Basic quality-of-life indicators including employment, access to health care, and involvement with the criminal justice system paint a grim picture for the lives of urban Black males; thus, it is increasingly important to identify prevention and intervention strategies that can improve outcomes for this group. After-school programs have been suggested as a promising strategy that can increase the social and academic wellness of young urban Black males. In this review of the literature, the author highlights the importance of after-school programs for this group. Effective types of after-school programs are also examined, and the core elements that drive the effectiveness of these programs are delineated.
Bartolome, L.I. (1994). Beyond the methods fetish: Toward a humanizing pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review, 64, 173-194.
2.
Bass, C., & Coleman, H. (1997). Enhancing the cultural identity of early adolescent male African Americans. Professional School Counseling, 1, 48-51.
3.
Bean, R., Bush, K., McKenry, P., & Wilson, S. (2003). The impact of parental support, behavioral control and psychological control on the academic achievement and self esteem of African American and EuropeanAmerican adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18, 523-541.
4.
Beck, E.L. (1999). Prevention and intervention programming: Lessons from an after-school program. Urban Review, 31, 107-124.
5.
Boykin, A.W. (1986). The triple quandary and the schooling of Afro-American children. In U. Neisser (Ed.), The school achievement of minority children (pp. 57-92). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Chung, A. (2000). After school programs: Keeping children safe and smart (ED-00-PO-1711). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
7.
Dubois, D.L., Holloway, B.E., Valentine, J.C., & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology , 30, 157-197.
8.
Eccles, J.S., & Barber, B.L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters?Journal of Adolescent Research, 14, 10-43.
9.
Fashola, O.S. (2002). Building effective after-school programs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
10.
Fashola, O.S. (2003). Developing the talents of African American male students during the nonschool hours. Urban Education, 38, 398-430.
11.
Fashola, O. S. (Ed.). (2005). Educating African American males: Voices from the field. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
12.
Ferguson, A.A. (2000). Bad boys: Public schools in the making of Black masculinity. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
13.
Fine, M., Burns, A., Payne, Y.A., & Torre, M.E. (2004). Civics lessons: The color and class of betrayal . Teachers College Record, 106, 2193-2223.
14.
Furnham, A., & Stacey, B. (1991). Young people's understanding of society. London: Routledge.
15.
Gavazzi, S., Alford, K., & McKenry, P. (1996). Culturally specific programs for foster care youth . Family Relations, 45, 166-174.
16.
Glancy, M., Willits, F.K., & Farrell, P. (1986). Adolescent activities and adult success and happiness: Twenty-four years later. Sociology and Social Research, 70, 242-250.
17.
Gonzalez-DeHass, A., Willems, P., & Holbein, M. (2005). Examining the relationship between parental involvement and student motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 17, 99-123.
18.
Guterman, N.B., & Cameron, M. (1997). Assessing the impact of community violence on children and youths. Social Work, 42, 495-505.
19.
Halpern, R. (2000). The promise of after-school programs for low-income children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 185-214.
20.
Halpern, R. (2002). A different kind of child development institution: The history of after-school programs for low-income children. Teacher College Record, 104, 178-211.
21.
Halpern, R. (2003). Making play work: The promise of after-school programs for low income children. New York: Teachers College Press.
22.
Harvey, A., & Hill, R. (2004). Africentric youth and family rites of passage program: Promoting resilience among at-risk AfricanAmerican youths. Social Work, 49, 65-74.
23.
Harvey, A., & Rauch, J. (1997). A comprehensive rites of passage program for Black male adolescents. Health & Social Work, 22, 30-37.
24.
Hirsch, B.J. (2005). A place to call home: After-school programs for urban youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
25.
Hollister, R. (2003). The growth of after school programs and their impact. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
26.
Holzman, M. (2004). Public education and Black male students: A state report card. Schott educational index. Cambridge, MA: Schott Foundation for Public Education.
27.
Hopper, K. (1999). John Berger and Erick Holtzman. Social Policy, 30, 13-21.
28.
Huang, D., Gibbons, B., Kyang, S.K., Lee, C., & Baker, E.V. (2000). A decade of results: The impact of LA's best after school enrichment program on subsequent student achievement and performance . Los Angeles: University of California , Los Angeles, Center for the Study of Evaluation.
29.
Kane, T.J. (2004). The impact of after school programs: Interpreting the results of four recent evaluations (Working paper). New York: William T. Grant Foundation.
30.
Kunjufu, J. (1995). Countering the conspiracy to destroy young Black boys series. Chicago: African American Images.
31.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995a). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34, 159-165.
32.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995b). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy . American Educational Research Journal, 32, 465-491.
33.
Lauer, P., Akiba, M., Wilkerson, S., Apthorp, H., Snow, D., & Martin-Glen, M. (2006). Out of school time programs: A meta-analysis of effects for at-risk students. Review of Educational Research, 76, 275-313.
34.
Lopoo, L.M. (2005). Maternal employment and latchkey adolescents. Social Service Review, 79, 602-623.
35.
Lynn, M., & Hassan, K. (1999). Raising the critical consciousness of African American students in Baldwin Hills: A portrait of an exemplary African American male teacher. Journal of Negro Education, 68, 42-53.
36.
Marris, P., & Rein, M. (1973). Dilemmas of social reform. Chicago: Aldine.
37.
Marsh, H.W. (1992). Extracurricular activities: Beneficial extension for the traditional curriculum or subversion of academic goals? Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 553-562.
