What do the Spanish Primary Education students do outside of their school schedule? After School Programs

Abstract

The After School Programs (ASPs) are classified as Nonformal Education. Several researchers have reported the positive benefits of these activities in the development of interpersonal competencies, critical thinking and personal maturity of the schoolers. In 2007, almost 92.0% of the Spanish Primary students took part in an ASP. This paper presents a systematic review of the articles published from 2000 to 2020 on ASPs carried out in Spain, as well as a study to characterize their nature, based on the results of a survey referring to the 2018/2019 school year, which was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. From the systematic review, it was found that more than 62.0% of the students are enrolled in ASPs, preferably Recreational activities. Regarding the survey, there are no marked preferences between Cognitive and Recreational activities (50.2% vs. 49.8%). Among Recreational ones, boys participate 1.9 times more than girls in Sports (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, etc.), while girls enroll 7.6 times more in those related to Performing Arts (Dance, Ballet, Flamenco, etc.). Most of the schoolers (76.7%) spend 2 to 4 days per week in these activities. Only 26.7% of students attend the afterschool activities in the same space where they receive the formal education, the school. Forty five percent of the parents declare they spend 70€ or more per child every month in these kinds of activities. A change in the trend towards Cognitive extracurricular activities should be noted, with the appearance of new ones such as Robotics, Programming and Scientific Activities. The choice is made by the children themselves, maintaining the gender bias in their decision. Finally, the high cost of the ASPs could represent another element of social exclusion of poor families.