The Effectiveness of Afterschool Programs on Increasing Student Engagement (2015)

Undergraduate: Kimberly McCullough

Faculty Advisor: Patrick Akos
Department: Sociology

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In education, student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education (edglossary.org). In underprivileged schools with a high minority presence, students are less engaged, with a lack of motivation to learn and participate in the classroom. As a potential solution, an increase in afterschool programming has been linked to an increase in student engagement, especially for those minorities who may not be exposed to caring adults and mentors. Research has shown a positive effect on school engagement with effective afterschool programming, however, there is little to no data for minority high school students concentrated in underprivileged/impoverished areas. This demonstrates a need for further intervention to further investigate the true effectiveness on populations that need to utilize afterschool programs most. For my research, I will focus on a practice perspective where I observe minority students in after-school activities, and assess their engagement compared to those in another area High School that do not engage in after-school programs.