Making Every Day Count - Teens

Recommendations

Info

Club Participation and Teens’ Outcomes 15Table 6Participation in Activities at the Clubs During the Past Four MonthsActivityPercentage of Youth WhoReport They ParticipatedHang out or play with friends 91.9%Use technology such as computers, video or digital music for fun 73.7%Use technology for school or academics, such as doing homework or research on a computer 70.8%Read a book, magazine or newspaper 55.0%Play sports on a team or participate in a fitness program 67.5%Spend time talking one-on-one with an adult 61.2%Participate in activities or discussions about making good choices in life 55.5%Go to a program to get homework help or tutoring 52.1%Attend a class or activity in math, science or another academic subject 31.2%Attend a class or activity in art or crafts 46.4%Attend a class or activity in music, drama, dance or performing arts 33.0%Participate in leadership programs 35.9%Attend health or nutrition programs 23.4%Work at the Club for pay 10.5%Volunteer or do community service 38.3%Source: Spring 2008 survey of 322 ninth and tenth graders.RetentionThe attendance data from the Clubs suggest thatmore than half the youth in the original sample(58 percent) were retained by that particular Club,attending at least once in the six months prior tothe end of the 30-month evaluation period. Youth’sreports of the last time they had been to their Clubor another Club are a bit higher, with about twothirds (67 percent) reporting they had been to aClub (either their original Club or another Club)in the past four months. A large majority of youth(86 percent) also reported that they planned to goback to the Club, even if they had not been in awhile. The data from the Clubs’ attendance recordssuggest that this is often the case—youth may notgo for a time because they are busy with somethingelse and then decide to go back and reengage.Data gathered on the final survey suggest a fewpotential barriers to participation when youthreach the ninth and tenth grades. Relative to thosewho had been to a Club in the past four months,a significantly higher percentage of those who hadnot attended reported on the final survey that theywere spending time caring for siblings or workingfor pay. In contrast, both groups of youth reportedspending similar amounts of time doing theirhomework. (Table D.2 in Appendix D provides adetailed table of these results.)Of those who said they did not plan to go back tothe Clubs, the most common reasons reported werethat they had too much else to do (29 percent),that they moved (18 percent), that they got a job(13 percent) and that they were not interested inthe activities (13 percent).
Making Every Day Count: Boys & Girls Clubs’ Role in Promoting Positive Outcomes for Teens 16Time Spent Outside the ClubsThe Clubs were not the only available resource forthe teens: Eighty-six percent of the ninth and tenthgraders reported that there were a lot of availableactivities for youth their ages in the community.Thus, it may not be surprising that, while youth inthe study spent less time at the Clubs as they gotolder, more of them were attending other out-ofschoolactivities (such as religious groups, schoolactivities or other after-school programs) when theyreached ninth and tenth grade.As Figure 2 shows, among seventh and eighthgraders in the four weeks prior to the Winter 2006survey:• 18 percent regularly participated only in theClub,• 68 percent participated in both Club and non-Club programs,• 12 percent regularly participated only in non-Club programs, and• 2 percent were not involved in any out-of-schooltimeprograms. 23By ninth and tenth grades, the corresponding percentageswere:• 9 percent involved in the Club only,• 46 percent involved in both types of programs,• 39 percent involved in only non-Club programs,and• 6 percent not involved in any out-of-school-timeprograms.These findings make sense in light of the researchsuggesting that programs for middle school youthare often scarce and that more opportunities,through school in particular, may be available forolder, high school teens. The Clubs’ hours—opendaily during the school year until eight or nine inthe evenings, with summer hours extended throughthe entire day—allow the flexibility for teens to participatein both the Club and in other activities.Figure 2Youth’s Out-of-School Involvement Over TimeYouth Reported Activities at Baseline68%Youth Reported Activities at Final Survey46%■ None■ Only Club■ Only Non-Club■ Both Club and Non-Club2%6%18%9%39%12%We were also interested in knowing whether teenswho had been to a Club recently (in the past fourmonths) were more likely to participate in variousactivities (i.e., each of the activities listed in Table6) than teens who had not been to a Club, andwhether they engaged in those activities at the Club,outside of the Club, or both. (In fact, staff notedthat they encourage teens to engage in activities inother venues, along with participating in Clubs.)We examined the proportion of teens who hadbeen to the Club in the past four months and whatactivities they did both inside and outside of theClub, in comparison with teens who had not been
Page 1 and 2: Making Every Day Count:Boys & Girls
Page 3 and 4: Making Every Day Count: Boys & Girl
Page 5 and 6: Executive Summary
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummaryiiiGiven the incre
Page 9 and 10: Executive Summaryvthe youth when th
Page 11 and 12: Executive SummaryviiThe qualitative
Page 13 and 14: Executive Summaryixto the specific
Page 15: Executive Summaryxi6 Respondents we
Page 18 and 19: Introduction 3their programming to
Page 20 and 21: Introduction 5from each of the 10 C
Page 22 and 23: The Teens in the StudyChapter II
Page 24 and 25: The Teens in the Study 9Table 1Demo
Page 26 and 27: The Teens in the Study 11them less
Page 28 and 29: Club Participation and Teens’ Out
Page 48 and 49: Conclusions and Implications 33The
Page 50 and 51: Conclusions and Implications 35Surv
Page 52 and 53: Conclusions and Implications 37Time
Page 54 and 55: Conclusions and Implications 39Fina
Page 56 and 57: Endnotes and References 41did not,
Page 58 and 59: Endnotes and References 43Reference
Page 60 and 61: Appendices
Page 62 and 63: Appendices 47Table A.2Number of Tee
Page 64 and 65: Appendices 49Appendix B:Youth Inter
Page 66 and 67: Appendices 51Table B.2Comparison of
Page 68 and 69: Appendices 53• Aggression—Three
Page 70 and 71: Appendices 55Table D.2Comparison of
Page 72 and 73: Appendices 57Table D.4Participation
Page 74 and 75: Appendices 59Table E.1Relationship
Page 80 and 81:
Appendices 65Table E.5Relationship
Page 82:
Public/Private Ventures2000 Market
show all

Making Every Day Count - Teens

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?