It’s hardly a new problem. Back in 1944 a US television documentary focused on the problem of “latchkey children” – children whose parents are at work when they return home from school and must unlatch the door themselves. Since that time, parents and the public at large have worried about these unsupervised children. Are they in danger? Are they getting into trouble? Could they be using their time better?
Research suggests that the answer to all three of these questions is yes. And over the past ten years funding and participation in programs for children before and after school hours and during weekends have steadily grown in the US.
Alongside these programs are a range of studies seeking to determine impact. A recent research brief from the Harvard Family Research Project [1] (HFRP) reviews this body of research, with a particular focus on seminal studies that employed rigorous evaluation techniques.
The Harvard project found that after-school programs can have a wide range of positive effects on children including academic improvement (such as better test scores, grades, behavior in school, and attendance) and mental and physical health (such as better social skills, self esteem, diet and exercise and less depression and anxiety). After-school programming, according to the evidence, can also help to reduce drug use, sexual activity, and crime and delinquency.
But not all programs are equal. Some help children more than others. The research on how programs work isn’t as advanced as the research on if they work. However, mounting evidence suggests that the best programs are those that:
• Summary of After School Programs in the 21st Century: Their potential and what it takes to achieve it [2] by Priscilla M D Little, Christopher Wimer and Heather B Weiss in Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation Briefs, Number 10, February 2008.
Links:
[1] http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/index.html
[2] http://tinyurl.com/32qqrj