Extracurricular activities and pathways to college -- Theorizing educational success and failure -- Auxiliary influence: "It was fun ... but I don't remember much" -- Distinguishable influence: "It helped me find my way ..." -- Transformative influence: "It changed my whole life" -- The differential role of extracurricular activity participation
Summary
Offering an in-depth and long-term examination of how extracurricular activities impact the lives of disadvantaged youth, Why Afterschool Matters tracks ten Mexican American students who participated in the same afterschool program. Discovering that participation in the program was life-changing for some students, yet had only a minimal effect on others, sociologist Ingrid A. Nelson investigates the factors behind these very different outcomes. Though it focuses on a single program, this book's findings have major implications for education policy nationwide
