Challenges for After-School Envirnment

Challenges Facing the After-school Community’s Integration of Science Programming

Despite its history and growth, the after-school arena is not yet stable. It is important to recognize their constraints and limitations.

Diversity of goals. There is a range of opinion within the diverse field of after-school and out-of-school programs about how they can best support young people. Is the role of after-school programs to help students meet academic achievement goals dictated by the formal education system? Is it to ensure healthy development and space for open-ended exploration, reflection, creative and physical pursuits? Is it to awaken and nurture a sense of community responsibility and self-efficacy in making a difference? How closely aligned with the school day should after-school programs be? How different in tone and content should they be? Should the after-school program be part of a “seamless day” or a break from the previous six hours?

Staff turnover and preparation. After-school staff positions are low paying, have few benefits, and do not offer job security. As a result, turnover for these positions is high and staff preparation and background are extremely variable. After-school programs must recruit, hire, and train new staff on a regular basis. After-school programs must be designed so that new staff members can be quickly brought up to speed and function independently.

Limited budgets, space, and planning time. Despite an overall increase of funding for after-school programs as a whole, budgets for individual programs are tight. This is due both to the competition for resources that cannot meet the demand, and a policy agenda to demonstrate that the per child cost can be affordable and thus supportable by taxpayer dollars. Scarce dollars go first to direct service, with little allocation for planning time in which to develop, extend, or evaluate learning experiences. Funds for materials are limited, and the supplies suited to hands-on science exploration may not be readily available.

The growth of afterschool programs has not yet been matched by a consistent level of quality across the field. This is still a field under development, and there is an unevenness in capacity to deliver high quality experiences and outcomes.

The after-school community needs programs grounded in these realities that can build on its current assets and circumvent its weaknesses.