Making the choice: examining the influence of contextual factors on decisions on afterschool program enrollment and attendance
Date
2022
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
After-school programs (ASP) in areas of concentrated poverty are often underutilized despite significant demand for ASPs and the benefits they offer to minoritized youth. There are a series of contextual factors that have been documented as being barriers to ASP participation in areas with high concentrations of poverty: program affordability, the work arrangements/demands placed upon parents, program accessibility, program quality, and cultural compatibility. In the study, a sixteen (16) item, web-based survey was distributed to 9,199 households of parents having students enrolled in grades 1 through 5 attending schools governed by the School District of Philadelphia. Of the households contacted, 289 parents responded to the survey that was designed to elicit parent perspectives that were relevant to these contextual factors. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the associations between these factors, demographic characteristics, and ASP participation. A Spearman Rank Correlation was used to determine if variance in perspectives, when considered in concert with other relevant demographic characteristics (e.g., household income, employment type, race of the student, and student grade level), significantly impacted the rate at which the student attended ASP programming. Analyses also included tests of difference to determine if variance in responses across demographic lines was significant, and if that variance impacted ASP participation decisions. The results of this work determined that there were significant associations between the parental perception of factors— particularly of ASP affordability, quality, and accessibility—and decisions on ASP enrollment. Meaningful differences in parent perception were found along racial and socioeconomic lines, though these differences did not impact the relationship between parent perspectives and ASP enrollment decisions. ☐ KEYWORDS: After-school programs, Decision-making, Participation, Urban Education, Affordability, Accessibility, Employment, Quality
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Keywords
After-school programs, Decision-making, Participation, Urban education