Out-of-school time programs (i.e., after or before school and summer programs) supplement formal education and support working parents to minimize youth involvement in risky activities (Mahoney et al., 2009). However, programs meant to serve youth purposely blocked African Americans from participating in developmental programming (Halpern, 2002). Generally, participation in OST programs is low (Gillard & Witt, 2008). There is also little documentation of the perspectives of minoritized youth experiencing intersectional oppressions (Ladd, 2012; Orfield et al., 2014; Watson, 2014). Also, missing from the literature is a comprehensive study examining multiple stakeholders’ perspectives and research examining the specific factors impacting the involvement of high school-aged youth (Lewalter et al., 2021). Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore high school-aged African American youth, parents, and OST employees’ perspectives on the influence of race and income on high school-aged low-income African American youth participation in summer programs. Critical Race Theory guided the examination of four research questions: (1) What are African American youth (i.e., high school age), parents, and OST employees' perspectives of the role race plays on high school-aged low-income African American youth participation in summer programs? (2) What are African American youth, parents, and OST employees' perspectives on socioeconomic status's role in high school-aged low-income African American youth participation in summer programs? (3) What are African American youth, parents, and OST employees' perspectives of compatibility (i.e., program fit with youth interests) of summer programs with high school-aged low-income African American youth interests? (4) What are African American youth, parents, and OST employees’ perspectives on the impact of current socioeconomic conditions since COVID-19 on high school-aged low-income African American youth participation in summer programs? Data collected from 44 participants were analyzed using the constant comparative method and narrative thematic analysis. A total of seven individual and collective themes per subgroup emerged for an overall total of nine themes and represented the singular and collective experiences of the subgroups in the current study. Results indicate that race and income are relevant aspects of youth participation in summer programs. The study outlines implications and recommendations for social work and further research.
INDEX WORDS: Race, Socioeconomic status, Critical Race Theory, Out-of-school time, Youth, Counterstorytelling, Multi-perspective, Qualitative research, Social work
INDEX WORDS: Race, Socioeconomic status, Critical Race Theory, Out-of-school time, Youth, Counterstorytelling, Multi-perspective, Qualitative research, Social work