Educators, policy makers, and funders increasingly argue that structured afterschool activities can provide youth with valuable supports for development. Studies assessing the impact of particular programs and strategies, however, are rare. This study presents a method of assessment that enables evaluation of varied youth programs in accordance with a youth development agenda. The data include a sample of 6th-through 10th-grade African American students (N = 125) as well as samples of students who participated in three other after-school programs. The analysis of survey data indicates that only some after-school programs provide more opportunities and supports for youth development than students receive during the school day but that almost all provide significantly more attractive affective contexts than students experience during the school day. This difference is particularly great for African American male youth. The study also compares community- and school-based afterschool programs and identifies possible directions for future research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, J. P. , Philliber, S., Herrling, S., & Kuperminc, J. P. (1997). Preventing teen pregnancy and academic failure: Experimental evaluation of a developmentally based approach. Child Development, 64, 729-742.
2.
Alter, J. (1998, April 27). It's 4:00: Do you know where your children are?Newsweek, pp. 29-33.
3.
Battistich, V. , Watson, M., Solomon, D., Lewis, C., & Schaps, E. (1999). “Beyond the three R's: A broader agenda for school reform. Elementary School Journal, 99, 415-432.
4.
Burg, S. (1998). El Puente: The real deal. New Designs for Youth Development, 14, 10-16.
5.
Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development . (1992). A matter of time: Risk and opportunity in the out-of-school hours. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York.
6.
Comer, J. P. (1980). School power: Implications of an intervention project. New York: Free Press.
7.
Connell, J. P. , Grossman, J. B., & Resch, N. (1995). The urban corps assessment package (URCAP) manual. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.
8.
Conrad, D. , & Hedin, D. (1989). High school community service: A review of research and programs. Madison: Wisconsin Center for Educational Research.
9.
Dwyer, K. M. , Richardson, J. L., Danley, K. L., Hansen, W. B., Sussman, S. Y., Brannon, B., Dent, C. W., Johnson, C. A., & Flay, B. R. (1990). Characteristics of eighth-grade students who initiate self-care in elementary and junior high school. Pediatrics, 86, 448-454.
10.
Flaxman, E. , & Orr, M. (1996). Determining the effectiveness of youth programs. Digest, 118, 1-6. (ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education Document No. ED412297)
11.
Furstenberg, F. (1993). How families manage risk and opportunity in dangerous neighborhoods. In W. J. Wilson (Ed.), Sociology and the public agenda. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
12.
Gambone, M. A. , & Arbreton, A.J.A. (1997). Safe havens: The contributions of youth organizations to healthy adolescent development. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.
13.
Gerber, S. B. (1996). Extracurricular activities and academic achievement. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 30, 42-50.
14.
Halpern, R. (1991). The role of after-school programs in the lives of inner-city children: A study of the urban youth network after-school programs (Discussion Paper No. 044). Chicago: University of Chicago, The Chapin Hall Center for Children.
15.
Hanks, M. , & Eckland, B. K. (1978). Adult voluntary associations and adolescent socialization. Sociological Quarterly, 19, 481-490.
16.
Heath, S. B. , & Soep, E. (1998). Youth development and the arts in non-school hours. Grantmakers in the Arts, 9, 9-16.
17.
Honig, M. I. , Kahne, J., & McLaughlin, M. W. (in press). School-community connections: Strengthening opportunities to learn and opportunities to teach. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed.).
18.
Ianni, F. (1989). The search for structure. New York: Free Press.
19.
Irvine, J. J. (1990). Black students and school failure. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
20.
Kahne, J. , & Bailey, K. (1999). The role of social capital and youth development: The case of “I have a dream” programs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21, 321-343.
21.
Kahne, J. , & McLaughlin, M. W. (1998). Framing issues for policy and practice through theory-driven evaluation. New Designs for Youth Development, 14, 17-22.
22.
Kahne, J. , Nagaoka, J., Brown, A., O'Brien, J., Quinn, T., & Thiede, K. (2000). School and after-school programs as contexts for youth development: A qualitative and quantitative assessment. In M. Wang and W. Boyd (Eds.), Improving results for children and families by connecting collaborative services with school reform efforts. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
23.
Kunjufu, J. (1983). Countering the conspiracy to destroy Black boys. Chicago: African-American Publishing.
24.
Larson, R. (1994). Youth organizations, hobbies, and sports as developmental contexts. In R. K. Silbereisen & E. Todt (Eds.), Adolescence in context: The interplay of family, school, peers, and work in adjustment (pp. 45-65). New York/Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
25.
