IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v169y2025ics0190740924006583.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Where are the high schoolers? Dwindling participation in after-school programs

Author

Listed:
  • Sheffer, Ofir

Abstract

High schoolers are less inclined to attend and persist as members of non-formal education (NFE) organizations, despite the increased options at their disposal. This falloff raises questions as to the relevance of these settings for older youth, especially their developmental needs. Against this backdrop, the current study undertakes to explicate the tension between sixteen to eighteen-year-olds and the structure-cum-rules of NFE programs through the lens of an urban Scout troop in Israel. Above all, the ethnographic data points to three factors that cause youth to dropout of these frameworks: (1) a rigid structure; (2) disempowering relationships with adults; and (3) a profusion of regulations limiting the teens’ autonomy as well as their opportunities to employ discretion and take risks. These insights have led me to the conclusion that the weakening of out-of-school programs’ non-formal attributes and perhaps their excessive professionalization are alienating older youth.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheffer, Ofir, 2025. "Where are the high schoolers? Dwindling participation in after-school programs," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:169:y:2025:i:c:s0190740924006583
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.108086
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740924006583
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.108086?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:169:y:2025:i:c:s0190740924006583. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.