Search Results (145)

For decades, transportation planning has relied on utilitarian principles, which aim to maximize cumulative benefit by meeting the needs of the “average user.” This approach ignores fundamental differences between population groups and produces uniform solutions that fail to address the diverse needs of women, children, the elderly, and other disadvantaged populations. In response, there are growing calls for a transportation justice paradigm that emphasizes individuals’ ability to access meaningful opportunities according to their characteristics, abilities, and life circumstances. Autonomous Mobility on Demand (AMoD) holds the potential to transform future transportation systems. However, without deliberate planning, they risk replicating existing patterns of inequality for populations whose mobility needs differ from those of the average user. This study applies transportation justice principles to examine how AMoD systems can be designed to meet diverse user needs. Using a combination of an Autoencoder for learning reduced representations and an HDBSCAN clustering algorithm, the analysis identifies distinct travel patterns across socioeconomic groups. These findings reveal significant gaps between population segments, particularly among children and older adults, and demonstrate how AMoD systems could expand access to after-school activities, reduce social isolation among elderly women, and reduce various transportation-related social gaps by improving their ability to reach a wider range of opportunities. Full article

Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to produce high-value chemical fuels is a research hotspot for sustainable development, yet its integration into undergraduate experimental teaching is hindered by a high risk, high cost, and shortage of large-scale instruments. Herein, a Fe₂TiO₅–polydopamine (PDA) S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst was fabricated via in situ self-polymerization, and its structure, photoelectric properties, and CO₂ reduction mechanism were systematically characterized. Under visible light, the heterojunction delivers a CO production rate of 14.1 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ (6.6 times that of pure Fe₂TiO₅) with 94.2% cyclic stability. More importantly, this work constructs a virtual–real hybrid experimental teaching mode (virtual simulation pre-training + offline practical verification) for inorganic and environmental chemistry experiments, developing a virtual simulation platform with six modules (laboratory safety, instrument introduction, experimental principle, 3D simulation, virtual assessment, and after-school thinking). This mode solves the teaching bottlenecks of high-risk operation and inaccessible large-scale characterization (in situ XPS and CO₂-BET), standardizes experimental operations, and deepens students’ understanding of photocatalytic mechanisms. This study not only provides a high-efficiency photocatalyst for CO₂ reduction but also offers a replicable virtual–real integration paradigm for inorganic chemistry experimental teaching reform. Full article

Organized after-school activities can play a vital role in supporting historically marginalized youth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), yet less is known about how culturally responsive practices—which are practices that integrate youths’ cultural backgrounds and lived experiences into learning—are enacted in math-focused learning spaces. Drawing on empowerment theory and critical youth empowerment frameworks, this qualitative study examines how culturally responsive practices foster empowerment among middle school students participating in a university-based after-school math enrichment program. Ninety-two students (M_age = 12.26 years; 47% girls; 86% Latine) from three under-resourced schools in Southern California participated in semi-structured interviews about moments when they felt empowered and what contributed to those experiences. Thematic analysis revealed that all four domains of culturally responsive practices helped promote empowerment: structured opportunities for contribution and leadership, caring relationships, cultural affirmation, and efforts to make real-world connections. In particular, students most frequently described structured opportunities for contribution and leadership, practices that centered their knowledge and voices, and relational climates characterized by care and high expectations. The findings suggest that in after-school STEM contexts, empowerment does not arise as an isolated individual trait but is part of a relational and context-dependent process that is supported by culturally responsive practices. These findings highlight how intentional, culturally responsive program design can advance both youth empowerment and equity-oriented STEM education. Full article

Over 85% of young women in the United States do not meet fruit and vegetable intake recommendations, placing them at risk for low antioxidant nutrient intake. Social health programming (SHP) can improve dietary intake of fruits and vegetables, but it is not known how SHP impacts serum levels of specific antioxidant nutrients. This observational cohort study assessed the effect of participation in SHP through Girls Inc., Omaha, on serum carotenoid, retinol, and tocopherol levels for 12–29-year-old women. Serum nutrient levels were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and nutrient intake from diet was measured using three 24 h dietary recalls (ASA24^®). Pearson chi-squared tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and linear regressions were used to compare differences in nutritional status between SHP participants and non-participants. After adjustment for age and race/ethnicity, SHP participation was associated with significantly higher serum concentrations of total lycopene, δ-tocopherol, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein + zeaxanthin, and α-carotene. There were no between-group differences in average daily intake of carotenoids, vitamin A, or vitamin E after adjustment for race/ethnicity and age. These findings suggest that SHP may be a successful intervention to improve antioxidant nutritional status. Full article

