Dissertations

Date of Award

12-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

Advisor

Dr. Donny Lee

Abstract

The general purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if participating in after-school programs affected students’ math and literacy achievement in four elementary schools and two middle schools located in a school district in central Arkansas. The study investigated this phenomenon as it related to gender at two different grade levels. The independent variables were participation in after-school programs (participated versus no participation) and gender (male versus female). The dependent variables were math and literacy achievement measured by the state’s Augmented Benchmark Examinations. A review of the literature identified the various aspects after-school programs including the need for such program, characteristics of effective after-school programs, and the implications of after-school program.

The researcher used a 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA to test for interaction effects as well as the main effects of each hypothesis. To test the hypotheses, the researcher used a Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of .01. No significant interaction effects were noted between the variables of participation and gender. In addition, no significant main effects were noted for participation on the math and literacy scores for the two grade levels. viii Although three of the gender main effects showed no significance, one main effect for gender was significant. Results indicated that only significant main effect for gender for 2009 Arkansas augmented Benchmark Examination Literacy Scale Scores for the sixth grade. The effect size for this significant result was large with females outscoring the males in the study.

Findings of the study were contrary to current research indicating quality after-school programs have a significant impact on students’ academic performance. However, these finding do confirm assertions that a more direct focus should be placed on the educational benefits of after-school programs is the goal is student achievement. Merely extending the school day with the same type of instruction and activities will not provide the opportunities to enhance learning.

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