The Association of Afterschool Programs' Organizational Characteristics, Program Instructional Quality, and Developmental Outcomes.

Authors

Jason B. Pittman, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Social Welfare

First Advisor's Name

Hui Huang

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Eric Wagner

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Nicole Fava

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Joseph Raiker Jr.

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

after school programs, education, child development, fitness, social emotional learning, reading, elementary school students

Date of Defense

5-18-2022

Abstract

After-school programs (ASPs) are institutions that impact the development of millions of children in the United States. Although the ASP literature is extensive, research related to organizational characteristics, quality, and developmental outcomes is limited. The purpose of this research is to understand the association between organizational characteristics of ASPs, instructional quality within ASPs, and developmental outcomes (i.e., reading, fitness, and social emotion learning [SEL]) for children attending ASPs.

The study utilized a quasi-experimental longitudinal design with secondary data analysis. This study used 2018-2019 school year data from The Children’s Trust, a government organization of Miami-Dade County that funds programs for children. The original study sample included 13,518 children from 170 sites managed by 83 ASPs (i.e., some APSs manage more than one site). The study used multilevel modeling for data analysis.

The findings indicated a statistically significant association between ASPs and improved developmental outcome scores over time; certain demographic factors examined explain some of the variances of outcome scores. Reading outcomes were not associated with any quality assessment factors, while the fitness outcome was associated with higher wages, cost-per-participant, and the percentage of physically active participants during fitness instruction. SEL outcomes were associated with lower wages and cost-per-participant and quality ratings of observed instruction.

Identifier

FIDC010843

Recommended Citation

Pittman, Jason B., "The Association of Afterschool Programs' Organizational Characteristics, Program Instructional Quality, and Developmental Outcomes." (2022). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5133.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5133