| There is an emerging recognition of the potential for after school programs to promote positive youth development and a renewed focus on program quality in both research and policy. This study incorporated contemporary developmental theory and examined real world after school programs to understand the influence of program participation on the development of positive internal assets. The developmental assets framework proposes that internal assets, or positive characteristics possessed by youth (e.g., commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies and positive identity), are building blocks for health and thriving. Previous research has overlooked how individual internal assets operate and how youth programs can cultivate assets in youth participants. Program quality and youth engagement were explored as critical mechanisms, capturing the important daily interactions between youth and the program context. Data were collected over one academic year from a multi-site after school program in Los Angeles County. Descriptively, youth reported "good" levels of internal assets; however declines in internal assets were observed over the academic year despite program participation. Indeed, as proposed by the California Department of Education, offering more opportunities for active and engaged learning, youth voice and leadership, skill building and a safe and supportive environment, as components of program quality, were associated with more internal assets. The facets of program quality demonstrated similar relationships with internal assets despite predictions about differential associations. Furthermore, several high-quality program practices predicted youth engagement and in turn, greater youth engagement was associated with higher levels of positive identity and commitment to learning after one year of program participation. Youth characteristics predicted differences in internal assets, as well as perceptions of program quality and engagement, such that older youth and those attending the program for external reasons, rather than internal, expressed a greater need for positive experiences after school. Findings lend support for exploring differential relationships between program quality practices and the associated youth engagement and internal assets. Future research should further explore how positive development is promoted after school to inform recommendations for program practice and valuable professional development opportunities for after school program staff. |
