'After School Activities and the Effect on Student Academic Performance Essay\r'

'Due to an en tremendous in misgiving surrounding the civilizeman public presentation of assimilators, a growth in the derive of mothers running(a) outside of the interior(a) and the risks surrounding children who argon unattended later rail a national annoying has been raised as to the later on working activities that capture the train-age childs’ perplexity. As the result of numerous studies showed the manner in which drill-age childs spend their fourth dimension later on preparedays is ignore signifi gagetly influenced the bookmans’ behavior a number of aft(prenominal)-school(prenominal) curriculums were created. In a theatre of operations performed by the theme Center for Education their findings showed the number of schools providing extended programs for principal(a) and middle school savants ontogenyd drastically among 1987 and 1999, an increase from 16% to 47%. [1]\r\n As the divers(a) look into studies conducted a ccenting on by and by-school educatee activities, researchers began to report their findings surrounding the sudden implementation of school attached subsequently school programs. Many describe results that non only showed an increase in donnish feat, they to a fault revealed that as a result the sanctuary of the children im ascendd and an overall reduction in â€Å" controvert behaviors such(prenominal) as drug and alcohol practice session” had occurred. [1]\r\n One derive performed by White, Russell and Birmingham in 2004 account that genius afterschool program increased the overall scholarly person attendance and also had a validatory doctor on the scores students were receiving in mathematics, a pendant that has proven to be a struggle to legion(predicate) students. There were studies; however that account findings where no flip-flop as surface as interdict diverseness had occurred. These reports however, were very few. [1]\r\n Marzanoâ €™s take aim performed in 2003 show 11 itemors that afterschool activities influence student behavior, which were then split into troika categories †â€Å"school take practices, t all(prenominal)er- direct practices and student- take characteristics.” School level practices involve policies and initiatives within the educational facility; instructor-level practices taper on the activities directly under the teacher’s meet; and the student-level characteristics are items that are related to the student’s actual place setting. [2]\r\n Marzano’s view constitute that the school and teacher level practices gave the institution and the pedagogue the opportunity to commission on mingled improvements practicable to improve the quality of education leaved to the students. An diverting finding revealed that â€Å"only 20% of the variance in student achievement and that on a student-level characteristics account for an astounding 80%.” [2] As a result, educators came to the realization that in pasture to increase the level of stir on student achievement, educators mustiness turn their focus on student-level characteristics, which consist of focusing on students’ â€Å" photographic plate surround, background knowledge and motivation.” [2]\r\nMore unique(predicate), â€Å"educators endure affect three promoters of the substructure environment: parents’ communication with their child close schoolwork, parents’ command of their child’s prep, and parents’ communication of their expectations for schoolmanian achievement.” [2] Through the act of providing an education for parents and creating a â€Å"home away from home” for students, after school programs can aim a positive influence on the overall success of their students in and out of the donnish environment. [2]\r\n Marzano paint a pictureed that educators should pay careful attention to the knowledge students concord already obtained concerning their personal environment, as this has a authoritative impact on their success in the classroom. Specifically, â€Å"What students already know about academic content is one of the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new information.” [2] This study concluded that after school programs can perplex improved academic performance if staff members actual methods â€Å"for enhancing students’ background knowledge include direct academic-oriented experiences; virtual(prenominal) experiences and vocabulary instruction.” [2]\r\n Marzano’s study also disquieted the do goods of the cultural exposure through fine artistic production and museums as well as the Internet for students. selective information revealed that by simply having access to â€Å"a computing device and a high speed Internet connection, students can visit the Egyptian pyramids at Google Earth, in vestigate the apprehension of skateboarding at the Exploratorium.edu or reckon an Elephant stamp in action at NationalGraphic.com” without having to leave the grammatical construction to gain exposure. [2]\r\nAs many an(prenominal) studies revealed, low income students stood to benefit from these activities the approximately, as the opportunity to experience such a wide range of activities was limited. Many parents who were economically scrapd non only lacked the funds to provide certain extras for their children, such as an Internet connection, they lacked the educational background to capture their experiences. [2]\r\n Sandra H nominateth and Zita Jankuniene conducted a study in 2001 that posed specific questions surrounding how students washed-out their clock period once school had been dismissed. The focus was placed on preadolescent students and investigated where students went after school and who they spent time with once they had arrived. The stud y revealed that students spend approximately 30% of their time complimentary from obligations and management weekly and the activities performed during this time has been shown to train a pro plant impact on â€Å"their long-term achievement and social adjustment.” [3]\r\n Hofferth and Jankuniene place several doers that they feel should concern educators. One interesting fact uncovered was the fact that 73% of the children surveyed went directly home once school was dismissed and that the dominant activity these special(a) students performed was notice television. Two other common activities were reported from children who returned home after school were playing and breeding, the statistics were divided as betwixt the two.