Advancing global citizens: afterschool and out-of-school time as common ground for civil society.

The key importance of after-school and out-of-school time in a democratic society is the experience of activities and programs providing a common ground that extends the play of childhood into leadership opportunities for youthful learning and exploration of the world. The authors hypothesize that by focusing civic attention on the developmental quality of these out-of-school settings and time frames, objectives will also be better understood and reliable.