The global outbreak of COVID-19 aggravated inequalities in the basic education sector in South Africa. The pandemic necessitated mechanisms to advance learning while safeguarding against the spread of the life-threatening virus. To pursue teaching and learning, rotational school attendance models were introduced. However, the notion of "no…

Because large-scale studies repeatedly indicated low reading literacy for many students, a need for interventions fostering reading literacy, such as extracurricular tutoring, has often been emphasized. Several reading promoting programs, suitable for extracurricular tutoring, were developed and shown to be effective in recent years. Moreover,…

This study investigates laissez-faire leadership and how it is used by the School Management Team (SMT) to monitor extra classes. The focus is on the application of laissez-faire leadership by the SMT and not on the leadership style that each individual teacher uses during extra classes. The perception of teachers regarding the application of…

This study uses a naturalistic inquiry approach to investigate how rural educators navigate the affordances and barriers of implementing an out-of-school program to identify and develop middle school STEM talent in rural communities. At the time of this study, the STEM program was in its fourth year of implementation. Participants included 34…

The Double Reduction policy represents a significant educational reform endeavor of the Chinese government to alleviate the overly heavy burdens of homework and off-campus training for compulsory education students. Using the method of literature review, this study surveys the existing empirical research on the effects of the policy on the…

The Texas 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program operates as the Texas Afterschool Centers on Education (Texas ACE). Texas ACE strives to improve student attendance, behavior, and academics, while providing a safe supplemental learning environment for students and families who otherwise would not have such opportunities.…

The study investigated the effect of using a design thinking teaching method on male and female students' achievement in some selected secondary school physics concepts in the context of STEM learning. The study was carried out in an afterschool environment which necessitated the researcher using a single group quasi experimental research design…

Background/Context: Urban public high schools serving low-SES communities historically have underserved nondominant culturally and linguistically diverse students by divesting them of social and cultural resources and delivering impoverished curriculum and instruction. Associated with such subtractive schooling, many Latinx youth have suffered…

This mixed methods case study presents the experience of a group of middle school students in a year-long, after-school computing programme in a large, inner-city school district in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this research is to explore informal educational strategies that are conducive at giving underrepresented minority youth…

Mathematics is an important subject in senior high education as it forms the basis for most taught subjects. In Ghana, it is a common practice to find parents enrolling their children in private after-school mathematics tutorials. Teachers who teach after-school tutorials usually organize class after school hours or during the weekends for a fee.…

In this dissertation I explore the fugitive technology practices of Black high-schoolers in a tech-rich after-school makerspace. To do so, I invoke ontologies from two cyborgs to make sense of these Black teens' practices. First, James and Costa Vargas (2012) offer the Black Cyborg-- the rebel intellectual rejecting victimization through…

This study analyzes Deeper Learning (DL) opportunities and the correlation between multiple DL measures on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) career orientation in out-of-school time (OST) STEM programming. Additionally, this study examines the presence and validity of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) DL measures in OST…

Background/Context: Computer programming is rarely accessible to K-12 students, especially for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Middle school age is a transitioning time when adolescents are more likely to make long-term decisions regarding their academic choices and interests. Having access to productive and positive…

Following a massive wave of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators found the need to be hyper-critical of how they spend their instructional time with students. Almost all students are expected to return nearly a full grade-level behind and would likely have to learn to navigate a completely new school environment. As a result,…

Satellite laboratories, designed to ignite interest in technical and computer science topics, employ cross-age peer tutoring and physical computing platforms. Catering to students from 5th grade onwards, these laboratories are led by tutors from 9th grade onwards. Employing a design-based research approach, the project aims to comprehensively…