Positive development of children and youth in out-of-school time activities

1. Positive development of children and youth in out-of-school time activities Peter Lenčo University of Trnava

2. When school is out...

3. Out-of-school time (OST) activities

4. OST education concepts Formal school education Social work

5. OST principles • Supporting development, education, recreation and well being • Children and young people centred • Individual and (peer) group work • Trusting informal relations • Process oriented • Taking place in leisure time • Voluntary participation • Fostering democracy • Evaluating practice

6. Youth work as defined by the EU Youth work is broad term covering a large scope of activities of a social, cultural, educational or political nature both by, with and for young people. Increasingly, such activities also include sports and services for young people. Youth work belongs to the area of ‘out-of-school’ education as well as specific leisure time activities, managed by professional or voluntary youth workers and youth leaders and is based on non-formal learning processes and on voluntary participation. Council resolution on a renewed framework for European co-operation in the youth field (2010-2018)

7. What value is in it? According to research findings, OST activities: • support learning and academic achievement • support personal and social development • reduce risk-taking behaviour • foster civic and political participation • develop skills to be effective learners and leaders • improve work habits • lover dropout rates • ... Feldman and Matjasko 2005; Halpern 1999; Lauer, Little and Weiss 2004; Little 2009; McFarland and Thomas 2006; Schneider-Muńoz and Politz 2007.

8. OST challenges • Identity crisis • Youth work paradox • Tension between young people´s needs and society´s (emancipation – control) • Relation between research, practice, policy • Voluntary versus professional youth work • Youth worker as a profession • Formalisation of the non-formal Coussée 2008; Verschelden, Coussée, Van de Walle, Williamson 2009; Coussée, Verschelden, Van de Walle, Medlinska, Williamson 2010.

9. Complementary learning • Effective schools • Supportive families and opportunities for family engagement • Early childhood programs • Health and social services • Out-of-school time activities (including sports, arts, and mentoring programs) • Community-based and cultural institutions • Colleges and universities What is complementary learning? (2008) HFRP.

10. Recruiting and retaining youthin OST programs • Help youth understand the value of participation • Show families the opportunities associated with participation • Reach out directly to youth and their families in their homes and communities • Match the program’s attendance goals to participant needs • Consider at-risk youth in recruitment efforts • Recruit friends to join together • Hire program staff who develop real connections with participants • Hook youth with both fun and relaxing times • Link academics to an engaging Project • Give high school youth extra opportunities Lauver, S., Little, P.M.D., Weiss, H.B. (2004) Moving Beyond the Barriers: Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in Out-of-School Time Programs. Harvard Family Research Project.

11. Peter Lenčo University of Trnava – Faculty of Education lenco.peter@gmail.com