Study of After-School Care and Children's Development

Investigators: Deborah Lowe Vandell, Kim Pierce 
Funding: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 

Description 
Measures of the After-School Context 
Publications 
Presentations 

Description 

The Study of After-School Care was a 5-year study of 150 children's experiences in after-school programs and other after-school arrangements. When the study began, the children were in Grade 1 and enrolled in 38 school- and community-based after-school programs. We followed the children as they moved to other programs in subsequent years, resulting in a total program sample of 56 programs. 

We examined the children's after-school experiences and child developmental outcomes, including academic performance, social skills, peer relations, internalizing problems and externalizing behaviors, depression, and self-concept. We also obtained reports of children's experiences in other developmental contexts such as the family, the school, and the neighborhood.


Measures of the After-School Context 

 

Program Quality Observation  [PDF manual]

Process quality ratings

Time samples of children's activities and interactions

After-School Environment Scale  [PDF questionnaire]

Child report of psychosocial climate in programs

Time Use Interview  [PDF manual]

The time use interview includes a parent report of the child's after-school arrangements and structured activity participation during evenings and weekends, and the child's report of time use during the after-school hours. The manual posted here is for the time use interview conducted in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The NICHD interview was generally the same as the one used in the Study of After-School Care. This interview can be administered to children as young as Grade 3.

Publications 

Pierce, K. M., Hamm, J. V., & Vandell, D. L. (1999). Experiences in after-school programs and children's adjustment in first-grade class classrooms. Child Development, 70, 756-767. 

Pierce, K. M., Bolt, D. M., & Vandell, D. L. (in press). Specific features of after-school program quality: Associations with children's functioning in middle childhood. American Journal of Community Psychology. 

Presentations 

Pierce, K. M., Hamm, J. V., Sisco, C., & Gmeinder, K. (1995, March). A comparison of formal after-school program types. Poster session presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Indianapolis, IN.  [PDF paper] 

Vandell, D. L., Pierce, K. M., & Hamm, J. V. (1997, April). Experiences in after-school programs and children's adjustment at school and at home. In N. L. Marshall & S. Friedman (Chairs), The impact of school-aged children's after-school experiences on their socio-emotional adjustment. Symposium conducted at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Washington, DC.  [PDF paper] 

Pierce, K. M., & Dadisman, K. A. (1999, April). Correlates of school-age children's time in self-care during the after-school hours. Poster session presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM.  [PDF paper] 

Vandell, D. L., & Pierce, K. M. (2001, April). Experiences in after-school programs and child well-being. In J. L. Mahoney (Chair), Protective aspects of after-school activities: Processes and mechanisms. Symposium conducted at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.  [PDF PowerPoint] [PDF paper] 

Grapkowski, M., Vandell, D. L., & Pierce, K. M. (2003, April). Relations between unsupervised after-school time and children's behavioral, emotional, and academic functioning. Poster session presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Tampa, FL. [not available]