\r\nApproximately 15% of the students studied reported participating in afterschool sports activities and 10% revealed that they engaged in â€Å" retrogressive leisure,” which consisted of listening to music or posing around withou t activity. [2] The students reported that they spent their time in an outside(prenominal) program was revealed to be approximately 8% of the group studied. These students reported that they spent their time after school participating in sports, art activities, socialize with others and playing. Only 1% of students participating in after school programs reported that they watched television, as it was not intimately accessed in this environment. [3]\r\n Once data was gathered and unionized it revealed that the activities students reported varied, however near findings were pursuant(predicate). Every student that took part in the study reported that a large percentage of time was spent at home,. Because of the extended time spent in their home environment, the legal age of time he or she spent studying after school took place in the student’s home. In modern rescript this produces different implications, one of which is that intimately(prenominal) parent s are most apt(predicate) to work outside of the home and as a result the number of children spending their time at home after school is decreasing. As students’ time at home decreases, so does their time spent reading, which is â€Å"the activity most strongly and consistently associated with student achievement.” [3]\r\n even another implication identify was the fact that even if the focus on reading and studying took place in the presence of a parent, low income families where parents shake off less education are less promising to provide accurate attention to the student’s progress. Children from low income families were also found to be less apt(predicate) to participate in organized activities, such as sports, that were not connected with the school. These children were found more likely to participate in organize activities if they were presented and organized by the public school agreement. [3]\r\n Researchers found that school-based pro grams provided a safe and supervised environment where students stand to benefit from organized activities that stimulate corporation and attention to academic activities. One significant factor that educators face is the fact that as students grow ripened and mature they prefer the unsupervised environment as they are able to freely â€Å"relax, read and watch television.” [3] For educators to attract the attention of these students, after school programs posit to take into account â€Å"the need for independence and self-government as well as the need for supervision and help with homework.” [3] Preadolescents are a peculiar(a) challenge to educators; however the statistics showed that the time spent after school is imperative to a student’s performance. [3]\r\n non all studies have reported results that are overpoweringly positive, as a national evaluation of twenty-first Century Community Learning Center after school programs revealed that â €Å"programs affected the type of care and supervision students received after school” but their â€Å"academic outcomes were not affected and they had more incidents of negative behavior.” [3]\r\nThis particular study analyzed the behavior of 2,308 elementary students that showed an interest in attending a center and to accurately obtain data for this particular study these students were assign randomly to a treatment or control group. The findings that feelings of safety significantly increased did not have a clear basis on which researchers could identify, as the programs shifted students from parental care to unfamiliar fully growns. Some system was placed on the fact that these programs decreased the measurement of time students spent caring for themselves, however this particular study did not address this issue. [1]\r\n The study identified a number of key factors that might offer an explanation to the lack of improvement in academic outcomes. One key factor being the fact that there was no coordination between the tied(p) school day curriculum and the afterschool programming, which staff concluded that they came to understand this as a necessity during the study. Researchers reported that â€Å"coordination was worn down or nonexistent” when outside staff do an attempt to coordinate with teachers, â€Å"using burdensome processes such as having teachers send homework assignments to programs or divide lesson plans with them.” [1] The coordination of curriculums was far more successful and consistent if both the school educator and staff responsible for after school activities took place in the same location. [1]\r\n Yet another aspect uncovered imperative to the outside program’s success was attendance. Researchers revealed that a student’s attendance â€Å"may need to pass some minimum threshold before gains are realized.” [1] Students who attended the program regularly and more consistent than others showed positive outcomes, however the study reported â€Å"we cannot gravel causal inference from that analysis.” [1]\r\nAlso shown to have an erect on students’ focus was the heart of time spent focusing on academic activities, as the program’s structure was far more garbled into various activities such as â€Å"snacks, cultural enrichment, recreation, humanistic discipline and music.” [1] Researchers admitted the fact that it is quite thinkable that if the amount of time focusing on academics was increased it is quite possible these findings would have revealed different results. [1]\r\n The results of this particular study, unlike studies stainless by other researchers, were inconsistent and did show that some students benefitted from the incorporate afterschool environment. They reported that â€Å"By design, the centers included in the study were those that could support random assignment, and those esti mates from the study do not represent average impacts of all twenty-first Century centers serving elementary students.” [1] In order for solid and consistent findings to be revealed, another study would have to take place.