The relationship between after-school program participation and student’s demographic background

This study examined (a) the demographic and socio­economic characteristics of students associated with after­school participation and (b) the neighborhood circumstances related to their engagement in after­school programs. The study was conducted using data from the Survey of Private Education Expenditure 2007 conducted by the Korea National Statistical Office. A two­level logistic regression model was employed to analyze the data. The study found: (a) girls were more likely than boys to engage in all types of after­school programs; (b) in general, parental education was positively associated with their children’s enrollment in after school programs; (c) compared with students from two­parent homes, students from single­parent homes had lower participation in both academic tutoring programs and enrichment activities; (d) low­income students participated more in after­school programs than higher­income students; (e) students in low­income schools were more likely to attend after­school programs than students in wealthy schools; and (f) rural students had a greater tendency to engage in after­school programs than urban students. The results suggest that after­school programs play an important role in promoting the equality of education by providing extra time and opportunity for disadvantaged students and ultimately strengthen public schooling.