BCRPA Report: Addressing the after-school hours - Middle ...

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BC RECREATION AND PARKS ASSOCIATION
BCRPA Report |
Although there is minimal research in Canada exploring children’s activities in the after-school hours, BC benefits from the work of Kimberly
Schonert-Reichl at UBC who studies the social and emotional health of children in the middle childhood years.
In 2007, Dr. Schonert-Reichl released Middle Childhood Inside and Out: the Psychological and Social World of Children 9 – 12, a study of 1,266
children drawn randomly from seven school districts in the Lower Mainland, the first study of its kind in Canada. This survey asked 3 key
questions:
• What are children doing in the after-school hours?
• Who are they doing it with?
• What do they want to be doing?
The study discovered that 50% of children were engaged in structured after-school activities, and that overwhelmingly, children want to
be doing physical activities (48.7%) in the after-school hours. Schonert-Reichl indicates that there was not a single study response that said
they wanted to be watching more TV.
The majority of children from the study were spending the after-school hours with family members, supportive adults, and siblings, but 10%
were spending the after-school hours alone, engaging in self-care. The social isolation and the lack of involvement in developmentallyappropriate
activities, intrinsic to self-care, can have significant developmental impacts. Schonert-Reichl’s key finding in this study was that
children benefit significantly from participating in structured activities during after-school hours.
After-school programs as an effective strategy to address children’s needs
In addition to the mismatch between the end of the school day and the end of the working day, there is also a mismatch between the
public investment in children and children’s need for support. Based on the 2005 Census numbers and the number of licensed childcare
spaces available for those same children, it is estimated that there are licensed child care spaces for only 7% of school-aged children in BC
(Buote, 2008). After-school programming is both an effective policy and programming measure to address this mismatch.
For a comprehensive after-school strategy to be effective, there must be a variety of options available to parents, including licensed
childcare. Quality care is mandated and regulated by the provincial government. Similar to after-school hours, there is currently no federal
role in school aged childcare (Canadian Childcare Federation, 2006). After-school programming, as explored in this environmental scan,
which looked at programming outside of licensed childcare, is presented as a compliment and partner to licensed childcare. Both types of
programming offer both an effective policy and programming measure to address the mismatch between the end of the school day and
the end of the working day.
Research has shown that after-school programs can and do make a positive difference in the lives of young people (Hanvey, 2006).
According to Beth Miller, in After-School Programs and Educational Success (2003), after-school programs can:
1. Increase engagement in learning
2. Increase educational equity
3. Build key skills (such as teamwork, problem-solving skills and communication skills) necessary for success in today`s economy. (p.8)
Alongside these benefits, after-school programs keep young people safe and out of trouble, and help them develop interests and skills that
stay with them throughout their lives (Miller 2003). United Way of the Lower Mainland (2009) attributes a long list of positive outcomes for
children from after-school programs including:
• Developing social skills
• Building confidence
• Developing empathy
• Building sense of worth and self-esteem