Youth-led STEM programming depends on skilled adult facilitators who can support authentic teen leadership, yet professional learning for developing these specialized skills remains understudied. Through three cycles of design-based research, we iteratively developed and studied a professional development model that trained informal educators from museums, libraries, afterschool programs, and schools to launch Teen Science Café programs—a youth-led model where teens organize STEM events. Analysis of data from trainer reflections, trainee interviews, trainee surveys, and implementation tracking across three iterative design cycles revealed six interconnected principles essential for effective professional development: focusing on a committed adult leader; personalized training characterized by mutual respect; learning by doing; establishing accountability that builds momentum; enabling learning from peers and near-peers; and recognizing success to nurture professional pride. Implementing these principles to prepare educators to center youth voice requires substantial, coordinated investment across stakeholders—commensurate with the complexity of developing youth agency and STEM identity in informal settings. From our findings, we contrast this approach with the “efficiency trap,” in which scaled training without sustained support wastes resources when many educators are trained but youth-centered programs fail to materialize. Full article

Although social emotional learning (SEL) is generally regarded as beneficial for children, there is an enduring tension between the need to observe fidelity to SEL programming (to reach desired outcomes) and the need to adapt SEL programming (to make implementation more feasible in a given setting). This tension can be heightened in out-of-school time (OST) settings, which are often not considered in the design of traditional SEL programming. The perspective presented in this paper examines the fidelity–adaptation dilemma by describing the SEL adaptations of one OST practitioner to illustrate integrity-centered, effective SEL implementation. As such, we consider this paper a “case illustration.” We begin by presenting the characteristics of OST settings that create unique opportunities and challenges for SEL implementation. We summarize the tension between fidelity, integrity, and program adaptations, and we position an intervention called SEL Kernels as a flexible, adaptable SEL solution for OST settings. Next, we describe recent research on SEL Kernels in OST settings in the American Midwest and present a compelling case illustration that centers the SEL Kernels implementation of one afterschool practitioner whose work strikes a noteworthy balance between integrity and adaptation. We outline our process for coding and mapping her adaptations onto high-quality SEL implementation practices, which are essential for effective learning. Finally, we present our findings as a series of classroom challenges surmounted by integrity-centered, effective adaptations to SEL Kernels. Possible future directions for this work include the continued collection and coding of integrity-centered adaptations to SEL Kernels in OST to learn more about what drives those adaptations, how they are implemented, and how to make them successful for a wider population of OST practitioners. Full article

Background: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on myopic progression defined in terms of refractive change and axial length elongation in Korean children with myopia using 0.01% atropine eye drops. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on the medical records of 73 children aged 4 to 15 years with a baseline myopia of −0.50 diopters (D) or more who had used 0.01% atropine eye drops for more than 12 months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. The rate of myopic progression was compared between two periods: the pre- and post-pandemic eras, the latter of which was defined by the initiation of remote schooling in March 2020. At each visit, cycloplegic autorefraction and axial length were measured using a Zeiss IOL Master. Patients answered a questionnaire regarding their time spent on near work (computer, smartphone, reading, homework, after-school workbooks, drawing, etc.) and outdoors. Results: During the pandemic, in terms of refraction, myopia progressed at an average rate of −0.45 D/y, which was significantly faster than before the pandemic of −0.22D/y (p = 0.037). In contrast, axial length elongation was 0.22 mm/y and 0.19 mm/y before and after the pandemic, respectively, which was not significantly different (p = 0.546). Time spent on using computers, smartphones, and other near work significantly increased, while outdoor time had significantly decreased after the pandemic (paired t-test, all p < 0.001). The change in annual refractive myopic progression rate during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period did not significantly correlate with changes in computer time, smartphone time, or other near work time (p = 0.134, 0.210, 0.863, respectively). However, the change in outdoor time showed a negative correlation with the change in annual myopic progression rate (r = −0.239, p = 0.041). Conclusions: Among Korean children aged 4 to 15 years receiving 0.01% atropine, the rate of myopic progression increased significantly in terms of refraction during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period, whereas axial length progression did not change significantly. Full article

Out-of-school-time (OST) programs in the United States offer significant opportunities for youth to engage with and develop their identities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, professional learning that supports OST educators in developing identity-affirming STEM facilitation remains chronically underfunded and undervalued. Dominant approaches to measuring program “costs”—often centered on per-participant expenditures or short-term cost-effectiveness—obscure the systemic, relational, and capacity-building investments required to sustain high-quality OST STEM practices. This commentary examines how available cost frameworks shape what is rendered visible as “value” in OST STEM professional learning and where they fall short. To ground this analysis, I draw on the Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM (ACRES) program, a long-running national coaching initiative, as an illustrative case through which to examine how investments unfold over time and across contexts. Using ACRES, I demonstrate how costs are more productively understood as multidimensional investments in infrastructure, human capacity, relationships, and knowledge—forms of value that resist per-participant or short-horizon accounting. I offer an alternative tool, the Capacity-Based Cost Assessment (CBCA), to facilitate reflection on the outcomes of these investments. I include recommendations for how to define, document, and evaluate investments in OST STEM professional learning. Full article

