Designing for Engagement - How High-Quality Arts OST Programs Can Engage Tweens

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanford

Tweens aged 10–14 are often hard to attract and retain in out-of-school time arts programs due to increasing responsibilities, autonomy, and lower tolerance for uninterested formats. Findings from three years of implementation research on the Youth Arts Initiative (YAI) suggest strong engagement, with steady weekly attendance and year-to-year retention. Participants also reported gains in self-confidence, self-awareness, persistence, and new friendships, alongside increased Club attendance. The article outlines how YAI’s model and ten success principles drive these outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Youth Arts Initiative and engagement outcomes

Engagement, attendance, and retention

Reported benefits for participants

The 10 Success Principles for high-quality arts OST programs

Principles 1-10 overview

YAI model and comparisons with typical multiprogram afterschool settings

Source and foundation of the YAI model

Boys & Girls Clubs vs community arts organizations

Designing for Engagement How High-Quality Arts OST Programs Can Engage Tweens Tracey Hartmann and Wendy McClanahan Tweens—young people age 10 to 14—are notoriously difficult to engage and retain in out-of-school time (OST) programs. As youth age, they have more responsibilities and options after school. They also have more autonomy than younger children, so they “vote with their feet”when a program does not interest them. When it launched the Youth Arts Initiative (YAI) with funding from the Wallace Foundation in 2014, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) hoped this high-quality arts initiative would address the challenge of attracting and retaining tweens. Research from the first three years of the initiative suggests that it worked: Participants were highly engaged in YAI. This engagement translated into regular attendance: More than half the participants attended the program at least once a week, and twothirds were retained in the program from year to year. YAI participants also increased their Club attendance, while members who were not in YAI decreased their Club attendance. Furthermore, parents, staff, and participants themselves reported that YAI improved young people’s self-confidence and self-awareness and their ability to self-manage, persist, and develop new friendships. This article shares findings from three years of implementation research about how and why YAI was successful in attracting and engaging tweensand about the benefits participants experienced. We TRACEY HARTMANN, PhD, is director of qualitative research at Research for Action, a mission-driven educational research nonprofit organization. Dr. Hartmann has over 15 years of experience in implementation research and evaluation in K–12 education and out-of-school time. WENDY MCCLANAHAN, PhD, is president and founder of McClanahan Associates, Inc., a research organization committed to “evaluation for progress.” She has over 20 years of evaluation experience, working extensively with initiatives designed to assist young people from vulnerable communities. Figure 1. The 10 Success Principles Source: Montgomery, Rogovin, & Persaud, 2013 PRINCIPLE 1 PROFESSIONAL PRACTICING ARTISTS Instructors are professional, practicing artists and are valued with compensation for their expertise and investment in their professional development. PRINCIPLE 2 EXECUTIVE COMMITMENT Executive directors have a public commitment to high-quality arts programs that is supported by sustained action. PRINCIPLE 3 DEDICATED SPACES Arts programs take place in dedicated, inspiring, welcoming spaces and affirm the value of art and artists. PRINCIPLE 4 HIGH EXPECTATIONS There is a culture of high expectations, respect for creative expression, and an affirmation of youth participants as artists. PRINCIPLE 5 CULMINATING EVENTS Programs culminate in high-quality events with real audiences. PRINCIPLE 8 HANDS-ON SKILL BUILDING Programs focus on hands-on skill building using current equipment and technology. PRINCIPLE 6 POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS Positive relationships with adult mentors and peers foster a sense of belonging and acceptance. PRINCIPLE 9 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Programs strategically engage key stakeholders to create a network of support for both youth participants and programs. . PRINCIPLE 7 YOUTH INPUT Youth participants actively shape programs and assume meaningful leadership roles. PRINCIPLE 10 PHYSICAL & EMOTIONAL SAFETY Programs provide a physically and emotionally safe space for youth. begin by using the 10 success principles that define high-quality arts programs (Montgomery, Rogovin, & Persaud, 2013) to describe how YAI is different from arts programs typically offered in multiprogram afterschool settings. We then describe the YAI pilot and program structure before turning to the research findings. These findings lead to recommendations for the field on ways to engage tweens in arts programming. The

FAQs

Why are tweens difficult to engage in out-of-school time programs?

Tweens are more difficult to retain because they have more responsibilities and options after school, and greater autonomy means they leave programs that do not interest them.

What engagement and attendance results did the Youth Arts Initiative (YAI) achieve?

YAI participants showed high engagement, with more than half attending at least once a week and twothirds retained from year to year.

What benefits did YAI participants report beyond attendance?

Parents, staff, and participants reported improved self-confidence and self-awareness, stronger self-management and persistence, and the development of new friendships.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanford