DoE Developing Certificate in After-School Education
The Department of Education is developing an undergraduate Certificate in After-school Education, which will be the first such program in the United States. Course work for the certificate will build on a growing body of research about the positive outcomes for children and youth who participate in high quality after-school programs on a regular basis. Rationale for the Certificate grew from recognition that there is a critical need for quality curriculum and well-trained after-school program personnel in order to achieve positive outcomes in after-school settings that provide educational enrichment and academic support outside of the formal school day setting.
Program goals for the Certificate include the following:
- Provide UCI undergraduates with foundational knowledge about historical perspectives and policy initiatives in after-school education, as well as current research that identifies the predictors for positive participant outcomes in after-school programs;
- Develop in UCI undergraduates an understanding of child and adolescent development and the need to match after-school experiences with the interests, needs, and developmental level of program participants;
- Expose UCI undergraduates to different after-school program models, and develop their practical knowledge about program evaluation so that they can critically assess program strengths and weaknesses;
- Provide UCI undergraduates with comprehensive fieldwork experiences where they develop their abilities to design and implement high quality after-school program activities for children and adolescents in the programs that they serve; and
- Build UCI undergraduates’ awareness of how this certificate program provides a foundation for career options in after-school education, K-12 teaching, or other education-related careers, as well as graduate study opportunities.
A minimum of five courses totaling 20 quarter units are required for completion of the Certificate, along with a minimum 70 hours of field experience. Two required courses provide a theoretical grounding and foundational knowledge regarding historical and current issues and policy in after-school education, program curriculum, predictors for desired outcomes, and relevant issues in child and adolescent development. Students select three remaining courses that focus on teaching, learning, and academic enrichment in particular subject areas, and provide UCI students with opportunities to design, implement, and evaluate high quality program activities for children and adolescents in regional after-school programs.
The Department of Education is partnering with selected after-school program providers to offer undergraduates practical field experience at sites that address a variety of after-school program skill sets (e.g., literacy, technology, arts, math/science, sports and physical education), and that serve children and youth who are racially/ethnically diverse, economically disadvantaged, and in need in academic assistance. The following organizations or schools have partnered with DOE to offer fieldwork placements for UCI students: Wilson Elementary School, College Park Elementary, Turtle Rock Community Park, Think Together, OCTAC: Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center, OCEAA: Orange County Educational Arts Academy, and Pio Pico Elementary School.
The primary audience for this certificate program will be UCI undergraduates who are interested in serving children and youth in after-school program settings and in developing their abilities to assess and contribute to the quality of those programs. The Certificate program has been designed to complement the existing Minor in Educational Studies offered by the Department of Education. While undergraduates can earn a Certificate in After-school Education without earning a minor in Educational Studies, those who do complete the certificate can easily complete the minor requirements by completing just two additional courses from the minor’s “core course” category. The Department of Education also is collaborating with UCI Extension and its ACCESS UCI program to advertise and make the courses for the Certificate in After-school Education available to active or prospective after-school program personnel who are not enrolled in UCI degree programs.
