The relationships between after-school programs, academic outcomes, and behavioral developmental outcomes of Latino children from immigrant families: Findings from the 2005 National Household Education Surveys Program

After-school programs function especially well in improving academic and behavioral outcomes for disadvantaged children in general. However, little is known about the effectiveness of after-school programs in improving outcomes among Latino children in particular. Latino children from immigrant families are disadvantaged and vulnerable due to limited English skills and fewer educational resources. We hypothesized that Latino children of immigrant families in after-school programs would have stronger academic performance and fewer behavioral problems than their counterparts who were not in after-school programs. Using the 2005 National Household Education Surveys Program's After-School Programs and Activities survey, we examined whether children in community- or school-based after-school programs (n = 192) presented differences in academic development (i.e., higher grades and fewer schoolwork problems) and behavioral development (i.e., fewer behavioral problems, in-school and out-of-school suspensions) than children who were not enrolled in after-school programs (n = 720). We found that there were no significant differences in academic and behavioral domains between Latino children in after-school programs compared to students not in after-school programs. Findings from this study provide an opportunity to reflect on whether typical after-school programs are appropriate for Latino children from immigrant families. These findings also highlight the need to integrate culturally valid components into the program for areas where a large number of immigrant Latino families reside.