During my search and selection process I always kept in mind my puzzles; my

goal was to find the proper articles applicable to my qualitative research. I created a
search based on the topics of my puzzle: bonds amongst the children, extracurricular
activities provided by the program, and parent involvement. I selected articles that
provided in-depth knowledge on finding that would assist me in my field observations
and semi-structured interviews. In order to cover all bases and be fair I have found two
articles per puzzle topic. I will examine the bonds amongst the children and
extracurricular activities provided by the program through direct observations and
photography, while semi-structured interviews will allow me to understand parent
involvement. I have organized my articles by topic: childrens social interaction,
extracurricular activities, and parent participation.
A Meta-Analysis of After-School Programs That Seek to Promote Personal and
Social Skills in Children and Adolescents states that youth need to know what they are
expected to learn. Therefore, staff should not target personal and social development in
general terms, but identify explicitly what skills in these areas youth are expected to
learn and follow. (Dulark, Weissberg, Pachan) The information provided in this article
has revealed a key factor that can impact the childs experience in the Santa Ana Police
and Activity League. I will observe if being explicitly told what is required of them and
the benefit of that requirement influences them in a positive manner, are they more
likely to respect each other when they are aware that it an important [human] trait to
have self-control? The constraint of this meta-analysis was that data used did not
properly clarify racial and ethnic composition or the socioeconomic status of
participants, which may have caused an effect on external/internal validity.

Researchers in the Transactional Relationships Between Latinos Friendship

Quality and Academic Achievement found that positive friendship support was
correlated with school liking (Sebanc, Guimond, Lutgen). This finding has directed me to
assess the positive friendship amongst the children and expect to observe that those
friendships contribute to an optimistic view of their experience in the Santa Ana Police
and Activity League. I can safely guess that the more [positive] friendships a child has
established within the program the better their experience will be. Due to the fact that
data was only collected from a small sample size it is not safe to assume that this
finding apply to the entire Latino population.
Among motivational features assessed by the authors of Physical and SocialMotivational Contextual Correlates of Youth Physical Activity in Underresourced
Afterschool

Programs,

relatedness

components

(positive

peer

relations,

inclusive/cooperative activities) were primary correlates of girls physical activity. In

contrast, three motivational features specified by self-determination theory (support for
autonomy, mastery/competence, and inclusion/relatedness) were correlated with boys
physical activity (Zarrett, Sorensen, Cook). During my observation of the running team
this finding will guide me to understand the motivation behind the childs purpose of
joining the extracurricular activity; why did they want to make the running team apart of
their experience in the Santa Police Athletic and Activity League? After reading this
article I can safely assume the girls joined the running team mainly because their
friends were in the running team and the boys wanted to join the running team not only
because of their friends but also to test their athleticism. The limitation in this study is
that the interaction of the staff conducting the physical activity was not strictly observed;

it could be possible his/her interaction with the boys differed from his/her interaction with
the girls causing a bias and influencing motivation.
According to the research supplied in Exploring the Educational Involvement of
Parents of English Learners, [parent] involvement type was predicted by parental
demographic factors such as comfort with English language, educational background,
and ethnicity, as well as perceptions of barriers and overall environmental climate (Vera,
Israel, Coyle). The findings in this article will assist me in my semi-structured interview
with the childrens parents because I will ask questions about the environment of the
Santa Ana Police and Activity League and discover if it influences their participation in
the program. For example, despite your primary language being Spanish does the
[welcoming] environment provided by the program encourage you to abide by the
contract you signed in order to enroll your child, and why? After analyzing this article I
would predict the environment provided by the Santa Ana Police and Activity League
makes it easier for the parent to feel confortable in playing a vital role in their childs
educational and social growth. The obstacle in this research article was that parents
who were already more involved in their childrens education took the time to respond to
the survey provided by the researchers.
E. What are the most relevant lessons for your project?
F. What questions or answers do your sources omit that you might nonetheless be able
to address with your own project?

Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., & Pachan, M. (2010). A Meta-Analysis of After-School

Programs That Seek to Promote Personal and Social Skills in Children and
Adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 294-305.
Sebanc, A., Guimond, A., & Lutgen, J. (2014). Transactional Relationships Between
Latinos Friendship Quality and Academic Achievement. Journal of Early Adolesence, 131.
Vera, E., Israel, M., & Coyle, L. (2012). Exploring the Educational Involvement of
Parents of English Learners. School Community Journal, Vol. 22(2),183-202.
Zarrett, N., Sorensen, C., & Cook, B. (2015). Physical and Social-Motivational
Contextual Correlates of Youth Physical Activity in Underresourced Afterschool
Programs. Health Education Behavior, 1-12.