What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to explore how adolescents perceive their motivations for joining and staying in an afterschool program.

May 28, 2026

An Exploratory Study of Adolescents' Motivations for Joining and Continued Participation in a 4-H Afterschool Program

Key Points

This study aims to explore how adolescents perceive their motivations for joining and staying in an afterschool program.
Conducted open-ended interviews and a focus group with seven adolescents in an urban afterschool program.
Collected qualitative data to identify themes of motivation and barriers to participation.
Identified key themes: caring adults, homework assistance, and program environment as motivations for participation.
Noted the importance of fun, learning, friendships, and life skills in retaining participants.

Abstract

Youth development professionals are interested in how to attract and retain participants in after-school programs. In open-ended interviews and a focus group, seven adolescents in an urban after-school youth development program provided rich descriptive data regarding their participation and potential barriers. There were many reasons why adolescents joined and continued to participate. Themes of caring adults, homework assistance, program environment, program opportunities, fun, learning, friends, character development, and life skills emerged from the data. Although these themes are consistent with those from past research, the process of soliciting youth input is itself important. Implications for youth programs are discussed.

Ask AI

Helpful

Bookmark