This article is situated within the intersection of education for social transformation (EST) and ecojustice education (EJE). We have described the benefits of youth participation in an after-school science program offered to socio-economically vulnerable populations in São Paulo (Brazil). More specifically, we explored participants' changing…

This chapter highlights the fit between youth-development-oriented programming and informal science activities in out-of-school time (OST) and illustrates how science and youth development can and should co-occur. The clover model and Dimensions of Success tool are introduced as lenses for designing and assessing science program quality in OST.…

This dissertation addresses the question of how structured out-of-school-time settings, such as afterschool programs and summer camps, are positioned to support children's engagement and learning in science. This study addresses a gap in the research literature that does not fully specify the nature of the out-of-school-time (OST) setting and that…

This study sought to explore qualitatively how participation in an informal science program might affect the following aspects of upper elementary school children's scientific thinking: conceptual understanding, epistemology of science, and the formation of their identity as science learners. A purposefully selected, maximum variation sample of…

Examines effects of an afterschool science program on minority female students' attitudes toward science, engineering, and mathematics. The program, which incorporated cooperative learning, lands-on activities, mentoring, and role models, positively influenced participants' attitudes to (and subsequent participation in) these subject areas.…