The study was informed by the principles of youth participatory action research. In this approach, young people draw on their lived experience to form questions about an issue that affects them directly. They then carry out research and recommend changes to policies and practices based on their findings. 

To explore both experiences of and barriers to participation in out-of-school-time programs from the perspective of young people, student researchers conducted a survey and focus groups. The idea was to surface young people’s reflections on and hopes for the out-of-school-time sector. The research team, which was advised by four university researchers, comprised 11 high school and college students from New York, Colorado, and Kentucky. 

Their work was part of a larger examination of equity in out-of-school-time programming.

In fall 2020, the team conducted four online focus groups and administered an online survey to 191 young people between the ages of 14 and 19. Focus groups involved three to five students, from 14 to 19 years old. The survey, which used peer network sampling, provides an indication of young people’s views on, and experiences in, out-of-school-time programs.