Organized Activities As Contexts of Development

School-aged children in the U.S. and other Western nations spend almost half of their waking hours in leisure activities. For some, out-of-school time is perceived as inconsequential or even counterproductive to the health and well-being of young persons. Recently, however, there has been a growing recognition that--along with family, peers, and school--the organized activities in which some youth participate during these hours are important contexts of emotional, social, and civic development. They provide opportunities for young persons to learn and develop competencies that are largely neglected by schools. At the same time, communities and national governments are now channeling considerable resources into creating organized activities for young people's out-of-school time. This volume brings together a multidisciplinary, international group of experts to provide conceptual, empirical, and policy-relevant advances in research on children's and adolescents' participation in the developmental contexts represented by extracurricular activities, and after-school and community programs. Organized Activities as Contexts of Development provides a handbook-like coverage of research in this new emerging field. It considers a broad developmental time-span from middle childhood through early adulthood, providing information on how motivation, participation, and developmental experiences change as youth get older. The contents cover one of the most salient topics in child and adolescent research, education, and social policy, placing consistent emphasis on developmental aspects and implications of organized activity participation for young persons. Representing contributors from several fields of study--psychology, criminal justice, leisure science, sociology, human development, education, prevention, and public policy--the book is designed to appeal to students and scholars in all these areas. Additionally, the volume is written to be of interest to professionals who administer programs and develop policy on youth.

Mahoney, Joseph L.; Larson, Reed W.; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.

R.M. Lerner, Foreword: Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Community and After-School Programs. Part 1. Social and Cultural Perspectives.J.L. Mahoney, R.W. Larson, J.S. Eccles, H. Lord, Organized Activities as Development Contexts for Children and Adolescents. D.A. Kleiber, G.M. Powell, Historical Change in Leisure Activities During After-School Hours. D.W. Osgood, A.L. Anderson, J.N. Shaffer, Unstructured Leisure in the After-School Hours. D.M. Casey, M.N. Ripke, A.C. Huston, Activity Participation and the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents in the Context of Welfare Reform. S. Pedersen, E. Seidman, Contexts and Correlates of Out-of-School Activity Participation Among Low-Income Urban Adolescents. F.A. Villarruel, M. Montero-Sieburth, C. Dunbar, C.W. Outley, Dorothy, There Is No Yellow Brick Road: The Paradox of Community Youth Development Approaches for Latino and African American Urban Youth. B. Kirshner, J. O'Donoghue, M.McLaughlin, Youth-Adult Research Collaboration: Bringing Youth Voice to the Research Process. Part 2. Developmental Processes and Outcomes.R. Larson, D. Hansen, K. Walker, Everybody's Gotta Give: Development of Initiative and Teamwork Within a Youth Program. B.L. Barber, M.R. Stone, J.E. Hunt, J.S. Eccles, Benefits of Activity Participation: The Roles of Identity Affirmation and Peer Group Norm Sharing. H. Stattin, M. Kerr, J. Mahoney, A. Persson, D. Magnusson, Explaining Why a Leisure Context Is Bad for Some Girls and Not for Others. J.E. Jacobs, M.K. Vernon, J.S. Eccles, Activity Choices in Middle Childhood: The Roles of Gender, Self-Beliefs, and Parents' Influence. S.A. O'Neill, Youth Music Engagement in Diverse Contexts. T.K. Scanlan, M.L. Babkes, L.A. Scanlan, Participation in Sport: A Developmental Glimpse at Emotion. J.L. Duda, N. Ntoumanis, After-School Sport for Children: Implications of a Task-Involving Motivational Climate. H. McIntosh, E. Metz, J. Youniss, Community Service and Identity Formation in Adolescents. J.S. Eccles, The Present and Future of Research on Activity Settings as Developmental Contexts. Part 3. Integrating Research, Practice, and Policy.K. Pittman, J. Tolman, N. Yohalem, Developing a Comprehensive Agenda for the Out-of-School Hours: Lessons and Challenges Across Cities. J. Walker, M. Marczak, D. Blyth, L. Borden, Designing Youth Development Programs: Toward a Theory of Developmental Intentionality. J. Rhodes, R. Spencer, Someone to Watch Over Me: Mentoring Programs in the After-School Lives of Children and Adolescents. D.L. Vandell, L. Shumow, J. Posner, After-School Programs for Low-Income Children: Differences in Program Quality. S.A. Gerstenblith, D.A. Soulé, D.C. Gottfredson, S. Lu, M.A. Kellstrom, S.C. Womer, S.L. Bryner, After-School Programs, Antisocial Behavior, and Positive Youth Development: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Program Implementation and Changes in Youth Behavior. J. Quinn, Building Effective Practices and Policies for Out-of-School Time.