Some of the most powerful global learning opportunities happen outside of school hours and classroom settings. Out-of-school time programs (such as afterschool, before-school, summer, and expanded learning programs) use the world as a context for learning. These programs can help young people acquire Global Competence through experiential, hands-on learning activities that:
- Expose young people to in-depth content about global issues as well as cultures, countries, and languages.
- Enable the social and emotional development critical to cross-cultural understanding, communication, and collaboration.
- Provide youth with opportunities to use technology to conduct research on global topics and communicate effectively with peers around the world.
- Develop leadership and civic participation by empowering young people to take action on issues of both local and global relevance.
- Engage youth in learning about international possibilities they can pursue in college and in their careers.
Asia Society has developed a range of resources to help afterschool program directors, staff developers, and youth workers integrate global learning into out-of-school time:Learn More
- Global Learning in Afterschool Self-Assessment Tool – Provides a framework and process for programs to assess their practices and improve their capacity across eight domains of a high-quality global learning program.
- Expanding Horizons Toolkit – A variety of tools that help program directors and/or site coordinators effectively integrate global approaches across their program’s mission, design, and administration, including training activities to build the capacity of staff to integrate global learning into their work with youth.
- Expanding Horizons Guidebook – Makes the case for integrating global learning in out-of-school time programs and provides a range of promising practices and resources.
- Funding Global Learning in Out-of-School Time – Outlines relevant funding sources and financing strategies that can strengthen and sustain global learning in out-of-school time programs.
- Global Learning in Expanded Learning Time – Guides school leaders on how to expand time and space for learning in order to better prepare students to participate and succeed in our global economy and global society.
Asia Society Services in Afterschool and Expanded Learning
Capacity building and technical assistance for afterschool intermediary organizations working at the national, state, or citywide level – We help organizations support global learning as an essential approach to building high-quality afterschool and expanded learning programs for the 21st century.
Professional development for afterschool staff and trainers – We provide on-site training-of-training and staff development workshops based on Asia Society’s Expanding Horizons Toolkit and other resources.
Expanded learning program design and development – We help develop strategies for expanded learning programs to award credit for out-of-school learning, such as travel, service learning, internships/mentorships, and blended learning.
To learn more about Asia Society’s products and services in Afterschool and Expanded Learning, please contact Heather Loewecke at [email protected]