CHILDREN LIVING IN HIGH-RISK NEIGHBORHOODS AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Open Access
- Author:
- Robbins, Lauren Ruth
- Area of Honors:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Kathryn Bancroft Hynes, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Kathryn Bancroft Hynes, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Kathryn Bancroft Hynes, Thesis Honors Advisor
Hobart Harrington Cleveland III, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Neighborhood effects
After-school programs
Children developmental outcomes - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT: This study examined the effect of after school programs on the academic and behavioral development of children living in high-risk neighborhoods. . Based on prior literature about the way neighborhoods and after-school programs may influence development, I hypothesized that children would benefit academically from attending after-school programs, but that we would see no effects on their behavioral development. The data for the study came from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten class (ECLS-K), which was collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). The ECLS-K provides a nationally representative sample comprised of approximately 17,000 children in the United States. This sample was then restricted to only include children who lived in high-risk neighborhoods (N=847). The ECLS-K includes child assessments as well as surveys from parents, teachers and school administrators. Results of the study indicate that compared to children who did not attend after school programs, children who did attend after-school programs, reading scores marginally decreased between kindergarten and first grade. Children’s internal behaviors were positively affected by after school programs. Regression models were used to find these marginally significant results in the study.