Research On The Implementation Strategies Of "After-school Programs" In The United States

Since the 20 th century,the global society and economy have entered a period of rapid development,and the labor market has created a large talent gap.With government encouragement,more and more women are choosing to work outside the home,and the traditional family structure of a one-person household has changed.However,the mismatch between parents working hours and students school hours has led to the latter becoming unsupervised "Latchkey Kids",making the "3:30 problem" a common social concern in all countries.In order to protect the physical and mental safety of children,improve the academic level of basic education,and relieve the pressure of social security caused by unsupervised children,countries gradually focus on after-school education.As one of the world’s leading developed countries,the United States was one of the first countries to incorporate after-school education into its education reform priorities.Since the late 20 th century,the U.S.has been implementing After-School Programs,which connotes the use of Out-School Time to provide a variety of activities for American youth and children.ASP is an after-school program that provides a variety of activities for American youth and children to improve the quality of public education and address the educational adjustment of immigrant children.After more than a hundred years of development,the U.S.after-school program has formed a relatively mature implementation strategy in terms of legal policies,funding,venue supply,content design,teacher deployment,supervision and evaluation,which can provide useful insights for the development of after-school services at the basic education level in China.Based on this,this paper starts the research from the following six parts:The first part introduces the background of the implementation of the After School Program in the United States,mainly analyzing the historical origins and development of the program.With the increasing economic pressure on families and the rise of the women’s movement in the United States,more and more women are choosing to work outside the home,leaving a large number of youth in unsupervised and dangerous situations after school.In order to protect the physical and mental safety of youth,to help them obtain better job opportunities in the future,and to meet the public’s realistic demands for educational equity and the need to maintain America’s global competitiveness,after-school programs were created in the United States.From the mid-19 th century when some private organizations and individuals provided after-school education for children of immigrant families,to the early20 th century when it entered the stage of independent development,and finally to the 1990 s when the federal government formally participated in the management of after-school programs through the 21 st CCLC financial plan,a perfect after-school program has been established.In the 1990 s,the federal government became involved in the administration of the After School Program through the 21 st CCLC financial plan,and established a comprehensive system for the development of After School Programs.The second section explores the support strategies for the implementation of after-school programs in the United States.First,the policy is led by the enactment of a bill in the area of after-school education;second,the program is financially supported by a special government grant fund,donations from private organizations,and tuition payments from parents of students participating in the after-school program;third,the program is supported by a well-defined,well-trained,and highly qualified staff.Finally,the cooperation between schools,communities,care centers,religious institutions,and other social institutions and organizations has broadened the scope of activities and provided a space for the implementation of the program.The third section discusses the process and strategies for implementing after-school programs in the United States.In order to assume the responsibility of after-school education,after-school programs have developed a standardized enrollment process,set clear activity goals,formed a unique activity model,provided a rich variety of activities including academic enhancement,health and safety education,art instruction,vocational skills enhancement,and STEM courses or activities.The four-step "SAFE" approach provides an important learning and developmental environment for children and youth across the United States.The fourth section reviews the evaluation strategies of the U.S.Afterschool Program.The first is the establishment of a wide range of evaluation agencies,mainly government departments and third-party evaluation agencies,which evaluate the program through regular quality reports,as well as scholars and journals.In addition,scholars and journals have conducted studies and evaluations on various aspects of the program’s implementation,which together point to the program’s high quality development.Second,professional evaluation tools were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the After School Program.Finally,the evaluation process of "data collection-analysis and research" was followed to ensure the quality of the program’s implementation.The fifth section summarizes the effectiveness of after-school programs in the United States.The effectiveness of after-school programs has received much attention since they were introduced across the United States.In recent years,many research institutions and scholars have conducted studies on the quality and effectiveness of after-school programs,and their findings indicate that after-school programs have had a positive impact on improving students’ academic performance,enhancing their physical fitness,improving their health,and helping them develop 21 st century skills to improve their competitiveness in the future workplace.The After School Program has had a positive impact in improving academic performance,enhancing physical fitness,improving students’ physical performance,and helping students develop 21 st century skills for future job competitiveness.In addition,after-school programs have compensated minority children with equal access to education and have contributed to social equity in education.The sixth section presents the inspiration of the American after-school program for the development of after-school services in China.At present,China is in the critical period of implementing the "double reduction" policy,and how to design and implement after-school services is the most important task to ensure the implementation of the "double reduction" policy in all parts of the country.The experience of the U.S.after-school program has provided ideas for the design and implementation of after-school services in China,including enriching the situation and activities of after-school services,highlighting the orientation of education;integrating school,family and community resources to form a synergy of education;playing the role of local governments in legislation and regulation.It also provides a clear definition of the responsible parties and a regular evaluation of the quality of after-school services to ensure sustainable development.