Occasional Paper Fall 2005
Download the entire issue of Afterschool Matters Spring 2006 as a pdf. 32 pages.
Download individual articles as pdfs:
- From Promise to Participation: Afterschool Programs through the Lens of Socio-Cultural Learning Theory
By Meredith I. Honig and Morva A. McDonald
Studies of the effects of afterschool programs on student learning have yielded equivocal findings. This paper argues that such findings stem from weak conceptualizations of the relationship between afterschool programming and learning. The authors use socio-cultural learning theory to reveal specific dimensions of afterschool programs that have positive impact on learning, drawing on almost 200 documents from the afterschool literature to substantiate and elaborate these dimensions. Findings illuminat why afterschool programs that provide “more school after school” significantly limit students’ opportunities to learn. 26 pages.
