Implementation Quality and Positive Experiences in After‐School Programs
Open accessAbstract
Data collected during an evaluation of a multi-site trial of an enhanced after-school program were used to relate quality of program implementation to student experiences after school. The enhanced after-school program incorporated a drug use and violence prevention component that was shown to be effective in previous research. Building on Durlak and Dupre's (Am J Community Psychol 41:327-350, 2008) dimensions of implementation, we assessed the level of dosage, quality of management and climate, participant responsiveness, and staffing quality achieved at the five program sites. We evaluated how these characteristics co-varied with self-reported positive experiences after-school. The study illustrates how multiple dimensions of program implementation can be measured, and shows that some but not all dimensions of implementation are related to the quality of student after-school experiences. Measures of quality of management and climate, participant responsiveness, and staffing stability were most clearly associated with youth experiences. The importance of measuring multiple dimensions of program implementation in intervention research is discussed.
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Recreation instructors often have personal experience but may not have recognized certification or qualifications, may not be familiar with current pedagogy practices, and as a result children may not experience high quality programming.
“The instructor often has personal experience participating in the activity, but may not necessarily have recognized certification or qualifications to instruct it.Instructors may not be familiar with current pedagogy practices and as a result, children may not experience high quality programming (Cross et al., 2010;Gottfredson et al., 2007;Lerner et al., 2005;Zarrett et al., 2008).”
From Developing an Intentionally Designed Physical Activity Model of Programming for Children’s Structured Recreation in Canada (2022) · cites this paper as Cross et al., 2010
Many physical activity programs in the recreation sector are mainly developed based on convenience and instructor availability rather than on established credentials and current pedagogy practices.
“Such pathways of intentionally designed models fail to exist in the recreation sector where many physical activity (PA) programs are mainly developed based on convenience and instructor availability rather than on established credentials and current pedagogy practices.”
From Developing an Intentionally Designed Physical Activity Model of Programming for Children’s Structured Recreation in Canada (2022) · cites this paper as Cross et al., 2010
Cites
Durlak, J. A., & DuPre, E. P. (2008) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10464-008-9165-0 · Cited by 5,304 · see citing works
Dane, A. V., & Schneider, B. H. (1998) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/s0272-7358(97)00043-3 · Cited by 1,557 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Durlak and Dupre (2008), drawing largely on an earlier analysis by Dane and Schneider (1998) , described eight dimensions of implementation.”
BackgroundMethodOut-of-School-Time Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Effects for At-Risk Students
Lauer, P. A., Akiba, M., Wilkerson, S. B., Apthorp, H. S., Snow, D., & Martin-Glenn, M. L. (2006) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543076002275 · Cited by 579 · see citing works
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The importance of studying the implementation of interventions in school settings
Lendrum, A., & Humphrey, N. (2012) · Oxford Review of Education · doi:10.1080/03054985.2012.734800 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Cross, A. B., Gottfredson, D. C., Wilson, D. M., Rorie, M., & Connell, N. (2009) · Criminology & Public Policy · doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2009.00555.x · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationVan Wyk, N., Taylor McCallum, N., & Katz, L. (2022) · Journal of Park and Recreation Administration · doi:10.18666/jpra-2021-10910 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cross, A. B., Gottfredson, D. C., Wilson, D. M., Rorie, M., & Connell, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Rowan University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cross, Amanda Brown
- Venue
- American Journal of Community Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-03-14
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 3-4
- Pages
- 370-380
- ISSN
- 0091-0562 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2770
- OpenAlex
- W1979892346
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 16.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Community Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Education
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Evaluation and Performance Assessment
- Keywords
- after-school programs, program implementation quality, program management, organizational climate, participant responsiveness, youth experiences, substance use prevention, violence prevention
- MeSH terms
- Workforce, Adolescent, Humans, Quality Control, Schools, Time Factors, United States, Program Development, Substance-Related Disorders
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