The United States is engaged in an ongoing, public discussion about how
to best expand afterschool time and opportunities for children and
youth, to support their learning and development across the day,
throughout the year, and from kindergarten through high school. Debate
continues about the range of academic, social, and other types of
knowledge and skills that young people will need to succeed as workers,
citizens, and family and community members in a global world.
after school activity programmes
To build the knowledge base, and to support efforts to improve
quality in this field, the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has
developed and maintains an accessible national database of evaluations
of hundreds of afterschool programs. In 2008, HFRP issued a review of
these studies to address two fundamental questions: Does participation
in after school programs make a difference, and if so, what conditions
appear to be necessary to achieve positive results?
The verdict: a decade of research and evaluation studies confirms
that children and youth who participate in afterschool programs can reap
a host of positive benefits in a number of interrelated outcome areas —
academic, social-emotional, prevention, and health and wellness. These
are the skills that many suggest are necessary for youth to succeed in
the 21st century global economy and world.
Academic performance
Participation in afterschool programs is influencing academic
performance in a number of ways, including better attitudes toward
school and higher educational aspirations; higher school attendance
rates and lower tardiness rates; less disciplinary action, such as
suspension; lower dropout rates; better performance in school, as
measured by achievement test scores and grades; significant gains in
academic achievement test scores; greater on-time promotion; improved
homework completion; and deeper engagement in learning.
Dozens of studies of afterschool programs repeatedly underscore the
powerful impact of supporting a range of positive learning outcomes,
including academic achievement, by affording children and youth
opportunities to practice new skills through hands-on, experiential
learning in project-based after school programs.
Another common thread among all of these studies is that successful
programs focus not just on academic support, but also offer other
enrichment activities. Thus, balancing academic support with a variety
of structured, engaging, and enjoyable extracurricular activities
appears to improve academic performance.
Social-emotional development
Many afterschool programs focus less on academics and more on
improving young people’s social and developmental challenges, such as
social skills, self-esteem and self-concept issues, initiative, and
leadership skills. Research has shown that participation in these
programs is associated with decreased behavioral problems, improved
social and communication skills, better relationships with peers and
teachers, increased self-confidence, self-esteem and self-efficiency,
lower levels of depression and anxiety, development of initiative, and
improved feelings and attitudes toward self and school.
Crime, drug, and sex prevention
The hours from 3 to 6 p.m. are the peak time for juvenile crime and
victimization, and the time period when teens ages 16-17 are most likely
to be involved in a car crash. Also, youth left unsupervised for a
certain number of hours per week are more likely to be sexually active,
and at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. Participation in an
afterschool programs gets children and youth off the streets, under
supervision, and potentially prevents some risky behaviors. But beyond
offering a safe haven, research and evaluation studies have demonstrated
that the programs can have a positive effect on a range of prevention
outcomes, such as avoidance of drug and alcohol use, decreases in
delinquency and violent behavior, increased knowledge of safe sex,
avoidance of sexual activity, and reduction in juvenile crime.
The Wall