Publication Author: Anne-Sophie Denault

Quality at the Point of Service: Profiles of Practice in After-School Settings

Abstract

A unique observational data set was used to explore quality at the point of service in after-school programs. Staff practices in after-school settings were represented on a series of unidimensional scales closely indexed to staff behavior. In order to account for heterogeneity of staff performances, pattern-centered methods were used to construct profiles of common staff practices. Results revealed six pedagogy profiles that were classified in terms of three broad types of performances delivered by after-school staff: (1) positive youth development, (2) staff-centered, and (3) low-quality. Staff membership in these profiles was not related to youth-staff ratio. However, results revealed significant differences between the profiles on the content of the offering and the age of youth in the setting.

Linking Management Practices to Instructional Performances in OST Organizations

Abstract

Youth participation in after-school settings has been linked to numerous positive outcomes but this is inconsistent across studies. Two necessary ingredients for this link are proposed: appropriate instructional practices and youth engagement. Both are profiled user cluster analysis in a dataset including observations of staff instructional practices in 151 youth program offerings and 1176 surveys from youth attending these offerings. Instructional practice profiles suggest patterns corresponding to positive youth development (PYD), staff-centered (SC), and low quality. Youth engagement profiles range from low to medium to high, and further vary across perceived learning and voice. Cross-tabulations reveal strong positive links between PYD and high engagement and between low-quality and low engagement; and strong negative links between PYD and low engagement and between low-quality and high engagement.