Teens as Volunteers

Do neighborhood and home contexts help explain why low-income children miss opportunities to participate in activities outside of school?

“…We found that children in low-income families were exceptionally unlikely to participate in activities outside of school and thus were missing out on these growth-enriching opportunities. Consistent with previous research (Bouffard et al, 2006; Theokas & Bloch, 2006; Wimer et al, 2008), children in low-income families were less likely than children in middle-income and wealthier families to participate in five of the seven activities that we examined and, overall, children in low-income families participated in a fewer total number of activities. Extending previous research, we found that income was most strongly related to the participation rates of the poorest children and much more weakly associated with the participation rates of wealthier children.…”

“…More than one out of three school-age children living in low-income families do not participate in any organized activities outside of school; by comparison, fewer than one out of 10 school-age children living in middle-class or wealthier families does not participate (Theokas & Bloch, 2006). In addition, there is a sizable gap between low-income and more affluent children regarding their participation in multiple activities.…”

“…In addition, there is a sizable gap between low-income and more affluent children regarding their participation in multiple activities. Compared with children whose families are low income, for example, other children are more than twice as likely to participate in both sports and clubs (Theokas & Bloch, 2006).…”

“…Many of the problems that children in poverty experience appear due to the constraints that economic deprivation places on their opportunities for developmental enrichment (Yeung, Linver, & Brooks-Gunn, 2002). A case in point is the building evidence that children in low-income families are less likely than those in more affluent families to participate in activities outside of school, especially developmentally enriching activities organized by adults that meet regularly, such as after-school programs, athletic teams, music lessons, and scouts or other community clubs (Bouffard et al, 2006; Simpkins, Ripke, Huston, & Eccles, 2005; Theokas & Bloch, 2006; Wimer et al, 2008).…”

Az állampolgári kompetencia egyes összetevőinek és a közösségi tevékenységformák jellemzőinek vizsgálata 7. és 11. évfolyamos tanulók körében

“…Az elmélethez kapcsolódó kutatások rámutattak, hogy a közösségi tevékenységekben aktív fiatalok nagyobb valószínűséggel kerülnek ki olyan családokból, akiknek szülei korábban szintén elkötelezettek voltak (Flanagan, Bowes, Jonsson, Csapó és Sheblanova, 1998). A 12-17 éves fiatalok 51%-ának sem a barátai, sem a velük közvetlen kapcsolatban álló felnőttek nem végeznek önkéntes munkát, viszont az önkéntes fiatalok 81%-ánál megfigyelhető, hogy a közvetlen környezetükben legalább a felnőttek önkénteskednek, s ezen a csoporton belül -a szülők mellett -igen nagy valószínűséggel a barátok is önkéntes munkát végeznek (Theokas és Bloch, 2006).…”