University-Community Links: Collaborative Engagement in Extended Learning (original) (raw)
2015, International Journal for Research on Extended Education
Introduction to the Main Topic While it has become accepted that quality after-school programs for young people promote academic achievement and social development (Eccles/Gootman 2013; Pierce/Augur/Vandell 2013), it remains a major challenge to provide such programming in ways that both meet accepted standards of high quality and serve the students who need it most. For many programs providing underserved students with extended learning activities, collaboration between institutions is important. In many cases, because the school problems of many young people are symptomatic of much broader societal problems they face, no single institution can alone provide all the physical, educational, and personnel resources necessary to establish and maintain a viable extended education program that adequately addresses the range of cognitive and social needs of the young people it serves (Underwood/Frye, 1997). This special issue of IJREE presents several articles about University-Community Links (UC Links), an international network of extended education programs in which universities and local community organizations collaborate to provide extended learning opportunities for underserved young people in their respective localities. Members of this network, which encompasses Fifth Dimension (5thD) and La Clase Mágica (LCM) program sites (see below) throughout the United States and other nations, together with the statewide UC Links network of sites in California, draw on similar theoretical and practical issues and collaborate in both programmatic and research efforts. Thus, this 5thD/LCM/UC Links collaboration represents not only an international network of locally based programs but also a dispersed community of university and community partners who interact digitally to share ideas about implementing innovations and responding to challenges. Much of the work of providing engaging educational activities for underserved youth takes place in local schools or communities, but the interaction of key UC Links partners across local sites is an important element in the creation of a sustainable international community of learners.
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