Papers and Presentations From the Study of Predictors of Participation in
Out-of-School Time Activities
April 2007
Findings From HFRP's Study of Predictors of Participation
in Out-of-School Time Activities: Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet summarizes findings and implications from HFRP's recently completed
Study of Predictors of Participation in OST Activities. With funding from the
W.T. Grant Foundation, we examined the child, family, school, and neighborhood
predictors of children's participation in OST activities, paying special attention
to disadvantaged youth. The Fact Sheet highlights key findings for OST practitioners
and policymakers as they work to address issues of access and equity, document
service gaps, and target resources accordingly.
Harvard Family Research Project. (2007). Findings
from HFRP's study of predictors of participation in out-of-school time activities:
Fact sheet. Cambridge, MA: Author.
Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School
Time Participation: A Research Summary
We are also pleased to share a related resource—a 2-page Research Summary
synthesizing findings from two HFRP publications that examine demographic differences
in children's OST participation. This summary, which contains a subset of findings
contained in the Fact Sheet, presents key findings on differences in multiple
dimensions of participation in a range of OST activities and among youth from
varying family income levels and racial and ethnic groups.
Harvard Family Research Project. (2007). Demographic
differences in youth out-of-school time participation: A research summary.
Cambridge, MA: Author.
July 2006
Relations Between Parenting and Positive Youth Development
This paper examines the bidirectional relationship between (a) parental involvement
in education and out-of-school time (OST) activities and (b) youth participation
in OST activities. Using longitudinal data from the National Education Longitudinal
Study, the paper examines the direction of the parent involvement-youth participation
relationship and whether youth OST participation mediates the relationship between
parental involvement and youth academic and social outcomes.
Bouffard, S. M., Simpkins, S., & Kreider, H. (2006). Relations between
parenting and positive youth development. Manuscript in preparation.
Demographic Differences in Patterns of Youth Out-of-School Time Activity
Participation
This paper examines whether demographic differences exist in getting youth
“in the door” of OST activities, as well as in the number of activities
and the amount of time youth spend in activities. Results from two nationally
representative datasets show that disadvantaged youth were less likely to participate
in a variety of activities than their peers and that they participated in fewer
activities. Among youth who did participate, Black and Hispanic youth participated
less frequently in some activities, although Blacks participated more frequently
in community-based youth programs.
Bouffard, S. M., Wimer, C., Caronongan, P., Little, P. M. D., Dearing, E.,
& Simpkins, S. D. (2006). Demographic
differences in patterns of youth out-of-school time activity participation.
Journal of Youth Development, 1(1).
Studying Contextual Predictors of Participation in Out-of-School Time
Activities
This short article describes HFRP's study on contextual predictors of OST activities
as an illustration of how research and data can illuminate and facilitate links
between school and nonschool contexts that support children's learning.
Kreider, H. (2005). Studying contextual
predictors of participation in out-of-school time activities. The
Evaluation Exchange, 11(1).
Engaging Adolescents in Out-of-School Time Programs: Learning What Works
This presentation reported on the benefits of participation in OST activities,
contextual predictors of youth participation in such activities, and strategies
for improving recruitment and retention in OST programs.
Little, P. M. D., Lauver, S., & Harden, S. (2005, October). Engaging
adolescents in out-of-school time programs: Learning what works. Remarks
presented at the American Youth Policy Forum, Washington, DC.
The Changing Role of Parenting Across the Life Span
This presentation examined parenting behaviors and their associations with
one another and with youth outcomes in early and late adolescence, including
youth's participation in OST activities.
Simpkins, S. D., et al. (2005, October). Supporting
children's development in and out of the classroom. In P. Davis-Kean (Chair),
The changing role of parenting across the life span. Symposium conducted
at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Human Development, Asilomar,
CA.
How Does Parenting Matter in Adolescence? Insights From Variable- and
Person-Centered Approaches
This paper examines relations between a variety of parenting behaviors and
indicators of adolescent adjustment. Variable-centered analyses suggest that
parents establish rules in the face of poor adolescent adjustment. Parenting
behaviors focused on cognitive stimulation in the home and through school involvement
were associated with positive adolescent adjustment. Person-centered analyses
identified five distinct clusters based on the pattern of parenting behaviors
and confirmed results found in the variable-centered analyses.
