For youth of all ages, learning often happens beyond the formal circumstances and training of the classroom. Discovering one’s passion or connecting with an impactful mentor are important contexts for learning that can occur during Out-of-School Time (OST) programming, which comprises programs that take place before and after school and during summer break.
Now, new Illinois research in the Journal of Youth Development shows how differences in the frequency and length of OST programs can make a significant difference in the programs’ impacts on participants.
“Two key structures that can contribute to different outcomes are dosage and duration,” explained Sarah August-Henry, a doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and the paper’s first author. “How frequently a program meets—its dosage—and over how many years—its duration—are important differences between OST programs.”
The study shows that programs that meet with greater frequency, like extracurricular clubs, are more impactful than those that meet less frequently, like summer camps. Clubs generally convene for fewer total hours—as little as six hours annually—than the weeklong camps.
“Frequency and regular attendance are where the magic lies,” said August-Henry, “The intensity of a summer camp is great. That said, what if, for the time I attended, all we did was fishing? If I don’t like fishing, then there is no spark. But if one time the activity is fishing, for example, and next time it is hunting, and then after that it is soccer, then I am exposed to different opportunities. That exposure to different content is how the lightbulb might turn on for a young person.”
According the CDC, nearly 8 million U.S. children participate in after-school programming, with an estimated three children waiting to enroll for every existing participant. A recent Gallup poll found that 55% of school-aged children participated in some type of structured summer programming.
August-Henry is quick to note that the goal of the paper is not to pit extracurricular clubs against summer camps. Indeed, many study participants enroll in both types of programs. Based on the study data, youth involved in each format are having good experiences. Rather, the paper offers practitioners and program directors greater detail on some of the qualities that they might consider when designing a youth program. For example, with regard to duration, it is better to plan for four one-hour meetings than for one four-hour session.
“OST programs are a well-researched area, but little work has been done in comparative analysis of different types of programs,” she said, “This study shows practitioners that considering both dosage and duration in program structure can influence outcomes.”
Although data for the study were gathered in 2019 from Illinois 4-H OST programs, August-Henry notes that she was first motivated to pursue this line of research when she lived abroad in Thailand. There, she worked with migrant youth from Myanmar living in refugee camps. That context might seem quite different from Illinois, August-Henry explains, but the basic principles for implementing youth development are fundamentally the same.
“There are young people who do not always have access to formal education,” she said, “In certain cases, non-formal spaces become accessible and affordable to them and help bridge the gap. That’s true in Thailand and here in Illinois.”
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“How Much is Enough? Dosage and Duration in 4-H Developmental Contexts” is co-authored by August-Henry’s doctoral advisors: Amy Leman, an assistant professor in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication Program and Family Resiliency Center (FRC) Collaboratory affiliate, and Jacinda Dariotis, a professor of human development and family studies, Health Innovation Professor in the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, and director of FRC.