The Development of After-School Program Educators Through University-Community Partnerships

Participation in after-school programs (ASPs) can positively affect the development of young people. However, whether ASPs are beneficial depends on program quality. Although many factors influence the quality of a program, the competencies of adult staff who lead ASPs are a critical determinant. Unfortunately, ASP staff members often do not receive the education and training needed to provide high quality programming. This article discusses how training provided through university-community (U-C) partnerships can help to fill this educational void. After summarizing existing research on staff development for educators, the role that U-C partnerships can play in providing a realistic and viable means to developing the competencies of ASP educators is described and examples of two model programs are provided. Challenges and future directions for the development of the after-school workforce are discussed.