The Effect of Extracurricular Activity Participation on High School Students

Transcription

1 The Effect of Extracurricular Activity Participation on High School Students There is a belief that participation in extracurricular activities in high school improves academic achievement and influences future success. While years of research support this belief, the data does not account for variables such as pre-existing conditions, specific populations, and how participation actually effects students. Through my research, I have determined that my sources show that extracurricular activity participation in high school directly effects students social groups, thereby indirectly effecting academic success and future achievement. One of the reasons the effect of extracurricular activities on high school students is so difficult to understand is that there are so many variables that effect a student. Attempting to measure the effect one specific activity is nearly impossible because all students have many different things going on in their lives at the same time. Each source has its own way of eliminating extraneous data and attempting to isolate the just the effect of the extracurricular activity. Common variables the research accounts for include ethnicity, gender, economic status, school size, pre-existing behaviors, region of the country, and many more (Lipscomb ; Feldman and Matjasko 315). In addition, there are many different beliefs of how participation actually effects students (Broh 75). Some of these include improving the student by giving him or her valuable skills and knowledge, creating a peer group that encourages the student to do better, improving students attitudes towards school, or by giving the student a deeper connection to the school and his or her personal education (Broh 71-73; Shurluf et al. 420). Because each study conducted accounts for different variables and measures impact on a student from different angles, the data that exists is often biased and skewed toward the method used.

2 The belief that extracurricular activities directly improve academic performance is based on incomplete data and an incorrect analysis of that data. According to Broh, participation in sports leads to increased GPA, greater time spent on homework, and gained skills such as determination (78, 81). Additionally, Lipscomb suggests that participation has a direct correlation to a 1.5 to 2.0 percent boost in students GPA and a 5 percent improvement in the number of students who earn their bachelors degree (472). It seems that both source seem to agree that there is a direct relationship between extracurricular activity participation and increased academic performance, but Broh goes on to state that participation in intramural sports and vocational clubs leads to a decrease in student test scores (83). Similarly, Lipscomb suggests participation in extracurriculars composed of students that are not as successful does not help a student s test scores (471). This shows that academic success does not directly stem from simple participation in extracurricular activities. Student outcome is directly influenced by the people the student is associated with. As stated earlier, Lipscomb s study showed students that participated in activities that included other students with low test scores, did not improve their own test scores (471). The students outcomes were similar to those around them which suggests a connection between an individual student s outcome and the group s outcome. In Eccles and Barber s study, students were asked to describe their friends in terms of how likely they believed they were to go to college, how well they were doing in school, how likely they were to skip school, and how likely they were to do drugs (30). The results of this showed that students that rated their friends as likely to go to college were themselves more likely to go to college and were participating in extracurricular activities that had an increased percentage of students attending college (Eccles and Barber 31).

3 Again, the students tend to follow the pattern of success or failure that they are associated with through their peers. A student can be positively and negatively affected by their peer group and thus by their participation in extracurricular activities. According to Shurluf et al. s study, student participation in extracurricular activities served to improve student attitudes towards their work (423). This result is mirrored in Feldman and Majasko s study, where they additionally reveal that participation in more than one extracurricular activity has a greater overall benefit and nonparticipation has a negative impact (323). The common factor in the data suggests that students increased social status improves students academic outcomes. In Eccles and Barber s study, it was found that students that participate in extracurricular activities (excluding sports) show less risky behaviors and have a higher GPA then students not participating in extracurricular activities (20). It was also shown that students that participate in sports not only have a greater likelihood of drinking alcohol, but they also have increased GPA s and greater rate of college attendance (Eccles and Barber 21). Although there are negative consequences associated with participation in sports (a peer group that encourages students to participate in risky behaviors), the academic impact remains the same because the students associated with sports have higher GPA s and test scores (Eccles and Barber 20-21). Additionally, when coupled with the increased rate of students attending college in most extracurricular groups, the results of participation in those groups also includes an increased likelihood of attending college (Eccles and Barber 20-21, 25). Therefore, the results of association with a peer group can be both positive and negative and these results can be observed through extracurricular activities.

4 Participation in extracurricular activities have many effects on high school students. Some include increased academic performance, increased likelihood of going to college, and improved attitudes towards school (Lipscomb 472; Shurluf et al. 423). Others include increased likelihood of participating in risky behaviors and decreased or no change in academic performance, among others (Eccles and Barber 21; Broh 83). The link between academic success and student participation in extracurricular activities is their peer group. By understanding the relationship between a student s peer group and their success, it is possible to see the importance of not only participating in useful and positive activities, but also creating a positive culture at home, and in general in a student s life.

5 Works Cited: Broh, Beckett. "Linking Extracurricular Programming To Academic Achievement: Who Benefits And Why?" Sociology of Education 75.1 (2002): Education Research Complete. Web. 16 Oct Eccles, Jacquelynne, and Bonnie Barber. Student Council, Volunteering, Basketball, or Marching Band: What Kind of Extracurricular Involvement Matters? Journal of Adolescent Research 14.1 (1999): SAGE journals. Web. 16 Oct Feldman, A.F., and J.L. Matjasko. Profiles and Portfolios of Adolescent School-Based Extracurricular Activity Participation. Journal of Adolescence 30.2 (2007): ScienceDirect. Web. 16 Oct Lipscomb, Stephen. Secondary School Extracurricular Involvement and Academic Achievement: A Fixed Effects Approach. Economics of Education Review 26.4 (2007): ScienceDirect. Web. 16 Oct Shulruf, Boaz, Sarah Tumen, and Hilary Tolley. Extracurricular Activities in School, Do They Matter? Children and Youth Services Review 30.4 (2008): ScienceDirect. Web. 16 Oct