Occasional Paper Fall/Winter 2004
Download the entire issue of Afterschool Matters Occasional Paper Fall/Winter 2004 as a pdf. 52 pages.
- The Four Cs of Afterschool Programming A New Case Method for a New Field
By Gil G. Noam, Ed.D., Ph.D. (Habil) with Susanna Barry, Lisa Wahl Moellman, Leigh van Dyken, Carol Palinski, Nina Fiore, and Rob McCouch
Growing public and policy interest in the use of afterschool time has led to a need for research methods that allow investigators and stakeholders to examine and refine program models and activities. The case study method offers promise for afterschool research, but case study models must be refined in order to adequately study afterschool programming, which is characterized by collaboration among numerous stakeholders. “The Four Cs”—collaboration, communication, content, and coherence—provide one such framework. This method allows researchers who study afterschool education to respect its unique characteristics as an intermediary space that must accommodate the needs of many stakeholders and as a transitional space that serves the needs of children and youth in their various stages of development. 19 pages. - Investing in Social Capital Afterschool Activities and Social Affiliation in Immigrant Youth
By Marc Camras, Ph.D.
The 2000 Census indicates a significant increase in foreign-born and first-generation students in public schools, at a time when multicultural communities are challenging long-held notions about civic participation in America. This study of Teen Educators Advocating for Community Health (TEACH) illustrates how an innovative afterschool program attempted to nurture social capital and a sense of belonging in immigrant youth. Drawing on Robert Putnam’s distinction between the bonding and bridging forms of social capital, the study argues that afterschool programs can help immigrant youth develop affiliations with diverse others outside their own communities by developing relevant programming that engages youth with children and adults in a variety of informal settings. The study examines the particular TEACH activities—community service, career development, and a class on public health issues—and features that worked to foster new relationships, attitudes, and feelings of responsibility toward others: Focusing on social affiliation and its role in promoting civic engagement, the study explores how participation in such activities can help immigrant youth attend to the welfare of their own community and of the larger society. 27 pages.