This qualitative study draws on concepts from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) within a positive youth development framework to postulate that participants in an after-school program will derive a sense of enjoyment and challenge in program activities when they perceive that the program supports their psychological needs for competence, autonomy,…

Leaders of community-based learning programs must prove the worth of their programs to community hosts, while engaging students at appropriate levels of learning. Pitfalls multiply when programs are interdisciplinary, involve multiple sites, and/or deal with questions of social equity. Such programs must effectively match and prepare students and…

Cities around the country are building systems that seek to make the most of public and private resources to provide widespread, high-quality, out-of-school time opportunities. Local officials are leading these efforts because participation in OST programs not only benefits young people but also the cities in which they live, with the potential to…

Over the past two decades, inner-city communities have witnessed double-digit joblessness among an increasing number of residents who are relegated to the status of the "permanent" unemployed or the permanent underclass. These residents cannot hope to be competitive in a changing and evolving labor market. Relying on public assistance, low-wage…

This executive summary describes highlights from the report, "Building Management Information Systems to Coordinate Citywide Afterschool Programs: A Toolkit for Cities." City-led efforts to build coordinated systems of afterschool programming are an important strategy for improving the health, safety and academic preparedness of children…

The National League of Cities (NLC), through its Institute for Youth, Education and Families, produced this report to help city leaders, senior municipal staff and their local partners answer those questions as they work to strengthen and coordinate services for youth and families, particularly for those cities building comprehensive afterschool…

This study demonstrates the impact of an Early Reading First intervention on preschool children's language and literacy development using an ex post facto, causal-comparative research design. The project's professional development model was evaluated to produce a process and outcome evaluation to answer two overarching research questions: (1) What…

Strengthened the theory of change approach to evaluating a complex social initiative by integrating it with a quasi-experimental comparison group design. Used the approach in an evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Urban Health Initiative. Initial findings support the usefulness of the initiative. (SLD)

Reports on the first phase of New York City's attempt to analyze the health needs of foster children and to assess the range and adequacy of such services. (Author/CS)

The Urban Crime Prevention Program (UCPP) was designed to combat urban crime through the establishment of 85 innovative neighborhood-based crime prevention projects across nine cities for 18 months. UCPP's main goals were to increase citizen participation in innovative neighborhood crime prevention efforts, to bolster the capabilities of…

The document presents information pertaining to the program in career education at the Danbury (Connecticut) public schools. The system's organizational chart and policy statement precede descriptions of the elementary, junior high, and senior high programs. Also included are descriptions of inservice teacher training activities, specialized…

The School District of Philadelphia has had a continuously maintained computerized data system for its 270,000 pupils since 1967. This paper outlines: the general procedures and descriptions of the file; the need for establishing a pupil data-base file; the systems products and services; its value to research and evaluation as well as to the…

Observations and interviews were used to evaluate the East Providence Career Education Project for 1973-1974. Data available on processes and products suggest that the program is substantially meeting its goals in spite of low attendance figures and student performance on various tests. A lower socioeconomic class of students with its resultant…

Described are aspects of the evaluation of the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools' 1985 Chapter 1 Citywide Summer School program, a program implemented to improve the reading and mathematics skills of students from pre-kindergarten classes through grade 8. A random sample of 18 schools, including elementary and middle schools, was selected for…

The 1989 New York City Pupils with Compensatory Educational Needs (PCEN) Summer Remediation Program met or exceeded each of its objectives. The program comprised basic skills and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, serving 12,785 students in 880 classes in the regular high schools and an unspecified number of students at 73 off-site…