School-age children between the ages of 5 and 14 spend up to 80% of their time out of school. These hours represent an opportunity to help children grow and acquire important social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills and to help them develop lifelong interests. This time can also be used to provide support for the academic challenges faced…

This report summarizes the presentations and discussion at a 1999 workshop entitled "Opportunities to Promote Child and Adolescent Development during the After-School Hours." This workshop brought together policy makers, researchers, and practitioners to examine research on the developmental needs of 5- to 14-year-olds and the types of…

As part of its "Youth-at-Risk" initiative, the national Cooperative Extension System assisted communities across the nation in setting up school-age child care (SACC) programs that provide after-school care to at-risk students. Evaluation of 31 SACC programs in California revealed increased prosocial behavior, decreased problem behavior,…

Discusses research on school-age child care programs and highlights three particularly significant issues: space constraints, staffing problems, and high summer enrollments. Discusses the place of school-age care in education reform and suggests that school-age care programs be modeled after the home rather than the school. (BB)

The Health Science and Technology Academy (HSTA), a partnership between West Virginia University and primarily rural communities in West Virginia, provides after-school science clubs for financially disadvantaged and minority students and encourages their interests in science, technology, and health science careers. Science teachers participating…

Describes early childhood and youth education in Denmark, including types of day care, enrollment figures, legislation and regulations, and program objectives. Discusses the integration of early childhood education within Denmark's social welfare system, educational approaches taken, and typical educational activities. Also discusses parent…

This study examined associations between multiple parental behaviors and children's participation in out-of-school math, science, and computer activities for children in 2nd (n = 125), 3rd (n = 123), and 5th grade (n = 200). Mothers and fathers reported how often they encouraged their children's activities, participated in activities with their…

Many students with disabilities have difficulty acquiring social skills, especially those necessary for employment. Students with autism struggle because of problems with (1) theory of mind; (2) reading facial expressions; (3) auditory processing problems; and (4) a lack of exposure to social conventions. Virtual reality and video have been used…

Little attention has been paid to older youth in the recent expansion of school-based after-school programs. High school clubs and community-based programs have existed for years, but many have struggled to sustain the participation of teens. Alarmed by the large numbers of high school-age youth who are disengaged at school and leaving high school…

In this project, we used photo-interviews as a method to investigate the hopes and fears of urban adolescent girls who actively participated in their community organization. The photo-interviews were featured in a collaborative, creative arts program involving urban adolescent girls from a community organization and college students enrolled in a…

Research suggests that how children spend their out-of-school hours can significantly affect their social development and school success. The Out-of-School Time Study, conducted by the School-Age Child Care Project at the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, investigated how young low-income children in three urban communities spent…

Interest in the quality of after-school programs has been increasing. It is recognized that, in urban and low-income areas, after-school programs are essential to counteract the effects of a number of factors contributing to a student's lack of opportunities and ability to succeed academically. However, information on the types of programs that…

These 12 monthly newsletter issues provide information and support for providers of school-age child care. The featured articles for each month are: (1) "Children's World Opens Private Elementary Schools" (September); (2) "How Does SAC [school-age care] Rate in Your State? (October)" (3) "Australian SAC Tackles Space…

This document presents descriptions of instructional and education-related activities of Idaho elementary and secondary school teachers and their schools. Activities include classroom practices and projects, and school programs. Descriptions are presented in five sections. The first section profiles 54 activities that encourage parent…

This manual was designed to assist Texas school districts in their efforts to implement Senate Bill (SB) 913 and to serve as a guide for organizing child care programs in the schools. Chapter 1 provides a summary of SB 913, a bill that requires school districts with more than 5,000 students to hold annual public hearings on out-of-school care for…