Organized afterschool activities as a developmental context for children and adolescents.

The last 40 years have been marked by a growing appreciation of organized afterschool activities as a developmental context, with evidence that these activities are linked to academic, social, and behavioral outcomes at least in the short term. In this chapter, we focus on research that builds on these earlier advances to extend afterschool research in two areas that are critical to the future of this field. First, we feature research that examines organized activities longitudinally from kindergarten through the end of high school, enabling us to study organized activities in relation to academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and health outcomes in both the short-run and long-run, including into adulthood.

Math motivational belief development during high school by race/ethnicity: Teachers and parents as predictors of changes.

The changes in adolescents' math motivational beliefs (i.e., expectancies for success, interest, and utility value) across Grades 9-11 and the associations between these changes and adolescents' experiences with socializers (i.

Longitudinal associations between Latine parents' support and their adolescents' science motivation and STEM career expectations.

Introduction: Parents' science support and adolescents' motivational beliefs are associated with adolescents' expectations for their future occupations; however, these associations have been mostly investigated among White, middle-class samples. Framed by situated expectancy-value theory, the current study investigated: (1) the associations between parents' science support in 9th grade and Latine adolescents' science intrinsic value, utility value, and STEM career expectations in 11th grade, and (2) whether these indicators and the relations among them differed by adolescents' gender and parents' education.

Methods: Study participants included Latine adolescents (n = 3060; M = 14.

Examining changes in adolescents' high school math and science motivational beliefs and their relations to parental STEM support and STEM major choice at the intersectionality of gender and college generation status.

Drawing on the situated expectancy-value, dimensional comparison theories, and the intersectionality approach, this article examined the changes in adolescents' math and science motivational beliefs, the parental and college correlates of those beliefs, and the differences at the intersection of gender and college generation status (i.e., female and male first- and continuing-generation college students).

Trajectories of math expectancies for success and values in Latinx and Asian students.

The heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of math motivational beliefs (i.e., expectancies for success and subjective task value beliefs) was examined among Asian and Latinx male and female students from Southern California across Grades 8 through 10 ( = 2,710; 50% female; 85% Latinx; 15% Asian; = 13.

Participation and enjoyment in Out-of-School activities during adolescence as predictors of activities in adulthood.

This study examined associations between adolescents' participation in out-of-school activities and their participation in activities at age 26 (N = 1041, 50% girls, 77% White). More frequent adolescent participation in sports, arts, volunteer/community service, and religious activities increased the odds of participating in the same type of activity at age 26. Adolescents' enjoyment of activities partially explained the developmental continuity in activity participation.

Longitudinal associations between adolescent out-of-school time and adult substance use.

Introduction: Based on Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory and Bornstein's specificity principle, the purpose of this study was to examine adolescents' time in out-of-school settings as a precursor of three types of problematic substance use in adulthood (i.e., binge drinking, regular marijuana use, and use of illicit drugs).

Stability and changes in high school students' STEM career expectations: Variability based on STEM support and parent education.

Introduction: Why do some students maintain their career expectations in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), whereas others change their expectations? Using situated expectancy-value and social cognitive career theories, we sought to investigate the extent to which STEM support predicted changes in students' STEM career expectations during high school, and if these processes varied by whether the student had college educated or noncollege educated parents.

Methods: Using the nationally representative data set of the High School Longitudinal Study, we investigated the predictors of changes in US students' STEM career expectations from 9th to 11th grade (n = 13,100, 54% noncollege educated parents, 51% girls, 55% White, 21% Latinx, 12% Black).

Results And Conclusions: Students with noncollege educated parents were significantly more likely to change from STEM to non-STEM career expectations by 11th grade or to have stable non-STEM career expectations (compared to having stable STEM expectations or changing from non-STEM to STEM expectations).

Longitudinal associations between parent degree/occupation, parent support, and adolescent motivational beliefs in STEM.

Introduction: The United States struggles with racial/ethnic disparities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) degrees and occupations. According to situated expectancy-value theory, the experience and knowledge parents gain through STEM degrees and occupations shape the STEM support they provide and relatedly their adolescents' STEM motivational beliefs.

