CYFC researcher collaborating with the PA Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) to study career programming in out-of-school time programs
Educators and policy-makers have been advocating for more and better career programming during in-school and out-of-school time, particularly because many youth are unprepared to contribute to the 21st century workforce.
Increasingly, out-of-school time (OST) programs are heeding the call to provide career programming for middle- and high-school youth. However, there is currently little guidance regarding the efficacy of different programs. As a result, OST program directors may choose programs that may not have impact.
To address this critical gap in our knowledge of what works in OST career programming, Kate Hynes, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, is collaborating with the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) to study career programming in out-of-school time programs. Specifically, the goals of the project are to identify potentially replicable models for conducting career programming in OST that may merit experimental testing, disseminate information about implementation challenges and strategies to overcome them, and assist program directors interested in implementing or improving their career programming by understanding more about the way program content, social processes, and setting resources interact to create the environments experienced by youth.
The work is being completed with grant funding from the William T Grant Foundation and the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, as well as in-kind support from Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network.