How Effective is Afterschool Programs on At-Risk Youth?

How Effective Is Afterschool Programs on At-Risk Youth?
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How Effective Is Afterschool Programs on At-Risk Youth
The article, "Leveraging After School Programs to Minimize Risks for Internalizing Symptoms among Urban Youth: Weaving Together Music Education and Social Development" by Hedemann & Frazier (2016) examines the efficacy of a university-community partnership focusing on enhancing mental health among students from poor backgrounds through an afterschool music program. One-hundred and sixty-two youths with high anxiety and depression symptoms participated in the afterschool music program that provided opportunities for learning and developing social-emotional competencies. Results revealed fewer internalizing symptoms and reduced depression and anxiety levels among youths. The evidence presented in the study is relevant in that it demonstrates the efficacy of planned afterschool programs in alleviating mental health issues among at-risk students. It is also valid since the results correspond to fundamental characteristics in the social world: the study measured what it initially aimed at measuring. The study findings are also applicable to the design of afterschool programs to meet the mental health needs of at-risk students. The study is founded on the music-based emotion regulation theory, which suggests four emotion regulation approaches to reducing depression and anxiety symptoms: cognitive stimulation, intentional selection, social interaction, and attentional control. Music education was incorporated into the afterschool program to promote mental health among poor learners with depression and anxiety symptoms.
The study used the quantitative research design where the RCADS-25, SDQ, SSIS, HSCL-25, and ERQ-CA informant-report tools were used to collect data from youths participating in the afterschool music program. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS software tool. It also employed the post-evaluation design: the quantitative research design was appropriate since the purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of an afterschool program designed to improve social-emotional competencies among a large group of learners. It also allowed for objectivity, accuracy, and generalizability of results. The study results can be integrated into similar afterschool programs. The article outlines how educators can incorporate activity engagement and behavior management, over and above, activities that promote learning and practice of social-emotional skills into curriculum content. One limitation of the study was its potential selection bias when selecting study participants: the study sample was significantly smaller than the number of students in the afterschool music program. Another weakness of the study was its overreliance on relaxation and feelings identification during emotion regulation training at the expense of cognitive coping. Future studies can investigate other cognitive coping activities that can help improve at-risk students' mental health or enhance stakeholder enthusiasm in socio-emotional afterschool programs.
The article, "Linking Mental Health and After School Systems for Children in Urban Poverty: Preventing Problems, Promoting Possibilities" by Frazier et al. (2007) investigated the efficacy of an afterschool program (using the same strategies as the efficacy-based ADHD Summer Treatment Program (STP)) in improving social, academic, and behavioral characteristics of students living in urban poverty, and who suffer the chronic stressors of poverty and academic underachievement. The STP afterschool program, which is designed to include social, emotional learning in the natural course of recreational activities (computer games, dance, drama, art, and music), was discovered to facilitate reduced disruptive behaviors, positive peer socialization, heightened prosocial behaviors, fewer internalizing problems, and improved academic performance among poor urban students. The research study is relevant because it addresses the challenge of designing afterschool programs that alleviate mental-health issues among at-risk students. Its findings are also valid since they conform to the stated research objectives. They are also applicable in the social world and can be used to design afterschool programs to meet the mental health needs of at-risk students.
The study was founded on the self-regulation theory, which posits that conscious personal management can help guide one's emotions, behaviors, and thoughts within a network of mutually interrelating factors to reach well-being and academic goals. It also used the qualitative research design where the investigators observed students' behaviors as they interacted with one another in the park district and class. Focus groups with school program staff and parents were also conducted to determine prosocial behaviors, disruptive tendencies, academic performance, chronic stressors, and peer socialization behaviors. The post-evaluation design was used: the qualitative research design was appropriate since the chronic stressors endured by learners in poor urban neighborhoods do not lend themselves to quantitative research. The study proposes a comprehensive and innovative afterschool program that addresses the inadequacies of the public mental health systems in low-income neighborhoods. Its findings can be integrated into afterschool programs to meet the mental health needs of poor urban students. Future studies should focus on identifying alternative afterschool program designs that address the unique stress factors experienced by poor urban students and overcome the obstacles to mental health access in poor communities. One limitation of the study was its inability to consid...