ABSTRACT
The study described here pries open the black box of supervised and unsupervised after-school care to provide a richer understanding of the ways children actually spend their time after school before working parents return home. The research asks how after-school arrangements come about and how children respond to their diverse after-school experiences. A 4-year longitudinal study with annual interviews was undertaken to assess the changes over time that are hidden when crosssectional research takes “snapshots” of children at a single point in time. Both children and parents were interviewed to compare and contrast their perspectives.
