A Dynamic Framework for Understanding the Complex Work of Quality Out-of-School Time Programs

Throughout their 100-year history, out-of-school-time programs have focused on the recreational, artistic, educational, and academic needs of children in the United States. They have offered homework help, study rooms, libraries, sports, and hands-on creative activities that promote the development of “the whole child.” While many out-of-school-time programs used their own developmental approaches, it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that these approaches were validated and promoted by social scientists as quality practices proven to support positive youth development.