| The after-school hours are seen as a critical time to promote positive child development and increasingly, to support students' academic achievement. State and federal funds, including grants through the 21st Century Community Learning Center initiative, are now being directed toward after-school enrichment to support struggling students and narrow the persistent achievement gap.; The goal of this dissertation was to explore whether and how after-school activities influence children's achievement beliefs and academic outcomes. This study focused on the impact of one after-school program located within a large K-8 school in Boston, Massachusetts. Program participants were compared to non-participants at the school, controlling for all known differences including grade level, gender, race, parent income, home language, special education status, advanced work class, and prior achievement. Through a mixed methods approach, the study analyzed report card grades and achievement tests, administered pre-post surveys to assess achievement beliefs, and conducted field work including student interviews, teacher interviews, and program observations.; This school-based after-school program set high academic expectations, emphasized homework support, and offered an array of activities to enhance student learning. Participation in the program was associated with modest, but significant academic gains. Participants had higher grades in math, class work, and social interaction in the classroom after one year and higher achievement scores in math and English Language Arts after two years. Finally, while it was hypothesized that achievement beliefs would change prior to seeing changes in academic grades, survey results did not support this finding. Instead, qualitative data suggest that gains may have come from program efforts to (a) reinforce strong academic habits, (b) help students develop additional strategies for solving academic problems, and (c) extend learning that was happening during the school day.; While findings in the field have been mixed, this study lends support for the small, but important, role of after-school programs in students' academic success. High student attendance, talented and experienced teachers, and a curriculum highly integrated with the school day set this program apart from many. Recognizing that this research is limited by a quasi-experimental approach, future research would benefit from experimental methods. |
