The Impact Of A Youth Development Approach On Academic Performance: A Case Study Of Primary School5^th Grade Students In An After-school Program In Suriname

While access to high quality school is a necessary ingredient for the education of allstudents, good schools alone may not be sufficient to ensure universally high levels ofacademic achievement. The above statement is supported by a study done by Ringeling(1996) who stated that the academic performance of primary school students in Surinameis far from satisfying. Primary school students do not perform well in their academicwork in spite of attending the regular school schedule.As the result of the above stated problem, policy makers and the ministry of Educationjoined forces together in finding a solution toschool.One effective way this problem could be solved is through the use of after-schoolprograms. These programs are community based and their objective is to improveacademic performance. Through these programs the children are helped toimprove their academic performance. Unfortunately, the programs tend to be consideredbe recognized as such, they are anunder-leveraged resource that deserves to be a strategic partner with the government ofSuriname to ensure that every child is ready.Therefore the impact of community based programs cannot be overlooked, when desiringto better student academic achievement. This study was intended to explore the impactof such a program on5thacademic performance in Paramaribo, Suriname.The research questions that guided this study were:1How is the performance of the students in the final Mathematics/Reading nationalexamination before and after joining the afterschool program?2What is the teacher perspective on the student classroom performance afterjoining the program? 3What is the students’perspective on the effect of the program on their academic performance?The study involved a sample of36participants who were purposefully selected. The participants responded through, interviews and focus-group discussions. Documents of the children’s final Mathematic\Reading national examination record before and after they had joined the program were also reviewed.The data of research question number1was quantitatively obtained using excel where by basic descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, standard deviation and percentages were used in the data presentation. The data obtained qualitatively from the interview and focus group discussion was thematically analyzed based on the questions asked during the interviews and focus-group discussions. Important responses were quoted to help strengthen quantitative and qualitative findings.Results from quantitative data showed that the program had a positive impact on the students’their academic performance. The impact on the students’ academics was made because of the student-centered teaching approach that was used by the tutors;this method is not obvious in the classroom. Also the one-on-one assistance given to the students in the program made the students improve their academic performance.Results from the qualitative data surprisingly showed an increase in social skills and competencies even though the specific focus of the tutors in the program were directed towards making student academically competent. The study did also conclude that the tutor role in the program is of great importance, therefore it is recommended that if adequate change and progress is expected the Government together with the program coordinators need to join forces to equip the tutors with the necessary tools and knowledge so that our children can thrive in their academics.These program coordinators, because of their expertise can explain clearly the lacking tools, needs and finances which can be allocated through the MOE.