Effects+of+Extra+Curricular+Activities+on+Future+Attainment


 * Effects of Extracurricular Activities on Future **
 * Author: Matthew Hoey **

Burgess, J. (2009). Extracurricular school activities and the benefits. In //More4Kids//. Retrieved November 21, 2013

Extracurricular School Activities and the Benefits:

Summary: This source states the opinions of Joy Burgess on the benefits that extracurricular activities have on students. The author specifically mentions seven benefits that students get from participating in any extracurricular activity. These benefits are “Learning Time Management and Prioritizing”, “Getting Involved in Diverse Interest”, “Learning about Long Term Commitments”, “Making a Contribution”, “Raising Self Esteem”, “Building Solid Relationship Skills”, and “Looks Great on College Applications.” However, the author also believes there is a limit to the benefits of these activities. Eventually a student who becomes “too involved” can have negative effects such as decline in grades, loss of sleep, and anxiety. As beneficial as extracurricular activities are, students and parents need to know “how much is too much.”

Reaction: The benefits that this essay proposes are some which I certainly expected. I expected some of these examples because they are some of the benefits I felt I received from participating in extracurricular activities. Specifically, I feel as if the strongest benefits in this essay would be “Management and Prioritizing”, “Learning about Long Term Commitments”, “’Building Solid Relationship Skills” and “Looks Great On College Applications.” These benefits are the ones I could honestly say have stuck with me until now. This means that these benefits are long-term and can very well help a student’s future. It helps students apply to college, and acquire traits that will help them in upcoming years.

Birch, B. A. (2011, October 13). The academic value of extracurricular activities. In //Education News//. Retrieved November 21, 2013

The Academic Value of Extracurricular Activities:

Summary: In the article, //The Academic Value of Extracurricular Activities,// it states how there is a “growing body of research” linking after school activities to factors such as graduating high school, attending college, and eventually becoming a responsible adult. According to the article, there is a specific high school that shows this evidence. In Maryland, Walt Whitman High School “offers 89 clubs, 26 sports, seven choral ensembles, seven bands or orchestras, a newspaper, a literary magazine, and a yearbook last year.” They believe that all of these extracurricular activities promote the 96% of their students who end up attending college, along with their SAT scores in math and critical reading that happen to be 250 points above the national average. Also, Margo Gardner, a research scientist at Columbia University’s National Center for Children and Families (NSCF) did a longitudinal study that calculated students having 97% higher chance of going to college if they “took part in school-sponsored activities for two years than those who didn’t do any school activities.” Overall, this article explains how schools great amounts of extracurricular activities promote higher rates of students attending college.

Reaction: The information stated in this article seems to show a large correlation between extracurricular activities and students attending college. When students become involved, they develop attributes that they wouldn’t be able to develop on their own. Participating in different after-school activities can help students make new friends who eventually teach them new things and possibly study together. Also, being a part of a group most likely affects a student’s motivation in a positive way which is probably what contributes to the high SAT scores and high college attendance rate that Walt Whitman High School expresses in this article.

Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. //Developmental Psychology//, //42//(4), 698-713.

Is Extracurricular Participation Associated With Beneficial Outcomes? Concurrent and Longitudinal Relations:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">This scholarly journal from //Developmental Psychology// explains the research that says adolescent development is positively benefitted by participation in extracurricular activities. Specifically, it has “been positively linked to academic outcomes, including grades, test scores, school engagement, and educational aspirations.” Participation in these activities is also associated with a higher likelihood of college attendance, lower dropout rates, and reduced problematic behavior. However, there are definitely negatives to extracurricular activities. Research shows that “athletic involvement predicted higher alcohol use.” Also, highly competitive activities can increase stress and anxiety in students. There are some flaws to the research as well. The research heavily focuses on “white, suburban, middle-class youths.” Still, the sum of the research suggests that extracurricular activities allow students to develop wider ranges of skills that become available to them in many different “academic contexts.”

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reaction: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know that the studies published in this journal support extracurricular activities and their benefits, which helps support my topic, but I feel as if there are quite a few holes in the research. One of the most important aspects of this information is if extracurricular activities benefit all students. However, the study was basically performed on just white, middle-class adolescents. The results would better support the research if minority adolescents were also studied. Also, it is said in the journal that they “did not have information on the length, intensity, type of activity, and quality of this involvement, factors that moderate the relation between activity participation and development.” So, they basically did not know what was happening in the context of the activities. Nonetheless, the information provided still supports my topic, so the research is still beneficial as a source.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Holloway, J. H. (2000, January). Research link / extracurricular activities: the path to academic success? //Understanding Youth Culture//, //57//(4), 87-88. Retrieved November 21, 2013, from CQ Researcher.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Research Link / Extracurricular Activities: The Path to Academic Success? <span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> :

