CASE Early Process Evaluation
Introduction
The UCI Certificate in After-school Education (CASE) was initiated in fall 2008. CASE provides a combination of classroom instruction and supervised fieldwork across a sequence of courses offered through the Department of Education. Students completing CASE requirements gain: 1) basic knowledge in child or adolescent development; 2) core knowledge in theory, research, and evaluation of after-school programs and activities; and 3) practical skills working with, and developing quality programming for, children and adolescents in after-school settings.
Additional information about the CASE program and requirements is available here: http://www.gse.uci.edu/case_program
CASE Courses and Fieldwork
390 students enrolled in CASE courses during the 2008-2009 academic year. These students completed over 5000 hours of fieldwork in programs located across Orange County including Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Irvine.
Fall 2008 Courses
The following five courses were offered during fall 2008 and contribute to earning a CASE: EDUC 160 “Foundations of Out of School Learning,” EDUC 104D “Preparation for Teaching Fine Arts in K-12 Schools,” EDUC 137 “Art in the Elementary School,” EDUC 107 “Child Development in Education” and EDUC 108 “Adolescent Development in Education.”
A total of 195 students were involved these three courses. Of these students, 82 were enrolled in courses that required fieldwork for a total of over 1420 hours of fieldwork completed.
Winter 2009 Courses
The following six courses were offered during the winter 2009 and contribute to earning a CASE: EDUC 160 “Foundations in Out of School Learning,” EDUC 122B “Foundations of Elementary School Mathematics,” EDUC 104D “Preparation for Teaching Fine Arts in K-12 Schools,” EDUC 137 “Art in the Elementary School,” EDUC 107 “Child Development in Education,” and EDUC 108 “Adolescent Development in Education.” A total of 203 students were involved in these courses. Of these students, 108 were enrolled in courses that required fieldwork for a total of over 1900 hours of fieldwork completed.
Spring 2009 Courses
The following five courses are currently offered during spring 2009 and contribute to earning a CASE: EDUC 181B “Principals and Practices of Teaching Sports II,” EDUC 132 “Reading and Writing Enrichment for Afterschool Programs,” EDUC 137 “Art in the Elementary School,” EDUC 107 “Child Development in Education,” and EDUC 108 “Adolescent Development in Education.” A total of 215 students are currently involved in these courses. Of these students, 84 are enrolled in courses that require fieldwork, for a total of over 1680 hours of fieldwork completed.
Future Courses
Next year, two additional courses will be offered as part of the CASE program. EDUC 124 “Multicultural Education” will be added as a core course and EDUC 131 “Educational Technology” will be added as an elective course.
Fieldwork and Community Partners
CASE course electives required to students to complete 20+ hours of interactive fieldwork. In EDUC 160 students are required to complete 10 hours of observational fieldwork. Students enrolled in CASE courses completed their fieldwork at several after-school programs during the fall and winter of 2008-2009 including: Think Together in Santa Ana, Project Success in Costa Mesa, Wilson Elementary in Costa Mesa, KidWorks in Santa Ana, Turtle Rock Community Park in Irvine, and UCI Extended Day Center in Irvine.
Working or volunteering at an after-school program prior to fall 2008 was a new experience for 42% of students enrolled in CASE courses.
Students participated in the following activities as part of their fieldwork: observation, instruction, supervision, developing lesson plans, on-site training, physical education, homework assistance, reading, arts and crafts, music, cooking, and games.
Students who participated in interactive fieldwork ranked their involvement at the sites on 5-point scale (1 = passive observer, 5 = activity leader). The mean ranking was 3.9 (fall) and 4.0 (winter) reflecting active involvement of UCI students at their fieldwork sites.
Future Fieldwork Sites
Next year, additional fieldwork sites will be added to meet the high level of student interest. In particular, more programs serving teenagers are of interest. Girls Inc. in Costa Mesa, Vista Verde elementary in Irvine, and various locations of the Boys and Girls Clubs are currently being considered to address these needs.
Student Knowledge of and Interest in CASE
During the final week of fall 2008 and winter 2009, students in the CASE courses with a fieldwork component were invited to complete a short survey about the CASE. Overall, 76% (fall) and 72% (winter) of students enrolled in these courses completed the survey.
In the fall quarter, 44% reported hearing about the CASE program previously. By the end of the winter quarter, this increased to 60%.
In the fall quarter, 35% reported understanding the requirements to complete the program. By the end of the winter quarter, this increased to 55%.
In the fall quarter, 83% expressed interested in earning a CASE. By the end of the winter quarter, this remained high at 85%.
The 44% of students who indicated that they are “decidedly interested” in CASE reported the following reasons for their strong interest: 1) they are current after-school educators or they plan to be afterschool educators, 2) they think after-school education is important, 3) were inspired by EDUC 160, and 4) believe that CASE will provide them with valuable experience.
The 39% who are “undecided” about the CASE program reported the following reasons for their indecisiveness: 1) uncertainty about CASE requirements and/or unsure of what CASE is about, 2) unsure of their career paths, and 3) not having enough time to complete the requirements either because of having a full schedule or because they will graduate too soon.
Experiences of CASE Students
Favorite Experiences: The majority of students enrolled in CASE courses reported that the required fieldwork and being involved in children’s development was their favorite experience. Favorite experiences also included interviewing site a coordinator and having positive interactions with after-school program staff.
Challenging Experiences:
Students enrolled in CASE courses reported the following challenges: 1) scheduling conflicts with fieldwork (50%), 2) working with children whose behavior was troublesome (25%), and 3) fewer than 10% mentioned uncertainty about their role at the fieldwork site, language barriers, and/or carrying out a lesson plan.
Areas that Need Improvement:
The majority of students enrolled in CASE courses did not identify any areas for improvement. Those areas identified included a desire to learn more about the CASE program and the desire to receive training to work more effectively with children who are misbehaving.
Site Director Input
The site director at each of the five CASE after-school programs also completed a survey at the end of fall 2008. Site directors reported the following:
An average of 2.2 students enrolled in CASE courses attended their program per day.
Site directors reported the following benefits to having CASE students participate in their programs: improved instruction, lower student-to-staff ratio, better program organization, improved behavior of children, and CASE students serving as good role models.
Directors rated CASE students as increasingly qualified to work in an after-school program. At the start of the quarter, director ratings ranged from “slightly unqualified” to “slightly qualified.” By the end of the quarter, ratings improved to “slightly qualified” to “very qualified.”
Directors interest in having CASE students increased over the quarter. At beginning of the quarter, directors reported a range of interest in having CASE students at their program from “slightly interested” to “very interested”. By the end of the quarter, all site directors were “very interested.”
The average benefit of CASE students was rated as 3.6 on 5-poing scale (1 = hindrance, 5 = great benefit).
Four out of five directors noted that the students were “very reliable” (the fifth director noted students were “somewhat reliable”).
Four out five noted that undergraduates “dressed appropriately” (the fifth director noted students dressed “somewhat appropriately”).
Forthcoming Information and Evaluation Activities
All students in CASE courses will again be surveyed at the end of spring quarter 2009. Follow-up surveys will also be administered to the site directors. Beginning in 2009-2010 a more rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of the CASE program will be initiated. This will be long-term study that will evaluate a variety of aspects including: 1) outcomes for CASE undergraduate students and comparison students, 2) outcomes for children served at CASE programs and comparison children, 3) input and assessments form program directors, 4) assessments from parents of children served at CASE programs and comparison parents, and 5) assessments of program features and quality of service provided at CASE programs.