Positive use of time Some working parents wish for their children to be more supervised during after-school hours, which Mahoney, Larson, and Eccles's 2005 study discovered to be a leading reason for student enrollment in structured after-school programs. Many after-school activities take place in the afternoons of school days, on the weekends, or during the summer, thereby helping working parents with
childcare. While some after-school programs serve as a day-care facility for young children, other programs specifically target adolescents in middle and high schools—providing opportunities for children of all ages. Some proponents of these programs argue that if left unsupervised, children and adolescents may fall into undesirable activities such as
sexual promiscuity,
substance abuse, or
gang-affiliated activity. Since adolescents are old enough to be left unsupervised, they have a higher risk of engaging in criminal behavior than young children do, which may increase the perceived need for constructive after-school programs, as Cook, Godfredson, and Na argue in their 2010 article in the journal
Crime and Justice. In the United States, interest in utilizing after-school programs for delinquency-prevention increased dramatically after research found that juvenile arrest rates peak between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on school days. By keeping students involved in school related activities, it lessens the chance for them to get involved in criminal activity or abuse drugs and alcohol.
Academic growth at
Sullivan High School in
Chicago, Illinois in May 2012. Studies show that afterschool programs are beneficial for both children and adolescents. A 1994 long-term study by Posner and Vandell found that children in structured, academic afterschool programs had increased academic achievement when compared to their peers. Researchers chose a pool of children who had taken part in some sort of after-school program and another pool of children who did not take part in a formal after-school program as a control group. They gave assessments to the children, their parents, and their teachers in order to determine the children's levels of academic achievement, and the results showed that students who had taken part in a structured after-school program were more likely to have better grades and to perform higher in math and reading tests than those who had not taken part in an after-school program. Several other studies (e.g., Morrison, Storino, Robertson, Weissglass, & Dondero, 2000; Tucker et al., 1995) have found that after-school academic tutoring or homework assistance may not result in an improvement in academic performance, but, rather, prevent a decline in performance that is evidenced by many at-risk youth. Morrison et al. (2000) studied 350 at-risk students, half of whom participated in an after-school program that provided homework assistance, tutoring, and cultural enrichment activities. They found after 1 year that students in the program maintained their initial levels of school bonding and teacher ratings of student behavior, while a matched cohort of students who did not participate in the program showed decreases on these measures over the same period of time. Tucker et al. (1995) evaluated an afterschool tutoring program serving low-income African American students. After 2 years, participants did not show significant increases in grades, but students who were not in the program showed a significant grade decrease. Together, these studies indicate that after-school academic support may play a protective role by helping to prevent a loss of school engagement even if it doesn't result in higher levels of functioning. Minority, low income, urban settings, "at-risk", and other negative connotations labeling youth's hinder academic achievements. Effective after-school programs can try to bridge the gap between education achievement and the negatively-labeled student. In an article written by Barton J.Hirsh, he highlights studies that show children who participate in after-school programs show improvements in both their academic performance and personality development. Additionally, they learn problem solving skills and practice their artistic abilities.
Behavioral growth There's mixed evidence as to whether afterschool programs positively impact youth behavioral outcomes. On the other hand, a study of after-school programs in Maryland found participants to engage in more rebellious behavior than non-participants.
Closing the achievement gap After-school activities have had proven impacts on decreasing the
gap in academic achievement between white students and
students of color in the United States. The students that she worked with identified extracurricular activities, after-school opportunities for academic aid, and summer enrichment programs as important contributions to their academic success and personal growth. A 2000 study by Gutman and Migley connects the benefits of students having close relationships with caring adults with a decrease in the achievement gap.
Summer learning loss After-school activities can play a role in combatting
summer learning loss, which refers to the amount of academic skills that students lose during the summer holidays due to a lack of exposure to academic material. According to a series of 39 meta-analyses collected by Harris Cooper in a study on elementary and early childhood education, students' test scores drop significantly from the last day of school in the spring to the first day in the fall; on average, the summer break sets students back over a month. For primary and secondary school students,
reading comprehension, in particular, is highly affected by summer learning loss. If students are able to participate in academic activities during the summer months, they are less likely to be at risk for summer learning loss. Currently, students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to have access to and participate in academic activities during the summer months, which gives them an advantage in academic achievement during the school year when compared to their peers with lower socioeconomic statuses. == Criticisms of after-school activities ==