We investigate cultural and structural sources of class differences in youth activity participation with interview, survey, and archival data. We find working- and middle-class parents overlap in parenting logics about participation, though differ in one respect: middle-class parents are concerned with customizing children's involvement in activities, while working-class parents are concerned with achieving safety and social mobility for children through participation. Second, because of financial constraints, working-class families rely on social institutions for participation opportunities, but few are available. Schools act as an equalizing institution by offering low-cost activities, allowing working-class children to resemble middle-class youth in school activities, but they remain disadvantaged in out-of-school activities. School influences are complex, however, as they also contribute to class differences by offering different activities to working- and middle-class youth. Findings raise questions about the extent to which differences in participation reflect class culture rather than the objective realities parents face.
Keywords: Adolescents; Extracurricular Activities; Families; Leisure Activities; Neighborhoods; Organized Activities; Schools; Youth.