Defining the Field of Afterschool Education

A New Publication from the Harvard Education Press

In the United States today, young people spend almost a third of their organized time (including school hours) in afterschool and summer programs. Yet there is little clear and conclusive research on afterschool programs--research that would help guide the practice of existing afterschool programs and establish guidelines for the creation of new programs.

Afterschool Education: Approaches to an Emerging Field, a new book from the Harvard Education Press, fills that gap. In straightforward language and analyses, the authors survey the current afterschool landscape and bring to light important issues and practices within the field. Focusing on three essential aspects of afterschool learning--bridging school to afterschool; homework, or extended learning; and curricula--the book explores the challenges and opportunities facing afterschool education programs, and points to future directions for these burgeoning educational ventures.

Research-based chapters cover key elements in the debates surrounding afterschool education, including extended learning, enriched learning, intentional learning and programming, afterschool programs as intermediary spaces, and pedagogical methods. The book concludes with commentaries from education experts HGSE's Thomas Professor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Reed Larson, Adriana de Kanter, Sam Piha, Harris Cooper, and Maria del Pilar O'Cadiz.

An indispensable guide for practitioners, administrators, policymakers, and parents, Afterschool Education will serve as the cornerstone for all future accounts of--and proposals for--this crucial educational field.

About the Authors

Associate Professor Gil G. Noam directs the Program in Afterschool Education and Research (PAER) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Gina Biancarosa is an advanced doctoral student at HGSE and a research assistant at PAER; Nadine Dechausay served as a research assistant and community liaison at PAER. Visit the Harvard Education Publishing Group for more information or to read the book's introduction. For a review copy ofAfterschool Education, please contact Karen Walsh at 617-384-7249.

For More Information

The Harvard Education Press, located at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, publishes innovative, authoritative books covering critical issues in education.