Digital storytelling (DST) is an innovative pedagogical approach that integrates multimedia creation, personal narrative, and autonomy in L2 education. Yet, its influence on learner engagement remains underexplored in asynchronous delivery modes and non-conventional language learning settings, common in post-pandemic instructional practice. This study thus examines the engagement patterns of 34 student-teachers of English in an afterschool asynchronous DST task about teacher identity. The study further scrutinises their emotional engagement, given its impact on other engagement domains, and its relevance for online instructional design. Data were collected through a background information questionnaire, a validated student engagement questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews that focused on emotional engagement. Questionnaire data were analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA, and interview data were examined qualitatively using thematic analysis and specific emotional engagement-related frameworks. Results indicated participants’ higher cognitive and behavioural engagement, and lower emotional engagement. Their emotional engagement comprised positive emotions and anxiety, which emerged from specific subjective task values, autonomy, and task affordances in interaction with self-imposed personal standards and perceived digital skills. These findings challenge the common conceptualisation of emotional engagement merely as positive affect in L2 tasks and signal the importance of task- and learner-related factors in an engagement-driven online L2 pedagogy. Full article

Despite growing global interest in improving mathematics outcomes, there has been limited empirical research in Nigeria that has rigorously evaluated the impact of structured after-school intervention programs on low-achieving students, particularly through a gender-based lens. This study addresses this gap by examining the effectiveness of after-school mathematics instruction on the performance of senior secondary school students in Oyo State, Nigeria. The researchers adopted a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design with a 2 × 2 factorial structure. The sample consisted of 92 purposively selected low-achieving students (47 males and 45 females) from eight public, co-educational secondary schools, who were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Over the course of six weeks, the experimental group received structured after-school mathematics lessons that targeted foundational skills, while the control group continued with conventional classroom instruction. Data was collected using a researcher-developed Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), which was validated by mathematics education experts and yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.82. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed a statistically significant improvement in the mathematics achievement of students in the intervention group (F(1, 87) = 114.88, p < 0.05), with a large effect size (Partial η² = 0.569). Although no significant interaction effect between gender and treatment was observed (F(1, 87) = 0.208, p > 0.05). This study contributes to the limited literature on gender-responsive after-school interventions in sub-Saharan African contexts. Findings support the implementation of targeted support programs to enhance mathematics outcomes for struggling learners, regardless of gender. Full article

Grassroots community governance has gained increasing attention for its vital role in resource integration and multi-actor collaboration. As an innovative governance model, the “Five-Sector Linkage” (FSL) mechanism enhances service efficiency by aligning the efforts of communities, social organizations, social workers, volunteers, and philanthropic actors. However, quantitative research on interaction dynamics within such mechanisms remains insufficient, particularly regarding the optimization of collaborative networks for improved governance outcomes. This study applies Social Network Analysis (SNA) to the “After-School Program” project in Community B, Chengdu, to examine the structural features and interrelations of multi-actor cooperation under the FSL framework. The collaboration network consists of 39 nodes and 1482 links, with a density of 0.370 and an average path length of 1.632, indicating efficient communication and moderate cohesion. Degree and betweenness centrality analyses identify social workers (C1–C3) as key hubs, with C2 holding the highest bridging role (B_C = 81.401). The overall network shows low centralization (4.19%) and limited heterogeneity (2.74%), reflecting a polycentric and resilient structure. Inter-sectoral analysis showed that all nodes interacted with at least one social worker, while community actors (A1, A2) engaged broadly across 18 nodes. Volunteers maintained extensive grassroots connections, while philanthropic resources formed selective but strategic links with 13 nodes. These findings provide empirical insights into the coordination logic of the FSL mechanism and offer guidance for building adaptive, decentralized community governance networks. Future research should explore longitudinal dynamics and cross-community comparisons to further enhance the applicability of the model. Full article

Providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed afterschool programming is a promising intervention to promote the adjustment, educational achievement, and well-being of newly arrived refugee and immigrant children. Connecting Communities and Multilingual Learners (CCML) is a local nonprofit organization in the Southeastern part of the United States that provides this type of programming to newly arrived families. To better understand their impact on children, CCML aimed to examine its model of programming via a mixed methods, strengths-focused evaluation. Evaluation efforts focused on describing the effects of the program on children at CCML’s flagship site in a robust urban center. Data were collected from students and facilitators at two times (beginning and end of the year) over one academic school year. Results revealed that CCML supported students’ socio-emotional well-being, English language acquisition, and cultural pride in positive and sustaining ways. Evidence from this study suggests that culturally responsive and trauma-informed programs offer promising, adaptable models for addressing the evolving needs of newly arrived refugee and immigrant youth in diverse community contexts. Full article

