LITERATURE REVIEW
The purpose of this research is to review the impacts of extracurricular activities on high school students.
This chapter will review various research studies and literature reviews that analyze how participation in
extracurricular activities impact high school students’ academic performance and social-emotional
learning as well as if the breadth and intensity of extracurricular participation change the impacts for high
school students.
To locate the literature, searches of Educational Journals, ERIC, EBSCO, and Google Scholar
were conducted for articles between 1985 and 2020. Articles were narrowed by only reviewing peer-
reviewed journals that focused on extracurricular activities in high school students that addressed the
guiding questions. The keywords that were used included extracurricular activities and high school.
Additional keywords utilized to further narrow those searches down were breadth of activity, mental
health, and test scores.
This chapter will be organized in the following manner. First, literature will be reviewed by the
type of extracurricular activities, specifically by five main categories of prosocial activities, performance
activities, team sports, school involvement activities, and academic clubs. Then, literature will be
reviewed on the topics of educational outcomes of extracurricular activities, social-emotional learning
impacts of extracurricular activities, impacts of specific groups, and finally the breadth and intensity of
activities.
Extracurricular activities are typically school-based activities that occur outside of the normal curriculum.
However, some activities are also community-based and outside of school. Mahoney and Cairns (1997)
further describe that these activities “differ from standard courses in school because they are optional,
ungraded, and are usually conducted outside the school day in school facilities” (p.241). These are
structured and organized activities that focus on skillbuilding as well as social and behavioral goals
(Covey & Carbonaro, 2010). This thesis will follow Eccles, Barber, Stone, and Hunt’s (2003) grouping of
activities into five categories: prosocial activities, performance activities, team sports, school
involvement, and academic clubs. There is evidence from various studies that shows participation in
constructive activities both at the school and within the community can enable school engagement,
academic achievement, and social-emotional learning that continue into their early adulthood. There are,
however, different opinions on the impacts within each category.
The impact of participation in extracurricular activities on a student’s overall education is an area
of concern for students, parents, and educators. Some students do not participate for fear of taking away
from their educational outcomes while others participate in numerous activities, sometimes too many, as
they are positive it will help them. Others participate in extracurricular activities as a way to help their
chances to get into their perfect college. There is research that shows participation has positive impacts on
test scores, grade point average, and college attendance.
57(4), 437466. Holloway, J. H. (1999/2000). Extracurricular activities: The path to success? Educational
Research, 8788. Holloway, J. H. (2002, January). Research link: Extracurricular activities and student
motivation. Educational Leadership, 8081. Kirch, S. (2002). Promoting achievement in school
through sports. Retrieved March 9, 2006, from http://www.amersports.org/library/reports/1.html
Mahoney, J. L (2000). Student extracurricular activity participation as a moderator in the development of
antisocial patterns. Child Development, 71(2), 502516. Mahoney, J. L., & Cairns, R. B. (1997). Do
extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 241-
253
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Extracurricular activities are usually described as activities that are not belong to academic
curriculum, but are offered by an academic institution. According to Yildiz (2015) extracurricular
activities are to be done in class or out of college based on the demands and convenience of
extracurricular activities. Meanwhile, according to Simoncini and Caltabiono (2012), extracurricular
activities are unique from unorganized and unsupervised public activities such as interacting or enjoying
activities with friends. Instead, they are structured structurally and contain supervision by teachers and
under careful supervision, extracurricular activities could focus on group, interaction, management, and
other public skill-building and beneficial growth for the members. The supervision of extra-curricular
activities enforces positive development for adolescents because it provides guidance for the students
(Leung, 2003; Holt, Sehn, Spence, Newton & Ball, 2012). Additionally, according to Holt, Sehn, Spence,
Newton & Ball (2012), with supervised extracurricular activities, students are guided towards appropriate
behaviors and activities while being challenged to help develop competencies and confidence. Human
beings learn many things by doing or experiencing. Students who excel in extracurricular activities may
improve themselves for real situations. Students sometimes cannot find opportunity to be open with
teachers at college. And, language teachers know that participation of lessons is the key factor for better
learning. Thus, students get disciplined and act well in real situations by joining extracurricular activities
Yildiz (2016). There are different opinions of what is considered an extra-curricular activity. A few
examples of activities outside the school day may include pro-social activities such as dances, team
sports, and performing arts, while in-school involvement activities may include intramurals, and
academic clubs. Different levels of activity involvement and participation may positively impact future
success for those who participate. Research also indicated that both the type of extracurricular programs
and level of participation may impact the individuals' development (Eccles, 2003). According to Gardner
et al. (2008), theory and research on positive youth development emphasizes the transition of human
development, and suggest that cultivating positive, supportive relationships with people and social
institutions encourages healthy development.
