Making Every Day Count - Teens

Club Participation and Teens’ Outcomes 17to the Clubs and their activities. Generally, youthwho had been to a Club were more likely to haveparticipated in each type of activity (e.g., playingsports, using technology for fun, academics) duringthat timeframe—whether they did the activity at theClub, outside of the Club, or both. There were twoexceptions: A larger proportion of youth who hadnot been to Clubs in the past four months reportedhaving attended an academic class in math or scienceand working for pay. (Please see Table D.3 inAppendix D for more details.)Parents’ Role in How Teens Spend Their TimeResearch makes clear that parents of youngerchildren frequently use after-school programs forchildcare, and participation rates may be higherfor these younger youth, even if they do not feelengaged in the programs. With teens, the role thata parent plays in selecting what their children dowhen they are not in school is more complicated.Consistent with other research, 24 this study foundthat parents were still involved in helping theirteens with their decisions. When the ninth andtenth graders were asked how they decide what theywill do in the after-school hours, most (63 percent)indicated that they talk it over with a parent orguardian and decide together. Only 7 percent saidthat a parent or guardian told them what to do,while just under a third (30 percent) indicated theymake the decision on their own.Engagement in the ClubsAs described in the introduction to this report, theClubs strive to provide an atmosphere that goesbeyond the array of activities offered and createsa sum that is bigger than its programmatic parts.Clubs intentionally offer time for youth to developrelationships with staff and also provide a positivesetting for developing peer relationships. The overallenvironment that Clubs strive to create mattersparticularly for teens, because they need a placewhere they want to go, not just where a parentsends them for childcare.To assess the teens’ engagement in the Clubs, weasked a series of questions on the final survey tounderstand ways in which they feel attached toand supported by their Club. These included questionsabout their sense of belonging to the Club,the extent to which they feel safe there (and elsewhere),the degree to which they find supportiveadults and peers there and feel recognized and valued,how much “fun” they find the Club and theirinvolvement in leadership roles there.Teens’ Spring 2008 ratings on these dimensionsare summarized in Table 7. They reported highlevels of the kinds of positive experiences at theClubs cited as important for healthy development,including a chance to voice their opinions; forgerelationships with supportive adults and peers; andenjoy a place where they feel physically and emotionallysafe, where staff have high expectationsfor them and where they are recognized for theirachievements.Importantly, the teens reported a strong sense ofbelonging to the Club. On the final survey, youthwere asked how much they agreed with a series ofseven statements, such as, “At the Club, I feel likeI belong,” and “At the Club, people really listen tome.” Across the seven items, the average score forsense of belonging was 3.61 on a scale from 1 to 4(not at all, not very, sort of, very true), and 91 percentof youth’s ratings were 3 and above. Teens alsosaw the Club as a place where there were opportunitiesto develop skills (90 percent) and where theyhad fun (91 percent).Teens rated the Club safer than they rated otherplaces where they spend time: A total of 79 percentrated the level of safety at the Club as 8 or higheron a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the most favorable.By comparison, only 54 percent rated the safety oftheir school this favorably, and only 38 percent hada rating that high for the neighborhood surroundingthe Club.Teens also reported receiving high levels of supportand opportunity at the Clubs. Almost all of the youthsaid that there was at least one supportive adult (96percent) and peer (93 percent) at the Club, that atleast one adult at the Club was setting high expectationsfor them (96 percent) and that the Club wasa place where there was peer cooperation (95 percent).In addition, 87 percent reported that at leastone adult at the Club knew how they were doing in