In Taiwan the number of international marriages is increasing. The majority of foreign spouses come from China and Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Most Taiwanese who marry these foreign spouses come from lower socio-economic status in countryside, and some even have disabilities. Many of these international marriages are based more on economics than on love. Many foreign spouses get married at a young age, and give birth to babies while they are still adjusting to life in Taiwan. Many foreign spouses (especially from Southeast Asia) encounter difficulty in adjustment, such as language, culture, marriage, parenting etc. Not only foreign spouses encounter difficulty in adjustment, their children are also considered at risk most likely because of the lower socio-economic status of these families. It is estimated that one in eight babies is born by foreign spouses. Research indicates that their children have a higher risk of developmental delay and learning difficulties at school. Many foreign spouses have limited Chinese and have difficulty helping with children’s school works. Study on Southeast Asian spouses showed that what they need the most were financial aids and children’s homework help (Hsu, 2004). How to help foreign spouses and their families has attracted increasing attention from policy makers and researchers. Studies (Entwisle, 1975; Howes, Olenick, & Der-Kiureghian, 1987; Mayesky, 1980; Sheley, 1984; Posner & Vandell, 1994) indicated that quality after-school programs have positive effects, especially on at-risk children. Currently private after-school programs in Taiwan are expensive; many families can hardly afford the expenses. In order to meet parents’ need for after-school child care, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan has encouraged public elementary schools to provide after-school care. The cost will be significantly much cheaper than existing private after-school programs. In addition, the cost for children with disabilities, and from low-income, aboriginal, and international families are waved. However, the impacts of these public after-school programs on at-risk children are not well known. The objectives of this study are: 1. To describe participation in after-school programs of children from international marriages. 2. To identify child- and family-selection factors associated with participation in after-school programs. 3. To examine the relations between participation in after-school programs and children’s academic and behavioral adjustments, controlling for child and family-selection factors.

Questionnaire survey was used to collect data. Participants included children (2nd, 4th, and 6th grades) from families with a Southeast Asian or Chinese spouse, their parents, and their homeroom teachers from 15 elementary schools in central Taiwan. Two hundred ninety-four valid parent questionnaires were returned, the return rate was 75%. Two hundred seventy valid teacher questionnaires were returned, the return rate was 69%. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Anova, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression tests were used. Results indicated that 68% children participated in after-school programs, among them, 35.5% attended after-school programs in public elementary schools and 64.5% attended private after-school programs.

Younger children were more likely to attend after-school programs. Children with better prior Chinese grade in the first grade were more likely to attend private after-school programs outside school, while children with poorer prior Chinese grade in the first grade were more likely to attend after-school programs inside elementary schools. hildren of Southeast Asian spouses were more likely to attend after-school programs than children of Chinese spouses. More children of Chinese spouses attended private after-school programs than children of Southeast Asian spouses. Children with higher family incomes were more likely to attend private after-school programs outside public elementary schools. After controlling for child- and family-selection factors, participation in private after-school programs predicted better Mathematics grades, while participation in public after-school programs predicted poorer grades. This study suggests that government should ensure that public after-school programs provided by public elementary schools are not only affordable but also of high-quality.