Reimagining Approaches to Out-of-School Time Spaces That Center Youth

Abstract

Abstract The beginning of 2020 marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and a new reality. Mainstream learning loss discourse emerged as young people faced new social challenges and rising inequities. However, how we define some of these challenges may pose new barriers to equity promotion. Deficit-based narratives often negatively construct youth identities and intertwine with neoliberal forces and systemic inequities. Out-of-school time (OST) spaces offer hope and opportunity for a re-envisioned environment to centralize youth voice and provide critical time for leisure and reconnection. In this article, authors explore the strategies that can exist between youth workers and social workers in cultivating OST spaces for young people to engage with complex social justice development in humane, nurturing, and respectful environments. Authors center the argument for shifting away from extractive neoliberal models that commodify youth, the importance of becoming cognizant of OST’s impact on young people’s development, and raising awareness of the possibilities within OST spaces through youth-focused frameworks.