The Afterschool Alliance's fourth edition of "America after 3PM" provides a detailed accounting of the circumstances and conditions of U.S. children during the hours of 3 to 6 p.m. and compares afterschool program participation and unmet demand statistics for 2020 with results from 2004, 2009, and 2014. It identifies trends in…

Self care is one of the options for parents in need of after school care for their children. In certain studies self care is seen as detrimental to development and academic performance, but in other studies children do fairly well notwithstanding their latchkey situation--self care could teach young people a sense of personal responsibility and…

During China's economic transformation, much of the rural population migrated to urban areas in search of employment opportunities. "Left-behind children" are the product of this phenomenon and need significant attention. Our study adopted elementary school students in Sichuan province as the subjects. After carefully studying their…

This ERIC Digest provides an overview of school-age child care (SACC) programs and suggests reasons for their growth. Discussion points out that escalating interest in SACC has paralleled the raising numbers of children left on their own, and that educators are only the latest in a parade of civic and professional groups which have gone on record…

This article presents evidence from a national evaluation of the effects of 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school programs. The study was conducted in 12 school districts and 26 after-school centers, at which 2,308 elementary school students who were interested in attending a center were randomly assigned either to the treatment or…

The effects of family configuration, family income, and child gender on academic achievement were examined in 239 latchkey children in grades 3 through 5. Found that children of single parents scored lower on reading and language measures in grade four than children in two-parent families. Girls scored higher than boys in reading in grade four.…

Describes Being in Charge, a guidance unit designed to provide intermediate and middle-grade children with the skills to cope more effectively with taking care of themselves while home alone. Discusses format of the sessions, objective and content for each of the six sessions, and evaluates the program as implemented with fifth and sixth graders…

This document presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Growin' to Win Project, an after-school and summer program targeted at elementary and middle school aged youth at high risk of substance abuse and gang involvement. Growin' to Win is an expansion of a model latchkey program piloted at two Tacoma (Washington) schools in 1990. The…

This paper constitutes a major part of the third phase of a longitudinal study in Swaziland investigating the short- and long-term effects of parental absence on primary children's school achievement. In 1998, 42 of the original sample of 80 students who entered grade one in 1990 were found remaining in the educational system but varied in their…

Sixth graders in adult care during out-of-school hours were contrasted with sixth graders in self-care. Results revealed no differences between adolescents in adult care and those in self-care at home. Girls in self-care who were more distant from adult supervision and lacking in parental acceptance and firm control reported more problem behavior.…

In an assessment of middle school practitioners' attitudes concerning the possible use of school facilities for extended-day programs, 732 participants of a seminar at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville were surveyed. A total of 472 participants returned the survey instrument. Participants were members of four- to six-person middle school…

In January 1990, the League of Women Voters (LWV) Education Fund launched a 2-year national project to increase the availability of affordable, quality school-age child care for low and moderate income families. As part of this national project, local LWVs implemented model projects with one or more of the following activities: (1) increasing the…

Studied the extent to which types of after-school care in grades one, three, and five predict behavioral adjustment and academic performance in grade six. Found that higher amounts of self care predicted poorer adjustment, particularly for children displaying behavior problems in kindergarten or not participating in adult-supervised…

A rural community established an after-school child care program by forming a community coalition, acquiring funding, obtaining space, and arranging for children's transportation. The program enriched the quality of life for children, parents, and staff. Children's grades improved and the number of mothers satisfied with child care services…

Various agencies are attempting to meet the needs of latchkey children through programs run by parent alliances, community organizations, social service agencies, youth groups, schools, businesses, churches, and private day care centers. Studies of latchkey children during the past 15 years have concentrated on measuring the effects of self-care…