scholarly journals Where’d You Hear That? Examining the Importance of Individuals and Institutions in Providing Knowledge to At-Risk Adolescents about Their Local Community

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary V. Barnett ◽  
Paige E. Combee ◽  
Caroline Payne-Purvis
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Local Community ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Community Based ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Community Issues ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
At Risk Adolescents

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.

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
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Community Support ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Community Connectedness ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Community Issues

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.

scholarly journals Projects in a Day Develop Life Skills in At-Risk After School Youth

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie J. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Safe Place ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Life Skill Development ◽  
After School Program ◽  
School Programming

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.

scholarly journals Effects of After-School Programs with At-Risk Youth on Attendance and Externalizing Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 616-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen P. Kremer ◽  
Brandy R. Maynard ◽  
Joshua R. Polanin ◽  
Michael G. Vaughn ◽  
Christine M. Sarteschi
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Externalizing Behaviors ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
School Programs

scholarly journals Self-Esteem and Feelings of Community Connectedness of At-Risk Adolescents Attending Community-Based Afterschool Programs

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
Tina Loughlin ◽  
Rosemary V. Barnett ◽  
Gerald R. Culen ◽  
Nicole L. P. Stedman ◽  
Caroline Payne-Purvis
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Item Analysis ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Afterschool Programs ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Connectedness ◽  
Community Issues ◽  
At Risk Adolescents

This research investigated the relationship between adolescent afterschool program attendance, self-esteem and feelings of community connectedness. Thirty-nine of the 61 at-risk adolescents enrolled in two federally funded, community based afterschool programs participated in the study. Participants completed a 10-item self-esteem questionnaire and a 5-item section of the Youth Involved in Community Issues Survey (YICI) to measure perceptions of community connectedness. Attendance records were also collected from the sites. Data were analyzed using Pearson Correlations. Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship between the total variables. The individual item analysis, however, did find a significant relationship between adolescent community connectedness and self esteem items. Findings suggest that there is a relationship to be explored and strengthened through means of community outreach for adolescents. Conclusions from this study have important implications for youth practice. Specifically, program leaders need to help adolescents get involved in the community as contributing members.

scholarly journals Community-Based After-School Inclusive Programs for Low-Income Minority Youth and Their Families: the Disability Specialist Approach

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
Donald G. Unger ◽  
Tara Woolfolk ◽  
Vanessa Harper ◽  
Teresita Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
Community Centers ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Center Staff ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Local Parent ◽  
Educational Advocacy

Intervention for helping community based after-school programs become more responsive to youth with disabilities and their families is presented in this manuscript. The Disability Specialist intervention utilized a variety of approaches, including: a) increasing awareness of disabilities and services by providing learning opportunity sessions for families and staff, and outreach activities to youth through interactive theater; b) developing in house “disability specialists” to offer ongoing leadership and technical expertise for after-school programs and their community centers; c) developing a network of technical consultants in order to connect families and after-school programs to specialized community resources; d) providing financial assistance to enable community center staff to allocate time to outreach activities; and e) providing families with support in educational advocacy efforts by partnering with a local parent mentoring program. The success of the project depended upon building partnerships with families, community centers, human service agencies, schools, and local funding sources.

Improving Overweight among At-risk Minority Youth: Results of a Pilot Intervention in After-school Programs

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (2A) ◽  
pp. 12-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendelin M. Slusser ◽  
Mienah Z. Sharif ◽  
Jennifer Toller Erausquin ◽  
Janni J. Kinsler ◽  
Daniel Collin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
After School ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Pilot Intervention

Making Volunteers

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Eliasoph
Keyword(s):  
After School Programs ◽  
After School ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Mandatory Training ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Grassroots Support ◽  
Adult Volunteers

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.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document