Abstract
Out-of-school time (OST) is a burgeoning field with both research and policy implications. Efforts to improve professional development for OST staff members are of particular interest, as funding streams increasingly target interventions which promote positive changes in student outcomes. Professional development evaluation in particular is hindered by a lack of consistency among job titles and responsibilities across OST organizations. This mixed-method study utilizes original data to explore underlying patterns of job responsibilities within the field and offers a new classification system based on exploratory factor analyses. The classification includes five categories, each with a unique combination of common job responsibilities to assist survey respondents in choosing the appropriate category: upper-level administration, mid-level administration, direct-service, capacity-building, and “other.” Results suggest this new system is user-friendly to both respondents and researchers, and will garner more accurate and comparative information for future OST research and application.
Highlights
Structures and dynamics have changed dramatically over the past few decades
While self-care is relatively uncommon for elementary school children, out-of-school time (OST) programs have become increasingly widespread
While it is unlikely that a given position includes every single primary job responsibility, it is clear that some staff had difficulty deciphering primary from secondary responsibilities
Summary
Structures and dynamics have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Rising levels of female participation in the labor market, dual-income/dual-career families, and single parent households have presented new challenges to families seeking out-of-school time care for their children. One meta-analysis reviewed quasi-experimental and experimental studies on OST programs and found a consistently positive effect of OST programs on at-risk children, in terms of math and reading achievement (Lauer et al, 2006). This effect was small but significant, and more pronounced for programs including tutoring elements. Studies have linked professional development to positive student outcomes in both formal education and out-of-school time settings. Professional development for classroom teachers is associated with a variety of positive outcomes relating to student achievement, classroom management, classroom environment, etc. One experimental study found that classroom teachers attending training targeting specific outcomes and aligned with a specific reform initiative improved their classroom practice, while those attending trainings on more general topics showed no change in their practice (Whitehurst, 2002)
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