TY - JOUR
T1 - Replicating or franchising a STEM afterschool program model
T2 - core elements of programmatic integrity
AU - Stevenson, Nikolaus
AU - Sommers, Amie S.
AU - Grandgenett, Neal
AU - Tapprich, William
AU - McQuillan, Julia
AU - Phillips, Michelle
AU - Jensen, Rachael
AU - Cutucache, Christine
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the many mentors of NE STEM 4U, the youth that we have the privilege of working with to improve scientific literacy, interest, and to our phenomenal site directors and staff that help welcome the NE STEM 4U program to each site. A very special thank you to Gwyn Williams, Jeff Cole, Dr. Megan Adkins, Michelle Arehart, Dr. Amy Spiegel, Dr. Trish Wonch-Hill, Dr. Richard Mocarski, Dr. Paul Twigg, Grace Stallworth, Meghan Leadabrand, and Dr. John Falconer for the advocacy for, and expansion of, this program.
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the NIH SEPA 1R25GM129836-01, the Sherwood Foundation, the Peter Kiewit Foundation, the NSF Noyce NebraskaSCIENCE project #1659058, and the NSF S-STEM project #1929154 for the support for this work. The information presented herein is solely that of the authors’ and do not reflect any opinions of influence from the funding agencies.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: Designed in 2012 with a first implementation in 2013, NE STEM 4U is a professional development program for post-secondary students/undergraduates, and serves as a source of outreach, content knowledge generation, and STEM literacy for youth in grades kindergarten through 8th grade (ages 5–14). The model empowers post-secondary students as facilitators of inquiry-based learning within the context of an out-of-school time program. This study investigated the potential for replicating or ‘franchising’ this model by evaluating on the following: (1) Is the model replicable? And, if so, (2) what core elements are necessary for program fidelity? And (3) is there a dependency on a particular setting/participant type (e.g., a more rural or urban setting)? Results: Strategic expansion of the program to different institutional types (i.e., Research 1, Research II, and a predominantly undergraduate institution), different geographical locations (i.e., rural and urban), and with various school district partners (i.e., large and small) determined that program fidelity and replicability required 4 core elements or criteria: (i) intentional programming, (ii) staff quality, (iii) effective partnerships, and (iv) program evaluation and continuous improvement. Importantly, we examined emergent themes by each site, as well as in combination (n = 16 focus group participants, n = 12 reflection surveys). These data indicated that Flexibility (21.22%), Student Engagement (i.e., Youth) (19.53%), Classroom Management (i.e., also pertaining to youth) (19.31%), and Communication (15.71%) were the themes most referenced by the post-secondary student mentors in the NE STEM 4U program, regardless of site. Finally, the YPQA results demonstrate general replication of program quality in a “franchise” location. Conclusions: These results highlight the core elements of the NE STEM 4U program for consideration of expansion (through strategic replication or ‘franchising’) as a possible international model. The findings and voices highlight the program’s trajectory toward success into environments that expand professional development for post-secondary students, and for delivering STEM opportunities for youth.
AB - Background: Designed in 2012 with a first implementation in 2013, NE STEM 4U is a professional development program for post-secondary students/undergraduates, and serves as a source of outreach, content knowledge generation, and STEM literacy for youth in grades kindergarten through 8th grade (ages 5–14). The model empowers post-secondary students as facilitators of inquiry-based learning within the context of an out-of-school time program. This study investigated the potential for replicating or ‘franchising’ this model by evaluating on the following: (1) Is the model replicable? And, if so, (2) what core elements are necessary for program fidelity? And (3) is there a dependency on a particular setting/participant type (e.g., a more rural or urban setting)? Results: Strategic expansion of the program to different institutional types (i.e., Research 1, Research II, and a predominantly undergraduate institution), different geographical locations (i.e., rural and urban), and with various school district partners (i.e., large and small) determined that program fidelity and replicability required 4 core elements or criteria: (i) intentional programming, (ii) staff quality, (iii) effective partnerships, and (iv) program evaluation and continuous improvement. Importantly, we examined emergent themes by each site, as well as in combination (n = 16 focus group participants, n = 12 reflection surveys). These data indicated that Flexibility (21.22%), Student Engagement (i.e., Youth) (19.53%), Classroom Management (i.e., also pertaining to youth) (19.31%), and Communication (15.71%) were the themes most referenced by the post-secondary student mentors in the NE STEM 4U program, regardless of site. Finally, the YPQA results demonstrate general replication of program quality in a “franchise” location. Conclusions: These results highlight the core elements of the NE STEM 4U program for consideration of expansion (through strategic replication or ‘franchising’) as a possible international model. The findings and voices highlight the program’s trajectory toward success into environments that expand professional development for post-secondary students, and for delivering STEM opportunities for youth.
KW - Afterschool program
KW - Educational organizational leadership
KW - NE STEM 4U
KW - Out-of-school time programming
KW - Outreach
KW - Program fidelity
KW - STEM
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85124044339&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s40594-021-00320-0
DO - 10.1186/s40594-021-00320-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 35106273
AN - SCOPUS:85124044339
VL - 9
JO - International Journal of STEM Education
JF - International Journal of STEM Education
SN - 2196-7822
IS - 1
M1 - 10
ER -