Methods: We analyzed data from the High School Longitudinal Study (N = 14,000; 50% female; M  = 14 years old at 9th grade), which is a recent U.

Developmental pathways linking the quality and intensity of organized afterschool activities in middle school to academic performance in high school.

Introduction: Adolescents' organized afterschool activities have been linked to their academic performance, but processes contributing to these relations are not well understood. This study tested two pathways linking activity intensity and activity quality in 6th grade to high school academic performance: adolescents' activities in 9th grade and adolescents' academic skills in 9th grade.

Methods: Data were from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal study conducted at 10 sites in the United States.

Developmental Trajectories of Science Identity Beliefs: Within-Group Differences among Black, Latinx, Asian, and White Students.

Though adolescents' science identity beliefs predict positive STEM outcomes, researchers have yet to examine developmental differences within racial/ethnic groups despite theoretical arguments for such studies. The current study examined science identity trajectories for Black (14%), Latinx (22%), Asian (4%), and White (52%) students (N = 21,170; 50% girls) from 9 grade to three years post-high school and the variability within each racial/ethnic group based on gender and college generational status. Contrary to the literature, students' science identities increased over time, and the increases were larger for potential first- versus continuing-generation White students.

Self-control and cooperation in childhood as antecedents of less moral disengagement in adolescence.

Moral disengagement is a social cognition people use to engage in wrongdoings even when they know it is wrong. However, little is known about the antecedents that predict moral disengagement. The current study focuses on the development of self-control and cooperation during middle childhood as two antecedents of moral disengagement among 1,103 children (50% female; 77% White, 12% Black, 6% Hispanic, and 5% other).

Culturally Responsive Practices: Insights from a High-Quality Math Afterschool Program Serving Underprivileged Latinx Youth.

High-quality afterschool programs (ASPs) are opportunities to diversify the ways that Latinx youth from economically underprivileged communities experience STEM learning. Utilizing qualitative methods, based on the experiences and perspectives of low-income Latinx middle school participants of a math enrichment ASP in Southern California, we identified four culturally responsive practices: (1) the promotion of an inclusive, safe, and respectful program climate, (2) engaging in personal conversations, (3) facilitating opportunities for mutual and math learning across diverse cultures and perspectives, and (4) the promotion of math and a range of social-emotional skills across contexts. These practices helped youth feel more connected to the program, their peers, and program staff (college mentors); provided a platform for youth voice and contribution to the processes of teaching and learning; facilitated opportunities for skill development and practice across the different contexts of youth's lives; interrelated with Latinx cultural values; and helped to promote youth's engagement and math learning.

Ability self-concepts and parental support may protect adolescents when they experience low support from their math teachers.

Introduction: Experiencing low support from teachers can be associated with low academic achievement. Nonetheless, individual- (i.e.

The development of cooperation and self-control in middle childhood: Associations with earlier maternal and paternal parenting.

Developmental theories and previous research have emphasized the significance of cooperation and self-control in middle childhood. The present study extends previous research by examining (a) the growth of cooperation and self-control as well as the relations between them in middle childhood (third to sixth grade) and (b) the extent to which mothers' and fathers' parenting during early childhood (54 months and first grade) was associated with children's cooperation and self-control. The sample included 705 children (51% female, 86% White) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD).

From early care and education to adult problem behaviors: A prevention pathway through after-school organized activities.

Motivated by Edward Zigler's proposition that programs serving children (birth through 12 years) can have long-term effects on well-being and development, we used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,258) to test two pathways by which early care and education (ECE) are linked to after-school organized activities in middle childhood and to problem behaviors in late adolescence and adulthood. In support of an activities pathway, we found children with more ECE hours and more epochs in center-based ECE settings from 1 to 54 months had more epochs in after-school organized activities from kindergarten to 5th grade, which then predicted less impulsivity and less police contact at age 26. In support of a child pathway, we found that more ECE hours and more epochs in center-based ECE settings were linked to externalizing problems in early childhood, which then predicted higher problem behaviors in middle childhood, late adolescence, and adulthood.