References
Anderson, N. (2018). SAT reclaims title of most widely used college admission test. The Washington
Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/23/sat-reclaimstitle-most-widely-ued-
college-admission-test/
Barber, B. L., Eccles, J. S., & Stone, M. R. (2001). Whatever happened to the jock, the brain, and the
princess? Journal of Adolescent Research, 16(5), 429–455.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558401165002
Bean, C., Harlow, M., & Forneris, T. (2017). Examining the importance of supporting youth’s basic needs
in one youth leadership programme: A case study exploring programme quality. International
Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22(2), 195-209.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2016.1152986
Bjorklund-Young, A. (2016). What do we know about developing students’ non-cognitive skills? John
Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. https://edpolicy.education.jhu.edu/what-dowe-know-about-
developing-students-non-cognitive-skills/
Busseri, M. A., Rose-Krasnor, L., Willoughby, T., & Chalmers, H. (2006). A longitudinal examination of
breadth and intensity of youth activity involvement and successful development. Developmental
Psychology, 42(6), 1313–1326. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-
1649.42.6.1313
CASEL. (n.d.). What is SEL. Collaborative for academic, social, and emotional learning.
https://casel.org/what-issel/#:~:text=Social%20and%20emotional%20learning
%20(SEL,responsible%20decisions.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
There is a growing interest in the effects of extracurricular activities on academic
performance and social behaviors. The available research spans both sides of the issues;
some researchers promote the benefits of participation and others emphasize the drawbacks. Each
side claims that the effects of extracurricular participation are the results of the participation, itself, but
the exact reasons for these effects are confusing (Holland & Andre, 1987). Also, there are few resources
available that address both the positive and negative effects of participation in extracurricular activities in
one paper. The author of this project attempts to address both sides of the argument in order to gain
a deeper perspective of the effects of extracurricular activity participation among high school students.
The purpose of the project was to educate staff members, parents, and students of secondary schools
about the effects of participation in extracurricular activities Participation in school-
based extracurricular activities has long been a fundamental part of adolescence (Larson & Verma, 1999,
as cited in Eccles, Barber, & Hunt, 2003). Some of these activities are in the form of athletics,
band and orchestra, social clubs, academic clubs, music and theater, and religious organizations. Often,
parents encourage participation in such activities so that their children will be more
competitive applicants to quality colleges and universities. However, there is debate among members of
the research community as to the academic benefits of extracurricular activity participation. In
regard to the effects of participation, Holland and Andre (1987) found that participation facilitates both
academic and nonacademic goals in that “participation may lead adolescents to acquire new skills
(organizational, planning, timemanagement, etc.), to develop or strengthen particular attitudes
(discipline, motivational), or to receive social rewards that influence personality characteristics” (p. 447).
Although some drawbacks of extracurricular involvement have been identified, the social
and academic benefits of such participation cannot be overlooked.
REFERENCES
Darling, N., Caldwell, L. L., & Smith, R. (2005). Participation in schoolbased extracurricular activities
and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Leisure Research, 37(1), 5176. Eccles, J. S., Barber, B. L., &
Hunt, J. (2003). Extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Journal of Social Issues, 59(4),
865889. Herbert, T. P., & Reis, S. M. (1999). Culturally diverse highachieving students in an urban high
school. Urban Education, 34(4), 428457. Holland, A., & Andre, T. (1987). Participation in
extracurricular activities in secondary schools: What is known, what needs to be known?
