Quality at the Point of Service: Profiles of Practice in After-School Settings

Observational data were used to explore common staff practices (pedagogies) at an after-school youth program to explore profiles of staff behavior in youth programs, and to determine how practices are bundled together as coherent pedagogies. In addition, the association between variables such as youth-staff ratio, program content, or age of youth and specific pedagogies were examined. Findings revealed three broad classes of pedagogy, and youth age and program content influenced staff membership within these profiles.