Lee, V. , & Smith, J. (in press). Social support and achievement of young adolescents in Chicago: The role of school academic press. American Educational Research Journal.
26.
Lee, V. E. , Smith, J. B., Perry, T. E., & Smylie, M. A. (1999). Social support, academic press, and student achievement: A view from the middle grades in Chicago. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research.
27.
Marshall, N. L. , Coll, C. G., Marx, F., McCartney, K., Keefe, N., & Ruh, J. (1997). After-school time and children's behavioral adjustment. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 43, 497-514.
28.
McLaughlin, M. W. , Irby, M. A., & Langman, J. (1994). Urban sanctuaries: Neighborhood organizations in the lives and futures of inner-city youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
29.
Midgley, C. , Maehr, M. L., & Urdan, T. (1993). Manual: Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey (PALS). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
30.
National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth . (1996). Reconnecting youth and community: A youth development approach. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
31.
Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education. New York: Teachers College Press.
32.
Otto, L. B. (1975). Extracurricular activities in the educational attainment process. Rural Sociology, 40, 162-176.
33.
Otto, L. B. (1976). Social integration and the status-attainment process. American Journal of Sociology, 81, 1360-1383.
34.
Pettit, G. S. , Laird, R. D., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Patterns of after-school care in middle childhood: Risk factors and developmental outcomes. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 43, 515-538.
35.
Pittman, K. J. , & Zeldin, S. (1995). Premises, principles, and practices: Defining the why, what, and how of promoting youth development through organizational practice. Washington, DC: Center for Youth Development and Policy Research.
36.
Posner, J. K. , & Vandell, D. L. (1994). Low-income children's after-school care: Are there beneficial effects of after-school programs?Child Development, 65, 440-456.
37.
Richardson, J. L. , Dwyer, K., Hansen, W. B., Dent, C., Johnson, C. A., Sussman, S. Y., Brannon, B., & Flag, B. (1989). Substance use among eighth-grade students who take care of themselves after school. Pediatrics, 84, 556-566.
38.
Roth, J. , Brooks-Gunn, J., Murray, L., & Foster, W. (1998). Promoting healthy adolescents: Synthesis of youth development program evaluations. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8, 423-459.
39.
Spady, W. G. (1970). Lament for the letterman: Effects of peer status and extracurricular activities on goals and achievement. American Journal of Sociology, 75, 680-702.
40.
Spencer, M. B. , Cunningham, M., & Swanson, D. P. (1995). Identity as coping: Adolescent African-American males adaptive resources to high-risk. In H. W. Harris, H. C. Blue, & E. H. Griffith (Eds.), Racial and ethnic identity: Psychological development and creative expression. New York: Routledge Kegan Paul.
41.
Steinberg, L. (1986). Latchkey children and susceptibility to peer pressure: An ecological analysis. Developmental Psychology, 22, 433-439.
42.
Tierney, J. P. , & Grossman, J. B. (with Resch, N. L.). (1995). Making a difference: An impact study of big brothers/big sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.
43.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Educational Statistics . (1990). National education longitudinal study of 1988: A profile of the American eighth grader. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
44.
Verba, S. , Schlozman, K. L., & Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice and equality: Civic volunteerism in American politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
45.
Washington, V. (1988). Historical and contemporary linkage between black child development and social policy. New Directions for Child Development, 42, 93-105.
46.
Werner, E. B. (1987). Vulnerability and resiliency in children at risk for delinquency: A longitudinal study, birth to young adulthood. In J. D. Burchard & S. N. Burchard (Eds.), The prevention of delinquent behavior. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
47.
Werner, E. B. , & Smith, R. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A study of resilient children. New York: McGraw-Hill.
48.
Winfield, L. F. (1995). The knowledge based on resilience in African-American adolescents. In L. J. Crockett & A. C. Crouter (Eds.), Resilience among African-American youth (pp. 5-14). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
49.
Wright, B. D. (1977). Solving measurement problems with the Rasch model. Journal of Educational Measurement, 14, 97-116.
50.
Yates, M. , & Youniss, J. (1996). A developmental perspective on community service and adolescence. Social Development, 5, 85-111.
51.
Zelnik, M. , & Kantner, J. F. (1977). Sexual and contraceptive experience of young married women in the United States, 1976 and 1971. Family Planning Perspectives, 9, 55-71.