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The research within this article shows the benefits of extracurricular activities and how involvement is linked to decreasing rates of early school dropouts in both boys and girls. It’s shown “that different kinds of activities have varying abilities to control school dropout rates.” It’s estimated that students involved in sports, fine-arts, and organizations are 1.7, 1.2 and 1.15 times less likely to drop out than those who do not participate. Athletic participation alone reduces the expectancy of dropouts by about 40%. Research shows that involvement leads to an increased commitment to the school which indirectly correlates to increased academic success. It’s suggested that extracurricular activities provide all students with “an academic safety net.”

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reaction: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">I feel that extracurricular activities have an underlying benefit that many people don’t realize. I really like the fact that this article called extracurricular activities “an academic safety net.” It’s saying that when students are involved they have more motivation to do well. They feel connected to their activity and this causes them to improve upon their work so they do not lose their privilege. It was also interesting to see that sports alone reduced dropout rates by 40%. This is because some students who only attend school to play sports, but in order to play they must keep up their grades. It gives students a “safety net,” a reason to keep trying and finish school to the end.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Extracurriculars boost high school graduation rates (2007, July 10). In //newswise, University of Alabama Huntsville//. Retrieved November 21, 2013

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Extracurriculars Boost High School Graduation Rates:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">According to Dr. Jason M. Smith, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, “consistent research over the last 30 or so years shows that involvement in extracurricular activities helps in lowering the high school dropout rate, raises grades and gives students better odds of graduating from high school and attending college.” Smith found that white students in schools who did not become involved in extracurricular activities graduated 70% of time, while those who did graduated 87%. The same premise goes for black and Hispanic students, who each increased in graduation rate when known to participate in extracurricular activities. Smith noticed that the increase is because students of all races become more motivated when being a part of a sport, club, or organization. Smith also points out the fact that when a school changes its activities to a “pay-to-play” procedure base on school expenses, this hurts the lower and middle class who cannot afford to participate. Overall, Smith reiterates the fact that extracurricular activities play an imperative role in involving students and their school and lowering the high school dropout rate.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reaction: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s very good that the information from this website shows minorities as a part of their research as well as white students. I feel as if this makes the information more relevant to my topic. Also, I’ve never realized how much of a problem the “pay-to-play” idea is. I know that schools run out of budget so it forces them to cut activities or force students/parents to pay for the student to be involved. But, I’m just realizing that the idea most certainly hurts lower and middle class students. If extracurricular activities help students graduate, raise the grades and attend college, than all lower and middle class students end up attaining less of each factor. Especially since many time minorities are the students who struggle with money dilemmas, the pay-to-play idea is only increasing the achievement gap, which in turn ends up hurting schools and their scores.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Extracurricular activities certainly have positive effects on one’s future according to my research. It helps students develop traits and techniques such as managing time, building relationships, and raising self-esteem. The activities also look great on a college application in which colleges are hoping to see applicants who get involved in their school. Research shows that students who do participate acquire better grades in school and have higher graduation rates than those who do not participate. This means that extracurricular activities are lowering dropout rates (among all races), increasing grades, increasing graduation rates, and increasing the percent of students attending college. All of this information correlates with students finishing school and becoming responsible adults.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Overall Reaction to Research: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Students who do not participate are known to not do as well and graduate at smaller rates. However, not all students are choosing not to participate. Rhode Island schools that cut their extracurricular activities based on budget cuts or adopt the pay-to-play idea are cheapening the high school experience for certain students. Students who can’t afford to pay to participate in activities or do not get the opportunity in general will not have the chance to increase their grades based on extracurricular motivation. This in turn increases the achievement gap which makes efforts to reform schools more difficult. However, if Rhode Island schools are able to increase the amount of extracurricular opportunities, than this could increase the academic performance, graduation rate, and college acceptance rate all throughout Rhode Island.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Relevance in Rhode Island Schools: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">One thing that I’ve learned about charter schools is that many of them are specialized schools for students. They focus on certain subjects/topics that end up motivating students for a certain career. I’ve also learned that many charter schools do not offer the same extracurricular opportunities that most other schools offer to their students. Extracurricular activities are known to increase creativity, so when students at charter schools are not subjected to certain activities, they may not develop the same social and academic talents of students attending other schools. So, when a student who was involved in several extracurricular activities attends the same college as a student from a charter school, there is a chance that the student who was involved in their school could be at an advantage in future academics.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Relevance to Charter Schools: **