For Immediate Release: April 9, 2013
WELLESLEY, MA – The newest edition of Afterschool Matters, the national, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting professionalism, scholarship, and consciousness in the field of afterschool education, focuses entirely on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in out-of-school time (OST). Girls and youth of color are often underrepresented in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, and OST programs can play a critical role in developing STEM skills and experiences for youth and girls.
“Lifting up the ongoing contribution of OST programs to STEM learning is an important exercise for the field,” said Georgia Hall, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) and managing editor of the journal. “Dimensions of STEM learning such as investigating, reasoning, analyzing, concluding, and explaining can regularly be part of OST learning content. Enriching and engaging STEM learning experiences can build skills intimately related to school and career success.”
Articles included in the current issue include “Where It Gets Interesting: Competing Models of STEM Learning After School,” “How Wide Is a Squid Eye? Integrating Mathematics Into Public Library Programs for the Elementary Grades,” “Effective STEM Programs for Adolescent Girls: Three Approaches and Many Lessons Learned” “Implementing Out-of-School Time STEM Resources: Best Practices from Public Television,” “Variations on a Theme: Characteristics of Out-of-School-Time Science Programs Offered by Distinct Organization Types,” and “Shifting Expectations: Bringing STEM to Scale through Expanded Learning Systems.”
This special issue of Afterschool Matters is published by NIOST with funding from the NOYCE Foundation. The Afterschool Matters initiative at NIOST is funded by the Robert Bowne Foundation. The journal serves those involved in developing and managing programs for youth during the out-of-school time hours, in addition to those engaged in research and in shaping youth development policy.
For more than 30 years, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time has been dedicated to moving the afterschool field forward through its research, education and training, consultation, and field-building. Much of NIOST’s work has encompassed projects of national scope and influence, several representing “firsts” for the field and many focusing on building out-of-school time systems. NIOST is a program of the Wellesley Centers for Women. Since 1974, scholars at WCW have helped shape a better world through their social science research projects and training programs.
More information about Afterschool Matters, including links to current and past issues of the journal, is available at www.niost.org/Publications/afterschool-matters-journal.
