The University-Assisted Community Schools Intervention: Exploring Student and Parent Perceptions

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-15 - New Directions in School/University Partnerships

Abstract

The university-assisted community schools (UACS) intervention has been the subject of many theoretical and practitioner-oriented publications, yet no scholarship has explored this intervention’s implementation and what influence, if any, it has on children and families. Situated within the after-school and community-school-partnership literature, we sought to understand the students’ and parents’ perspectives on and experiences with a UACS after-school project located in the southeastern US. Using qualitative case study and participation-observational methods, we report three findings: (1) the UACS intervention creates a “different” environment within the school; (2) the UACS intervention is a path to positive youth development outcomes; (3) universities operating programs in schools can become true insiders and therefore have enormous potential to impact student learning and school operations.

Authors

• Gavin Luter, University of Wisconsin

• Jessica Nina Lester, Indiana University

• Robert F. Kronick, The University of Tennessee

• Chad Lochmiller, Indiana University