Major
Spanish
Second Major
Political Science
Advisor
Libutti, Dean
Date
5-2016
Keywords
after-school programs; achievement gap; education policy; best practices
Abstract
There is a saturation of scholarly research affirming the existence of a gap in academic achievement between students in need and students of privilege in the United States. However, there is a current debate to decide the most effective intervention strategies that should be employed to close this achievement gap. This study will examine the role that after-school programs play in closing the gap. Specifically, this study will investigate best practice components for after-school programs and will attempt to determine if select after-school programs in Rhode Island provide proven best practices for students in need.
This study attempts to define and identify “best practices” by examining existing literature that has studied after-school programs as an intervention strategy for closing the achievement gap. In doing so, it will be determined if select after-school programs in Rhode Island are offering programs for students in need which fulfill the best practices proven to be effective in serving students and closing the achievement gap. Hopefully, this study will help to provide the context needed to understand which best practices are utilized in actual programs and the benefit elicited from these practices.