Working with School-Age Children

A practical look at the roles of adults in childrens lives outside of the classroom.

Through the experiences of real people in a wide variety of settings and with a diversity of needs and insights, this book helps to define the role of professional child and youth workers in the lives of children and families. Working with School-Age Children builds on a foundation of child development theory and provides an historical overview of the subject and an overview of school-age care in other parts of the world to help ground the work done by the people represented in the book.

The book describes the issues children face in todays world and the attributes and skills critical for people who work with school-age children. Included are strategies for adult involvement, healthy and productive activities, and guidelines for developing and sustaining afterschool programs.

The new edition features:

• The most current information in the field, including the latest research, programming, and hot topics, including:
  • Updated statistics and survey research from a variety of sources.
  • A look at 21st Century Skills, including creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication, and the role of after school in developing and advancing these skills.
  • 2011 Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) standards for after school adopted by the National After School Alliance.
• A look at several effective approaches for working with children, including:
  • Mindset Theory.
  • Thrive Foundation Theory of Change.
  • The evidence-based approach for achieving specific desired outcomes.
  • Moderate to vigorous activities and the use of research and evidence-based curriculum for achieving the desired outcomes.
  • The Search Institutes Developmental Relationships.
  • Learning in After School and Summer Principles.