seek to build bonds among youth, caring adults and their environment. This article hopes to provide examples for other programs on how to engage often difficult to reach youth. 2007.
Meeting the High School Challenge: Making After-School Work for Older Students
This report by The After-School Corporation (TASC) reviews the many challenges programs face when providing programming for teens. They describe three program approaches to engaging older teens in after-school and discuss strengths and weaknesses of each. The authors also offer lessons learned about providing programming for high school aged youth. July 2007.
Child, Family, and Neighborhood Factors Influence Youth Non-Participation in Programs
A new Child Trends brief finds that youth who have not participated in out-of-school time programs are significantly more likely than are their participating peers to live in an unsupportive neighborhood; to spend more than two hours a day watching TV or playing video games; and to have parents who are in poor health, who don't exercise, and who have less than a high school education. The brief, Non-Participation of Children and Adolescents in Out-of-School Time Programs: Child, Family, and Neighborhood Factors, identifies individual and background factors that influence non-participation. July 2009.
Youth Perspective on Why Teens Don't Participate in Programs
Youth who are not involved with out-of-school time programs identify varied barriers to participation, ranging from programs that are located in unsafe or unfamiliar neighborhoods to program participation being perceived in a negative light by parents and/or peers. A new brief, Why Teens are Not Involved in Out-of-School Time Programs: The Youth Perspective, presents findings from a recent Child Trends youth roundtable discussion. Youth participants also suggested program improvement strategies, such as teaching practical skills, using technology for recruitment, offering a variety of activities, and hiring skilled staff members who treat youth with respect. July 2009.
