This is a longitudinal five year study of 150 children from first through the fifth grades enrolled in formal after-school programs. While some children will remain in the formal programs others will transfer to informal adult supervision and self-care. The measures of after school care include (a) type of care, (b) curriculum focus within the formal programs (academic, enrichment, recreational), and (c) quality of the after school experiences. Child outcomes to be studied in relation to these after- school experiences include academic and conduct grades, achievement test scores, work habits, self esteem, depression, behavior problems, peer relationships, and loneliness.
| Pierce, Kim M; Bolt, Daniel M; Vandell, Deborah Lowe (2010) Specific features of after-school program quality: associations with children's functioning in middle childhood. Am J Community Psychol 45:381-93 |
| Posner, J K; Vandell, D L (1999) After-school activities and the development of low-income urban children: a longitudinal study. Dev Psychol 35:868-79 |
| Pierce, K M; Hamm, J V; Vandell, D L (1999) Experiences in after-school programs and children's adjustment in first-grade classrooms. Child Dev 70:756-67 |
| Rosenthal, R; Vandell, D L (1996) Quality of care at school-aged child-care programs: regulatable features, observed experiences, child perspectives, and parent perspectives. Child Dev 67:2434-45 |