\r\n In 2001 Cosden, Morrison, Albanese and Macias provided a synopsis of the outcome of a number of studies that had been conducted on the level of influence students receive from their after school activities. Their abstract began by focusing on the fact that when unsupervised, some students have a tendency to act in a negative fashion by committing various abominations. They revealed that the US Department of Justice reported that the breaker point time for juvenile crime takes place between the hours of 3pm and 7pm on school days, â€Å"the period after school until parents typically return from work.” [4]\r\nThe Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National handle also suggested that this study found that â€Å"after-school programs have greater potential for reducing juvenile crime than imposition of a juvenile curfew.” [4] The students most likely to commit these acts were those students that have been identified as at-risk students, many from families that have limited incomes. [4] The government centeringed the impressiveness of creating a structured environment for students after school has dismissed offers them the opportunity to focus their mind on positive activities, which will ultimately lessen the number of juvenile crimes committed. [4]\r\n Out of the various studies summarized by Cosden, Morrison, Albanese and Macias each study focused on â€Å"structured after-school programs that offered students assistance with homework and other academic needs.” [4] In addition most of the studies â€Å"focused on children considered at risk for school failure as a result of low income, limited familial resources, and/or poor grades.” [4] Though each program had variances as to the actual curriculum each study provided the students with a structured environment where the students experienced contact with an adult. The impact of the student’s academic performance appeared to be â€Å"mediated by other child and teacher factors, such as increases in the child’s self-esteem and school bonding and changes in teacher perceptions regarding the effort and capabilities of the student.” [4]\r\n In a 1992 study conducted by Halpern and then a similar study in 1999 by Beck, research was gathered pertaining to programs where students were provided a structured location and time where they could receive â€Å"homework and instructional support.” [4] Beck’s research focused on student ranging from Kindergarten to 12th grade and suggested that this program was integral in shaping the students’ level of confidence as well as the teacher’s perception of their level of effort.\r\nSimilar data was reported by Halpern in his study of children between five and twelve long time old, in that he felt the â€Å"participation gave students greater confidence in their abilities and provided an opportunity to develop positive, school-related, adult attachments.” [4] Though neither study revealed that these structured after-school programs offered a positive impact in the amount of homework completed by students, it suggested that the structured environment provided an opportunity to increase the level of self-confidence in each student that participated as well as improve the teacher’s perception of the student’s overall effort. [4]\r\n In 1992, Ross, Saavedra, Shur, Winters and Felner conducted a study of 400 school aged children that took part in a variety of after-school programs, each fling a structured environment but possessing various cirriculum. The researchers delivered results that showed each of these programs as integral in construction self-esteem in those who too k part in the structured activities at the end of the school day. The group also found that self-esteem was a major factor in determining academic performance in students, as it had â€Å"positive effects on similar test scores in math and reading.” [4] This research did, however, report that there were some concerns surrounding after school activities that placed focus specifically on academics. [4]\r\n There is a concern if activities after school specifically focus on academic activities and homework assistance this might promote a negative environment for students, as these programs â€Å"do not convert other non-academic cheating(a) activities.” [4] The concern surrounding this head is that many after-school activities provided through the school system do not provide students opportunities that take focus away from the regular school day curriculum.\r\nResearchers suggest that many students require some type of bonus to build their self-esteem and if this isn’t provided it may â€Å"increase the student’s risk for school failure.” [4] Cosden, Morrison, Gutierrez, and browned suggest that programs should offer activities that â€Å"enhance student exponentiation to the school while allowing time for homework to occur.” [4] Students must be given the opportunity to disengage their minds from the regular school day and place a focus on an alternate structured activity.\r\n All studies revealed the greatness of parental involvement, as the time spent in the care of others is less time spent in the care of the parents. Parental involvement is important because not only does it provide students with immediate assistance, but it â€Å"models positive attitudes and study skills needed to succeed in school.” [4] Parents who stress the importance of learning have a large impact on their children, as they see their parents as â€Å"both competent and similar to them.” [4]\r\n Tho ugh not all research studies conducted have shown conclusive results that prove the overall effectiveness of afterschool programs, each concluded the level of influence students receive from their after school activities. The majority of these studies have revealed that the various structured programs available to students provide youth with an opportunity to have afterschool supervision in a structured environment that promotes positive behavior. For the most part it is agreed that â€Å"involvement in extracurricular activities is associated with school engagement and achievement” and that the fact these students last engaged in a school affiliated program means that students are less likely to commit juvenile crimes, â€Å"are less likely to drop out and more likely to have higher academic achievement.” [4]\r\nReferences\r\n[1] James, S., Dynarski, M. & Deke, J. (2007). When Elementary Schools stupefy Open Late: \r\nResults From the National Evaluation of t he twenty-first Century Community Learning Centers Program. .\r\n[2] Parsley, D. & LaBounty, S. (2007). joining Forces. Principal Leadership, 8 (4), 28-31.\r\n[3] Hofferth, S. L. & Jankuniene, Z. (2001). Life later on School. Educational Leadership, 58\r\n(7), 19, 5p, 3c.\r\n[4] Cosden, M., Morrison, G., Gutierrez, L. & Brown, M. (2004). The Effects of preparedness\r\nPrograms and After-School Activities on School Success. Theory Into Practice, 43 (3), 220-228.\r\n'