School News
Out-of-School Time Resource Center
Assesses Professional Development
Funded primarily by a grant from the William Penn Foundation, the Out-of-School Time Resource Center (OSTRC) is housed in the Center for Research on Youth and Social Policy (CRYSP), one of SP²’s research centers. The OSTRC promotes out-of-school time (OST) student achievement by conducting research on and providing access to staff resources and professional development.
Currently, the OSTRC is conducting a mixed method pilot study to design survey instruments that can assess the effectiveness of out-of-school time professional development in workshop and conference settings. These instruments include post-workshop surveys, follow-up surveys (completed one month later), presenter self-assessments, and overall conference evaluations. As of July 2005, the OSTRC has evaluated three major local and regional OST conferences and two networking meetings, during which the initial phases of the surveys were tested. A total of 1426 OST staff have participated in the study, and approximately 4733 surveys have been collected.
These pilot surveys were developed and revised based on the findings of five focus groups conducted with 50 local OST program staff, including those who work directly with children as well as those in administrative positions. The purpose of the focus groups was to determine how participants feel they benefit from professional development, specifically in terms of effecting positive change in participants’ skills, knowledge and attitudes.
Findings from the focus groups can serve as recommendations to those who provide and/or plan professional development for OST staff. For example, professional development for OST staff should include “Formal Networking Groups” and “Onsite Trainings” in addition to the more common format, “Offsite Training”. It is also important to encourage planners of professional development to provide workshops that are interactive, discuss relevant content, model new activities, and are presented by individuals who utilize adult learning theory principles within the training.
Further, attention needs to be given to uses in the workplace that extend beyond the time period of a workshop. “Lack of support from other staff / Not all staff attend training” was cited most often as the reason participants do not apply what was learned within a workshop, once they return to their work settings. Therefore, it is important to schedule professional development at times that are convenient for many staff to attend. Lack of time within the workplace is another significant barrier to application of new knowledge. By allowing participants time within a professional development session to plan how they will apply new information learned, they might be more likely to use what they learn.
The analysis of the survey data is still in progress. When completed, the researchers will determine if a third pilot test is necessary. Ultimately, they will pursue standardization of the instruments and dissemination of the surveys as part of an Evaluation Toolkit that can be used to design and evaluate OST workshops and conferences. The OSTRC is going into its third year of funding by The William Penn Foundation and has increased outside funding through grants from The Philadelphia Foundation, the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, and the National Science Foundation. Nancy Peter, MEd, serves as principal investigator on the project, assisted by Research Coordinator Jennifer Buher-Kane and Communications Coordinator John Price III.