De buitenschoolse opvang; de samenhang tussen doelgroepkinderen, het activiteitenaanbod, en het diversiteitsbeleid

Abstract

In the Netherlands, a strongly growing group of children from the age of four to twelve years participate in after school care, buitenschoolse opvang (bso). However, some children participate less, mainly children from nonWestern immigrant families or low-SES backgrounds, socalled disadvantaged children. The current study examined relations between disadvantaged children and the provided activities in after school care. In addition, the study explored whether there is a moderation effect related to the diversity policy of the after-school care centre. In total, 96 centres participated and its pedagogical staff (117 caregivers) completed questionnaires, whose data were used for the analyses. Four regression analyses were performed, and the moderation was examined with PROCESS macro. The results showed limited relations between the population of disadvantaged children in the group and the provided activities. No associations were found for children with low-SES backgrounds. A higher proportion of children from non-Western immigrant families in an after-school care group was related to the provision of more intercultural activities. In addition, the relation between the provision of educational activities and the proportion of non-Western immigrant children in the group was moderated by the centre’s diversity policy. When the proportion of disadvantaged children is higher, and the diversity policy is stronger, more educational activities are offered. There are almost no differences in the provision of activities for disadvantaged children, but the participation of disadvantaged children in the centres does show differences. Therefore, this study shows that inequality relates to participation rather than the activities offered by the centre.