Post-monolingual circumstances are increasing reflecting the growing occurrence of multilingualism, migration, and advancing communication technologies. Cultural groups value maintaining heritage languages while also learning the ones in their new life environments. Heritage language maintenance is, for example, promoted by immigrant parents and grandparents in the Northern Netherlands, as well as in other locations. Maintaining cultural heritage language also needs innovative instructional approaches and pedagogy. This article presents a study exploring the role of peer collaboration in supporting children’s Chinese heritage language use and learning in New York City. Drawn from sociocultural theory and extended in prior research examining peer collaboration in writing development, we focused on understanding the role of peer collaboration in Chinese immigrant children’s Chinese heritage language use in an after-school (Sunday school) program. In collaboration with organizers of the school, our study involved a 30 min peer collaboration writing activity. The activity invited children to collaborate with a peer to write a letter about the fun experiences they had in the Chinese language school. Interaction processes and products were collected and analyzed to address two primary research questions including the following: What are the languages and peer collaboration processes that children in this Chinese language school used in their conversations and in the text of the letters they created together? How did children’s use of Chinese and English during peer collaboration relate to language in the texts they wrote? Results indicated that children played diverse, mutually supportive roles during their collaboration, such as suggesting narrative sequences for the letter, including confirming/agreeing, and correcting and clarifying, although different pairs balanced such strategies somewhat differently. Among numerous findings is that children used Mandarin most frequently when narrating events that they found enjoyable at the Chinese language school. The findings fill a gap in research on multilingual peer collaboration, in particular with Chinese and English in the United States. In addition to those findings, research in an after-school heritage language program provides a model for innovative research in practice. Full article

Background/Objectives: Lack of objective evidence exists regarding changes in physical function and impact on daily functioning in paediatric post-COVID-19 condition (PPCC). This study aimed to assess exercise capacity, fatigue, and peripheral and respiratory muscle strength in PPCC patients compared with healthy controls. Additionally, the impact of PPCC on domains of daily life was evaluated. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. Study variables: exercise capacity (6 min walk test, 6MWT), inspiratory muscle strength (maximal inspiratory pressure, PImax), handgrip strength (handheld dynamometer, HHD), quadriceps femoris muscle thickness (QF MT), rectus femoris muscle thickness (RF MT), rectus femoris cross-sectional area (RF CSA), rectus femoris echo-intensity (RF EI), fatigue (Paediatric Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, pedsFACIT-F), and physical activity (Assessment of Physical Activity Levels Questionnaire, APALQ). Results: A total of 115 PPCC patients and 227 healthy controls were included. The PPCC group had lower 6MWT (509.00 ± 86.12, p < 0.001), PImax (68.71 ± 26.23, p < 0.001), HHD (82.84 ± 29.09, p < 0.001), APALQ (7.94 ± 3.14, p < 0.001), pedsFACIT-F (24.51 ± 11.01, p < 0.001), QF MT mid-thigh (33.21 ± 7.99, p = 0.011), and higher RF EI (p < 0.001) vs. controls. Only 37.63% of the PPCC group resumed previous sports, 43.48% were unable to attend school full-time and 28.7% could not participate in after-school activities. Conclusions: Paediatric post-COVID-19 condition patients exhibited significant impairments in terms of physical function, with a high impact on daily functioning. This knowledge is necessary to provide targeted therapeutic interventions. Full article

Objectives: This study aimed to assess changes in anthropometric measures, cardiometabolic markers, and physical fitness following a structured basketball training program in healthy prepubertal boys. Methods: The intervention consisted of a 6-week pre-season phase followed by a 32-week basketball training season conducted during the academic year. Training sessions were held three times per week at moderate to vigorous intensity, along with a weekly match. The participants were assessed at baseline, 6, 9, and 12 months. A reference group was evaluated at baseline for comparison. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT07007624). Results: Seventeen boys completed the program. Anthropometric assessments revealed increases in fat-free mass in the trunk and lower limbs, along with maintenance of an adequate BMI. After nine months, participants in the intervention showed significant improvements in fitness tests, including a 45% increase in Course Navette performance (p < 0.001), a 21% increase in horizontal jump performance (p = 0.001), and a 13% increase in abdominal test performance (p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that a structured, school-based basketball program may enhance physical fitness and support healthy body composition maintenance in healthy-weight prepubertal boys. Full article