Out of School Activities and the Education GapSept 14

September 2014

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The project team

NatCen Social ResearchDr Emily TannerJenny ChanfreauMeg Callanan

Newcastle UniversityProf Liz ToddKaren Laing

Amy Skipp - ASKResearch

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Definitions

“Learning activity outside normal school hours that children take part in voluntarily”. (Department for Education)

Organised activities with adult supervision

e.g.,

music lessons

sports clubs

after-school clubs

Brownies/Cubs

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Research Questions

How do children spend their time out of school?

Are out of school activities linked to educational attainment?

What processes explain these links?

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HypothesisWe hypothesise that children who take part in out of school activities do better educationally, and want to explore the processes underlying this link

Processes

Evidence

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Millennium Cohort Study analysis

How children spend their time out of school - range and types

Change and continuity during primary school

Patterns of activities for children from different backgrounds

Associations between different activities and educational attainment at 11

Controlling for selection effects

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Qualitative research

Workshops with educational practitioners

Interviews with parents (of participants, of non-participants, of ‘subgroups’)

Interviews with out of school activity providers

Interviews with children

London & the North East

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Theories

• Possible theories of causation from our review of the literature

• Which theories are most likely to underpin these links?

• There are a wide range: theories are grouped as child-related social context activity-related

• These are presented on the following slides

• We welcome your opinions

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Child related

(Marsh & Kleitman; Valentine et al; Cummings et al)

Activities take place in school Pupil enjoys activities Increased engagement with school

Pupil identifies with school more. Staff have better impression of pupils, reflected in school

Identification/Commitment Model

(Vygotsky; Bruner)

Capabilities are nurtured in a less formal setting Transferred to formal learning

Socio-cultural Model

(Valentine, 2002)

Attainment in non-education setting Increased confidence

Self belief model

(Elliott)

Activities encourage desire to demonstrate skills and ability

Goal theory

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Social context

(Putnam)

Activities increase social resources

(Camsey; Ungar; Martin & Marsh; Garmezy)

Exposure to risk and resilience Develops protective factors (confidence, control, commitment)

(Eccles et al)

Attachment to non-familial adults See instructors in a supportive role

Social Capital theory

Social cognitive learning(Bandura)

Exposure to admired peers Allows observation and imitation of traits

Risk & Resilience theory

Adult Supporters

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Activity related

(Fredricks & Eccles; Sylva et al)

Increase in skills, learning and participation

(Valentine et al; Buoye)

Activities have educational content Increased learningNormalises learning with peers

(Broh)

Competitive elementIncreases desire to succeed

Academic related

Capability Approach

Success is experienced in non-academic domainBoosts self-belief and confidence

Breadth of participation

Competition

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What’s your perspective? Which theories reflect your experience? How important is out of school time? How should primary aged children be spending it? What should be the role of schools & teaching staff? How are disadvantaged children best supported?

We’ll be releasing our findings throughout the project via http://www.natcen.ac.uk/our-research/research/out-of-school-activities/

Let us know your thoughts or get added to our mailing list emily.tanner@natcen.ac.uk

Keep in touch