Extra- Curricular Activites Improve Students Overall Character

Almost every high school in the U.S. offers some type of extracurricular activity, such as music, academic clubs, and sports. These activities offer opportunities for students to learn the values of teamwork, individual and group responsibility, physical strength and endurance, competition, diversity, and a sense of culture and community. Extracurricular activities provide a channel for reinforcing the lessons learned in the classroom, offering students the opportunity to apply academic skills in a real-world context, and are thus considered part of a well-rounded education. Recent research suggests that participation in extracurricular activities may increase students ' sense of engagement or attachment to their school, and thereby decrease the likelihood of school failure and dropping out (Lamborn et al, 1992; Finn, 1993). If, indeed, participation in extracurricular activities can lead to success in school, then the availability of these activities to students of all backgrounds becomes an important equity issue. This issue brief examines the relationship between extracurricular participation and student engagement in school using data from 1992 public high school seniors in the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS). The brief also explores whether the availability of these activities varies according to school characteristics, and whether participation differs according to student background and school setting.

Is participation in extracurricular activities related to students ' success in school?

Indicators of successful participation in school include consistent attendance, academic achievement, and aspirations for continuing education beyond high school. Extracurricular participation(1) was positively associated with each of these success indicators among public high school seniors in 1992 (table 1). During the first semester of their senior year, participants reported better attendance than their non-participating classmates--half of them had

References: Finn, J.D. (1993). School engagement and students at risk. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Karweit, Nancy and Hansell, Steve. (1983). "School Organization and Friendship Selection," in Friends in School, ed. Joyce Epstein and Nancy Karweit, New York: Academic Press. Kleese, Edward J. and D 'Onofrio, Jan A. (1994). Student Activities for Students At Risk. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals. Lamborn, S.D., Brown, B.B., Mounts, N.S., & Steinberg, L. (1992). Putting School in perspective: The influence of family, peers, extracurricular participation, and part-time work on academic engagement. Chapter 6 in Student engagement and achievement in American secondary schools.