38.
Mason-Dixon Pulling and Research. (2002). New York state survey of teens. Retrieved January 12, 2005, from http://www.fightcrime.org/ny/teenpoll
39.
Masten, A.S., & Coatsworth, D.J. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments. American Psychologist , 53, 205-220.
40.
Mentors are key to getting Black students to college. (2003 ). Black Issues in Higher Education, 20, 20-21.
41.
Miller, J. (1996). Search and destroy: African American males in the criminal justice system. New York: Cambridge University Press.
42.
Mitchell, K., Bush, E.C., & Bush, L. (2002). Standing in the gap: A model for establishing African American male intervention programs within public schools. Educational Horizons, 80, 140-146.
43.
Morton, M. (1972). Pleasures and palaces: The after-school activities of Russian children. New York: Atheneum.
44.
National Institute on Out-of-School Time. ( 2004). Making the case: A fact sheet on children and youth in out-of-school time. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College, Center for Research on Women. Retrieved March 9, 2006, from http://www.niost.org
45.
Noguera, P. (2005). The trouble with Black boys: The role of influence of environmental and cultural factors on the academic performance of African American males. In O. Fashola (Ed.), Educating African American males: Voices from the field (pp. 51-78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
46.
Osofsky, J.D., Wewers, S., Hann, D.M., & Fick, A.C. (1993). Chronic and community violence: What is happening to our children? Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 56, 36-45.
47.
Patten, P., & Robertson, A.S. (2001). Focus on after-school time for violence prevention. Eric Digest. Retrieved September 25, 2006, from http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/eric.ed.gov/ERIC_Digests/ed455975.htm
48.
Payne, C.M. (2003). More than a symbol of freedom: Education for liberation and democracy. Phi Delta Kappan, 85, 22-28.
49.
Policy Studies Associates. (2002). What have we learned from TASC's first three years? Evaluation of the TASC after school program. Retrieved March 5, 2008, from http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/ResourceCenter/EDLO/WhatBoardsCanDo/ProgramEvaluation/WhatHaveWeLearnedFromTASCsFirstThreeYears.aspx.
50.
Posner, J.K., & Vandell, D.L. (1994). Low-income children's after-school care: Are there beneficial effects of after-school programs? Child Development , 65, 440-456.
51.
Powell, C.L., & Arriola, K.R.J. (2003). Relationship between psychosocial factors and academic achievement among AfricanAmerican students. Journal of Educational Research, 96, 175-181.
52.
Quinn, J. (1999). Where need meets opportunity: Youth development programs for early teens. Future of Our Children When School Is Out, 9, 96-116.
53.
Roehlkepartain, E.C. (1998). Building assets in congregations. Minneapolis, MN: SEARCH Institute.
54.
Roth, J., Brooks-Gunn, J., Murray, L., & Foster, W. (1998). Promoting healthy adolescents: Synthesis of youth development program evaluations. Journal of Research on Adolescence , 8, 423-459.
55.
Ruck, M.D., Abromvitch, R., & Keating, D.P. (1998). Children's understanding of rights: Balancing nurturance and self-determination. Child Development, 64, 404-417.
56.
Scott-Little, C., Hamann, M.S., & Jurs, S.G. (2002). Evaluations of after school programs: A meta-evaluation of methodologies and narrative synthesis of findings. American Journal of Evaluation, 23, 387-419.
57.
Shumow, L. (2001). Academic effects of after-school programs. Eric Digest. Retrieved June 28, 2006, from http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/eric.ed.gov/ERIC_Digests/ed458010.htm
58.
Skolnick, J.H., & Currie, E. (1994). Crisis in American institution (9th ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
59.
Speeches pertaining to S. 1005, S5983-5985. (2001). Washington, DC: Congressional Record.
60.
Spencer, R. (2007). "I just feel safe with him": Emotional closeness in male youth mentoring relationships. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 8, 183-198.
61.
Steele, C. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629.
62.
Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent-adolescent relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence , 11, 1-19.
63.
Tierney, J.P., Grossman, J.B., & Resch, N.L. (1995). Making a difference. An impact study of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.
64.
Tran, H., & Weinraub, M. (2006). Child care effects in context: Quality, stability, and multiplicity in nonmaternal child care arrangements during the first 15 months of life. Developmental Psychology, 42, 566-582.
65.
U.S. Department of Education. (2003). When schools stay open late: The National Evaluation of 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program: First year findings (NO PR02-82). Retrieved March 5, 2008, from http://www.ed.gov/pubs/21cent/firstyear/index.html
66.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2005). Employment situation summary. Retrieved November 21, 2006, from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
67.
Vandell, D.L., & Shumow, L. (1999). After-school child care programs. Future of Our Children When School Is Out, 9, 64-80.
68.
Warfield-Coppock, N. (1992). The rites of passage movement: A resurgence of African-centered practices for socializing AfricanAmerican youth. Journal of Negro Education, 61, 471-482.
69.
Watts, R., Abdul-Adil, J., & Pratt, T. (2002). Enhancing critical consciousness in young African American men: A psychoeducational approach. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 3, 41-50.
70.
Wilgoren, J. (2000, January 24). The bell rings and students stay. New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2006, from http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/012400after-school-edu
71.
Wilson, J. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the new urban poor. New York: Random House.
72.
Woodland, M.H. (2007). [Observation data]. Unpublished raw data.
