Youth Perspectives on Virtual After-School Programming During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

After-school programs provide a range of support for students. During school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many after-school programs were also forced to close or to find new ways to provide services to youth, such as through virtual after-school programming. We surveyed 244 youth who participated in virtual after-school programs about their access to virtual programming as well as their experiences. We considered their pre-closure experiences as well. We also surveyed 8 program directors of after-school programs who were providing virtual programming. We found that Internet access hindered the ability of more than 1 in 4 students to access the programs. Pre-closure program experiences, including ongoing relationships with program staff and positive peer relationships contributed to more positive experiences with virtual programming. Whenever students were able to access the programs, they generally reported positive experiences. This work has implications for after-school program providers, parents, and policymakers.

Attending (or not) after-school programs during the COVID-19 pandemic: What happens to children’s social skills and behavior problems?

“…Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in cooperative behaviors identified by the teachers for both groups of children from the first to the second assessment time, possibly related to the well-recognized impact of COVID-19 in school experience and ASP ( Evans et al, 2021 , Morata et al, 2022 ). This result may be related to the timing when the second assessment took place (beginning of the 2020-2021 school year), as the children had already gone through the first lockdown and e-learning moment, which unsurprisingly impacted social-emotional functioning.…”

“…According to parents’ perspective, the top five activities for an ideal ASP were computers, tutoring, music, arts and crafts, and mentoring (Sanderson & Richards, 2010). ASP are thus considered essential programs to mitigate risk and increase the resilience of young people living in urban communities ( Frazier et al, 2019 ) and seen as a helping support structure ( Evans et al, 2021 ).…”

“…However, COVID-19 pandemic impacted families’ daily lives at several levels (e.g., social, economic, mental health, wellbeing) ( Caldwell et al, 2022 ). Furthermore, a deep impact was evidenced in children’s lives once its restrictions affected school experiences and many ASP closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic or had to found innovative solutions, such as virtual services ( Evans et al, 2021 , Morata et al, 2022 ). By April 2020, 192 countries, including Portugal (where the present study was conducted) closed schools (UNESCO, 2020), as well as ASP.…”

“…By April 2020, 192 countries, including Portugal (where the present study was conducted) closed schools (UNESCO, 2020), as well as ASP. Several studies related to ASP topic were conducted during COVID-19 pandemic, such as to understand the perception of youth about virtual ASP services (e.g., Evans et al, 2021 ), to explore the role of ASP during lockdown (e.g., Morata et al, 2022 ), or to assess caregivers’ perception on children’s cognitive, social and emotional health during the second wave of COVID-19 ( Caldwell et al, 2022 ), but none explored children’s social skills and behavior problems before and during COVID-19 pandemic, whether they attend or not ASP.…”