Girls Club Thesis

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In research, it is important to be familiar with the topic of interest and in the search for an answer to why the Boys and Girls Club has been successful for so long studies that provide an analysis of the effectiveness that these programs have are essential to understanding their longevity. In turn, the different activities offered by each program should be analyzed and the rate of participation should be considered. Finally, the alignment between the programs central objective and the practicality of this objective in volunteers who are suppose to carry out these values should be addressed. The study, “A Meta-Analysis of After-School Programs That Seek to Promote Personal and Social Skills in Children and Adolescents” provides a base knowledge …show more content…

Instead of comparing structured programs to regular activities like Anderson-Butcher, Newsome and Ferrari; this study focuses on structural programs and their relation to additional programs that are meant to build upon the initial program. For example, the Stay SMART program is centered around personal and social development with an emphasis on life skills. Upon completing the Stay SMART program, participants can choose to become SMART leaders which is a separate program centered around becoming a role-model and leader in the Stay Smart program. This study observed 14 different Boys and Girls Clubs, 5 of which only offered the Stay SMART program, 5 offered both the Stay Smart and SMART leaders program, the rest were a control group that did not offer structured programs. This lasted 27 months and through questionnaires and observations the researchers concluded that those who finished both programs did not differ much when compared to those who just participated in the first program. However, when compared to the control group slight benefits were seen in participants who completed one or both programs. Thus, the authors believe that increasing participation in programs like Stay SMART has advantages over non-participants but additional programs like SMART leaders might not be …show more content…

A study titled, “A Qualitative Outcome Study of Boys and Girls Club Program Leaders, Club Members, and Parents” aims to identify this relationship. This study differs from the others because it offers a wide range of participants like staff, leaders, adolescents and parents. The researchers collected data by observing the program and it’s facilities as well as conducting interviews with parents and leaders. The results of this research show that even though the staff was suppose to plan activities that centered around self-development, most of the time the purpose of the activity strayed and took on a very general and casual approach. However, this did not fully hinder the benefits that participants received. The authors believe that a centralized activity with a clear focus that reflects the mission statement of the Boys and Girls Club should be adopted in order to improve benefits (Carruthers, Busser,

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