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CONSIDERATIONS
FOR DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE AFTERSCHOOL
PROGRAMS
Written by: Michael
W. Beets, Dept of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina
 The
importance of afterschool programs in
providing youth opportunities to be
physically active cannot be overstated.
With over 6.6 million youth attending
ASPs, for an average of 6.7 hours per
week, the focus on promoting physical
activity within the ASP setting has
become a natural extension to the activity-related
opportunities youth receive during school
(Smith, 2007). Afterschool programs
offer the convenience of a more flexible
schedule (in relation to the school
day), are a safe environment for youth
to engage in activity, and importantly,
can provide up to a third of the recommended
60 minutes each day of moderate-to-vigorous
physical activity (MVPA). Hence, ASPs
represent a setting within which physical
activity can be infused.
The ASPs referred
to herein are those that serve school-age
children, occur after school (3-6pm),
and are not single-activity focused
(e.g., academic tutoring or sports,
solely). Such programs have a long history
of positive youth development and are
best known for the social, emotional,
and academic benefits youth receive
from attending (Durlak
& Weissberg, 2007).
With a new focus
on physical activity in ASPs, practitioners
are left with the question as to how
to “successfully” introduce
physical activity into their ASP schedule.
We know that from our own review (Beets,
Beighle, Erwin, & White, 2009),
such questions are not easily answered,
nor are they easily addressed by purchasing
any one of a number of ASP physical
activity-related programs available
on the market today. This is not to
say that purchasing an already developed
program will not result in increased
physical activity. Contrary, we believe
that successful attempts towards increasing
physical activity within the ASP setting
have a common core of shared elements
that, with careful consideration, will
result in improved physical activity.
These are discussed below.
Physical
Activity Types
State-level
afterschool organizations have outlined
benchmarks related to physical activity.
These range anywhere from general guidelines
of 30 minutes of activity for every
3 hours of program time to directly
specifying the time and intensity of
physical activity (e.g., 30-60 minutes
of MVPA or 20% of program time dedicated
to MVPA). Ultimately, we want kids to
be active. Thus any amount of bodily
movement is good movement. But primarily,
we want kids to be engaged in activities
that increases their heart rate and
breathing, and maybe even makes them
sweat - MVPA. Hence, the selection of
activities that elicit such a response
are important to incorporate. Examples
of these might include non-elimination
tag games and modified sports games
the minimize inactivity. For example,
rather than play traditional soccer,
use 3-4 teams, 3-4 goals in the corners,
and 3-4 balls. For tag games, rather
than freezing or having to sit out,
students that are tagged become the
new tagger.
The selection
of activities, however, should not be
without care. Kids like physical activities
that are enjoyable. Moreover, kids from
different cultural backgrounds will
enjoy different types of activities.
Both of these issues - enjoyment and
cultural tailoring - should be considered
in the selection process. One strategy
to determine the appropriateness of
activities is to ask for feedback, either
formally using a customer feedback system
or informally through anecdotal comments
made by kids during the activities.
Staff
Training
Frontline staffers,
those hired to directly interact with
the kids attending ASPs, are an essential
feature to promoting physical activity
(Beighle, et al.,
in press). In fact, in a joint
state effort, Kansas and Missouri have
outlined core competencies that explicitly
address what frontline staffers should
know and do to promote physical development
during ASPs (Kansas
Enrichment Network or Missouri
Afterschool Network). Of this, receiving
training in instructional skills related
to promoting physical activity are paramount.
First and foremost,
afterschool programs should have ongoing
training. This training should consist
of how to establish an environment that
promotes physical activity and examines,
and possibly challenges, staff values,
attitudes, and beliefs towards physical
activity. Additionally, training should
be accompanied by a well defined manual
that consists of detailed descriptions
of activities to use within the ASP.
And as with any training, booster session
will be required to ensure ongoing skill
development of staff.
Evaluation
Few ASPs perform
some type of routine evaluation of the
activity levels their attendees obtain
during their program. If physical activity
is to become a major component of an
ASP and benchmarks related to minimal
levels of physical activity achieved,
consistent evaluation is required. Measuring
activity levels should not be done haphazardly.
Unless you (or a member of your ASP
staff) have received professional training,
direct observation (watching the kids)
of activity levels will not provide
a good estimate. Likewise, self-report
assessments (kids reporting their activity
level) are not recommended. This is
due to the inability of kids to accurately
recall their activity and their inability
to recall intensity level (low, moderate,
or vigorous).
This leaves
ASPs with two options - heart rate monitors
and pedometers. The former of these
can provide an accurate assessment of
activity intensity and duration. Additionally,
many new heart rate monitors can collect
information over the duration of the
program and be downloaded to a computer
for evaluation. Some of the drawbacks
to their use are the need to have the
chest straps directly touching the wearer’s
skin.
Second, hear
rate monitors are fairly expensive (~$80
each). Price is likely to prevent ASPs
from purchasing multiple units, thus
evaluation of multiple youth on the
same day may be prohibited. Moreover,
for an accurate assessment of heart
rate response to physical activity,
a wearer’s resting heart rate
is required. Hence, a preliminary step
is required prior to accurately determining
activity intensity. The second option,
pedometers, is relatively free from
the aforementioned limitations. Pedometers
are relatively inexpensive (~$10-50
each), affix to the waistline of pants
or shorts, and provide the wearer (or
ASP provider) immediate information
without the need for additional software
or hardware. Importantly, new technology
has recently been introduced that allows
pedometers to measure physical activity
intensity (i.e., MVPA).
The importance
of evaluating physical activity levels
cannot be overstated. The development
of benchmarks for physical activity
at the state level is a clear indication
that national guidelines are likely
to follow. Afterschool providers should,
therefore, be proactive in collecting
this information. With this in hand,
ASPs can identify areas of the program
where youth are insufficiently active
and, conversely, areas where they exceed.
Importantly, ASPs can begin to chart
their own progress towards achieving
the benchmarks outlined by their state
afterschool organization (e.g., Afterschool
Alliance state chapter).
In conclusion,
ASPs are increasingly being called upon
to incorporate opportunities for physical
activity. With attention paid to these
core components discussed herein, ASP
providers can successfully incorporate
and evaluate physical activity within
their programs.
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