scholarly journals At-Risk Youth in After-School Programs: How Does Their Use of Media for Learning About Community Issues Relate to Their Perceptions of Community Connectedness, Community Involvement, and Community Support?

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Rosemary V. Barnett ◽  
Jeffrey C. Neely ◽  
Caroline Payne-Purvis ◽  
Gerald R. Culen

This paper highlights a study examining the impact of various media formats on at-risk youth to identify forms of media technology that might impact their community connectedness, community involvement, and community support. Over a three-year period, a sample of 133 youth enrolled in after-school programs in two communities completed a questionnaire annually consisting of the following areas: community support, community involvement, community connectedness, and media use for learning. Linear regression analysis indicated media use for learning about community issues was a predictor of student’s perceptions of community support, community connectedness, and community involvement. The media format most identified for gaining knowledge about community issues by the youth was the Internet, while the use of print media increased over the course of the study. The most significant relationships were found between media use and perceptions of community overall with the most significant gains in media use during Y2, where youth knowledge of community issues increased.

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary V. Barnett ◽  
Paige E. Combee ◽  
Caroline Payne-Purvis

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between individuals and institutions when providing information to at-risk youth. This research examined how community issues are translated to 302 at-risk youth participants in two community-based after school programs. It specifically sought to identify the individuals and institutions where adolescents self-reported that they receive information from about community issues and whether there were relationships between these two entities. At-risk youth self-reported learning about community issues from key individuals and institutional connections. Positive correlations were found between all of the individuals and institutions, which indicate youth receive information about their communities from multiple individuals and institution types. The results provide important implications for institutions and individuals to consider as they work with youth.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie J. Hoffman

As budgets tighten and school weeks are shortened more youth are being left unattended at home. Rural youth are particularly affected by these reductions and stranded away from programs and resources. At-risk youth are acutely impacted as they lose contact time with programs that provide life skill development and a safe place for youth to connect to community, other youth and adults. 4-H Projects-in-a-Day can provide curriculum in partnership with after school programs that develop life skills and build positive social skills. In a study conducted with an Idaho After School program during the 2007-2008 and the 2008-2009 school years, six of the 12 life skills evaluated showed a significant increase after participation. Youth also reported positive self esteem and made new friends during the events held on Fridays. 4-H Project-in-a-Day curriculum has shown to be a powerful, ready to use tool in after school programming.


2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 616-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen P. Kremer ◽  
Brandy R. Maynard ◽  
Joshua R. Polanin ◽  
Michael G. Vaughn ◽  
Christine M. Sarteschi

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (2A) ◽  
pp. 12-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendelin M. Slusser ◽  
Mienah Z. Sharif ◽  
Jennifer Toller Erausquin ◽  
Janni J. Kinsler ◽  
Daniel Collin ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Nina Eliasoph

Volunteering improves inner character, builds community, cures poverty, and prevents crime. We have all heard this kind of empowerment talk from nonprofit and government-sponsored civic programs. But what do these programs really accomplish? This book offers an in-depth, humorous, wrenching, and at times uplifting look inside youth and adult civic programs. The book reveals an urgent need for policy reforms in order to improve these organizations and shows that while volunteers learn important lessons, they are not always the lessons that empowerment programs aim to teach. With short-term funding and a dizzy mix of mandates from multiple sponsors, community programs develop a complex web of intimacy, governance, and civic life. The book describes the at-risk youth served by such programs, the college-bound volunteers who hope to feel selfless inspiration and plump up their résumés, and what happens when the two groups are expected to bond instantly through short-term projects. The book looks at adult “plug-in” volunteers who, working in after-school programs and limited by time, hope to become like beloved aunties to youth. It indicates that adult volunteers can provide grassroots support but they can also undermine the family-like warmth created by paid organizers. Exploring contradictions between the democratic rhetoric of empowerment programs and the bureaucratic hurdles that volunteers learn to navigate, the book demonstrates that empowerment projects work best with less precarious funding, more careful planning, and mandatory training, reflection, and long-term commitments from volunteers. The book illustrates what these programs can and cannot achieve, and how to make them more effective.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-73
Author(s):  
Bethany L. Letiecq ◽  
Sandra J. Bailey ◽  
Julie A. Keller

Extant research has focused on out-of-school time among urban and suburban youth, yet there remains scant information on rural low-income youth and their families. This study examines the salience of after-school programs for rural youth. Using an ecological framework, we assess changes in youth behavior and skill acquisition based on reports from 47 youth attending after-school programs in two rural communities, along with their primary caregivers and teachers. Results indicate enhanced life skills and social behaviors among youth attendees. Implications for future research, programming, and policymaking are discussed.


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