Simpkins, S. D., Bouffard, S. M., Dearing, E., Wimer, C. Caronongan, P., &
Weiss, H. B. (2006) How does parenting matter in adolescence? Insights from
variable- and person-centered approaches. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Critical Issues in Adolescent Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities
This symposium brought together William T. Grant Foundation grantees who are
experts in education, developmental psychology, and policy to study emerging
issues in adolescent participation in OST activities. Topics discussed included
indicators of participation and the contextual variations in these indicators,
the process of motivation in enrollment and continued activity attendance, and
the role of program quality and the duration of participation in relation to
positive outcomes for youth.
Weiss, H. B. (Chair). (2005). Critical
issues in adolescent participation in out-of-school time activities.
Symposium presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Bienniel Meeting,
San Francisco, CA.
What Are Kids Getting Into These Days? Demographic Differences in Youth
Out-of-School Time Participation
This research brief distills findings from an examination of demographic differences
in youth's OST activity participation rates. It first provides information on
current demographic differences in participation rates and then looks at whether
there is any evidence that such differences have changed in recent years. The
brief concludes with implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.
Wimer, C., Bouffard, S. M., & Caronongan, P., Dearing, E., Simpkins, S.
D., Little, P. M. D., & Weiss, H. B. (2005). What
are kids getting into these days? Demographic differences in youth out-of-school
time participation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.
Selection Into Out-of-School Tme Activities: The Role of Family Contexts
Within and Across Neighborhood
This poster examined disadvantage at the family and neighborhood level and
their associations with participation in out-of-school time activities. Specifically,
the authors demonstrate that neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) characteristics
(i.e., income, education, and employment) mediate the association between family
income, parent education, and ethnicity and children's participation in a variety
of activities outside of school. Family income and parent education, for example,
are positively associated with an increased probability of youth participating
in before- and after-school programs, community programs, and community center
activities, but this increased probability is explained entirely by the fact
that children in higher income and more educated families live in higher SES
neighborhoods.
Wimer, C., & Dearing, E. (2005). Selection into out-of-school time activities:
The role of family contexts within and across neighborhoods. Poster session
submitted to Society for Research on Adolescence 2006 Bienniel Meeting, San
Francisco, CA.
Critical Issues in Adolescent Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities
This symposium paper examined how child, family, school, and neighborhood characteristics
and the interactions among them are associated with participation. Analyses
paid special attention to those risk factors responsible for the lower participation
rates of disadvantaged youth. Specifically, using multivariate models, the authors
examined associations between out-of-school time activities and risk factors
at levels of the child (e.g., educational aspirations), family (e.g., parental
self-efficacy), school (e.g., perceptions of school resources), and neighborhood
(e.g., perceptions of neighborhood danger).
Wimer, C., & Simpkins, S. D.(2005). Adolescent
out-of-school time participation: Contextual predictors and developmental differences.
In H. B. Weiss (Chair), Critical issues in adolescent participation in out-of-school
time activities. Symposium submitted to Research on Adolescence 2006 Bienniel
Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Youth Out-of-School Time Participation: Multiple Risks and Developmental
Differences
This paper examines whether youth who are at risk, according to child-, family-,
school-, and neighborhood-level factors, are less likely to participate in out-of-school
time activities, and whether the predictors depend on youth's age or socioeconomic
status. Findings reveal that child- and family-level risks are most consistently
related to youth's OST participation. However, these relationships emerge only
in early and late adolescence, when youth have more autonomy in their decisions
about non-school time use. For certain types of activities, namely those that
require fees and financial commitments, contextual risks are more strongly associated
with OST participation for higher SES families than for lower SES families.
Wimer, C., Simpkins, S. D., Dearing, E., Bouffard, S. M., Caronongan, P., &
Weiss, H. B. (2006). Youth out-of-school time participation: Multiple risks
and developmental differences. Manuscript submitted for publication.
|
