Research Themes: Social Context of Education

After-School Time: Programs, Activities, and Opportunities

This study is designed to enhance our understanding of how adolescents' use of their time during the non-school hours impacts their development. We will conduct an integrative review of four related literatures (after-school programs, youth development programs, extracurricular activities, and leisure time use) to investigate the opportunities and supports youth experiences in these different settings. Data from three large studies of diverse youth will be used to investigate youth's access to, and use of, developmental opportunities and supports in all types of after-school settings.

Project Update: NCCF researchers research affiliates have provided summaries of their latest findings from four studies describing various after-school activities of adolescents and kindergarten children, and the outcomes related to those activities:

Exploring Activity Combinations with Time Diary Data (.pdf)

Early Enrichment Opportunities: Participation and Cognitive Benefits in Kindergarten (.pdf)

Exploring the Psychosocial, Behavioral, and Academic Effects of Participation in Different Activity Combinations: Preliminary Analyses (.pdf)

A Multilevel Analysis of the Links Between Youth's After-School Time Activities and Their Well-Being. (.pdf)

Funding Source: W.T. Grant Foundation

Contact: Jodie Roth-Herbst, Ph.D.; Margo Gardner, Ph.D.

Other Current Social Contexts of Education Projects:

- Emotional Health in Low-Income Children
- Girl's Health and Development Project
- Boy's Health and Development Project
- Learning and Educational Trajectories
- National Study of Children's Time Use in School
- Intergenerational Pathways to Success: Two 30-Year Studies in Baltimore
- NCLB's Effect on Parental Involvement in School: An Evaluation

Completed Projects:

- Life Skills Training Project

Link to updated information

Link to updated information-2