Children's developing work habits from middle childhood to early adolescence: Cascading effects for academic outcomes in adolescence and adulthood.

Children's work habits at school include being a hard worker, turning in work on time, following classroom rules, and putting forward one's best effort. Models on youth character, noncognitive skills, and social-emotional learning suggest that self-management skills like work habits are critical for individuals' subsequent academic success. Using data from 1,124 children in the NICHD Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development (49% female; 77% White), we examined children's developing work habits from first to sixth grade and their developmental cascading effects on academic outcomes at the beginning and end of high school as well as at age 26.

Individuals' math and science motivation and their subsequent STEM choices and achievement in high school and college: A longitudinal study of gender and college generation status differences.

Math and science motivational beliefs are essential in understanding students' science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievement and choices in high school and college. Drawing on the Eccles' expectancy-value theory and Arnett's emerging adulthood framework, this study examined the relations among high school students' motivational beliefs in ninth grade and their STEM course taking and grade point average (GPA) throughout high school as well as their STEM major choice in college. In addition, we examined subgroup differences across (a) gender and (b) college generation status by testing mean-level differences as well as whether these relations between math and science motivational beliefs and STEM outcomes varied by gender and college generation status.

Changes in United States Latino/a High School Students' Science Motivational Beliefs: Within Group Differences Across Science Subjects, Gender, Immigrant Status, and Perceived Support.

Science motivational beliefs are crucial for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) performance and persistence, but these beliefs typically decline during high school. We expanded the literature on adolescents' science motivational beliefs by examining: (1) changes in motivational beliefs in three specific science subjects, (2) how gender, immigrant generation status, and perceived support from key social agents predicted differences in adolescents' science motivational beliefs, and (3) these processes among Latino/as in the United States, whose underrepresentation in STEM is understudied. We used hierarchical linear modeling to estimate the changes in 104 (40% female) Latino/a high school students' physics, chemistry, and biology motivational beliefs from 9th to 11th grade.

Ethnic Cultural Features in Organized Activities: Relations to Latino Adolescents' Activity Experiences and Parental Involvement.

Cultural responsiveness is a key aspect of the quality of organized activities, yet has rarely been examined. Based on developmental theories and a theoretical framework for culturally responsive activities, the current study investigated the prevalence and correlates of two ethnic cultural features (i.e.

Responsibility development transfers across contexts: Reciprocal pathways between home and afterschool programs.

We investigated adolescent responsibility across 2 developmental contexts, home and an afterschool program. Longitudinal data were collected from 355 ethnically diverse 11-20-year-old adolescents (M = 15.49; 55.

How Do My Friends Matter? Examining Latino Adolescents' Friendships, School Belonging, and Academic Achievement.

Are Latino adolescents' friendships an untapped resource for academic achievement or perhaps one of the reasons why these youth struggle academically? Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 6782; 7th through 12th graders; 52.9 % female), we examined whether the process of Latino students' school belonging mediated the relationships between the context of friendships (i.e.

The role of parents in the ontogeny of achievement-related motivation and behavioral choices.

Parents believe what they do matters. But, how does it matter? How do parents' beliefs about their children early on translate into the choices those children make as adolescents? The Eccles' expectancy–value model asserts that parents' beliefs about their children during childhood predict adolescents' achievement-related choices through a sequence of processes that operate in a cumulative, cascading fashion over time. Specifically, parents' beliefs predict parents' behaviors that predict their children's motivational beliefs.

Cultural competence in afterschool programs.

Increasing ethnic diversity among American youth, in combination with funding priorities often targeting underserved populations, has increased the number of diverse youth attending afterschool programs (ASPs). At present, there is little guidance on how to best design ASPs and prepare staff to support the development of these diverse youth. The fields of medicine and education have begun to explore the impact of cultural competence at the organizational, structural, and professional levels to help bridge potential cultural divides.