EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AFFECTS THE ACADEMIC STANDINGS OF STUDENTS By: Darleen Mitchell T.

Francisco One of the parents' greatest achievements and immediate responsibility is to sent their children to school but sending them to school doesn't only mean to make them accademically active but also to make them socially active by oining and participating on ectra!curricular activities. "articipating on e#tra!curricular activities contributes a lot and helps the child molds their social being. From preparatory to elementary to high school and even to college$ school doesn't only for academic enhancements and purposes$ it al%ays includes e#tra!curricular activities. &tudents %ho participate in e#tracurricular activities generally benefit from the many opportunities afforded them. Benefits of participating in e#tracurricular activities included having better grades$ having higher standardi'ed test scores and higher educational attainment$ attending school more regularly$ and having higher a higher selfconcept. "articipants in out!of!school activities often learned skills such as team%ork and leadership %hile decreasing the likelihood of alcohol use and illicit drug use and related problem behaviors. Those %ho participate in out!of!school activities often have higher grade point averages$ a decrease in absenteeism$ and an increased connectedness to the school. Music$ parental involvement$ sports ! all of these have an influence on ho% children perform academically. The %ay children choose to spend their free time can affect their school performance( it is not simply traditional in!class instruction that impacts academic achievement. &tudents attending school %ho participates in some sort of organi'ed activities %hich may include clubs$ athletic opportunities$ dance line or cheer teams$ &couts$ drama or theater$ youth groups$ student council$ and club sports. There is substantial interest in ho% teenagers are spending their leisure time outside the school day$ and %hat types of activities are important to their development. Through my research$ ) found out that there are studies that support either being involved$ being over! involved$ or not being involved at all in e#tracurricular activities and ho% participation can impact %hat becomes of teens in the future based on participation in activities outside the school day. *esearch indicates that participation in e#tracurricular activities may affects students+ academic performance. More specifically$ studies have been conducted assessing the effects of specific e#tracurricular activities on academic performance. &tudies and research states that students participating on e#tra!curricular activities can improve their academic standings. Extracurricular activities appeal to student interests, according to Mahoney and ,airns -.//01 people looked at the positive connection to school that participating in e#tracurricular activities created among students %hose prior commitment to the school had been marginal. They discovered that a %ider choice of activities resulted in a stronger effect because students' individual needs and interests %ere more likely to be met. One source stated that$ Extra-curricular activities connect students to school . "articipating in an e#tracurricular activity connects students more deeply to the school$ its faculty$ a peer group$ and school values -Mahoney$ 2333( Mahoney 4 ,airns$ .//01. Further$ 5ordan and 6ettles -.///1 found that adolescents %ho participated in structured activities supervised by positive adult role models %ere more likely to make personal investments in their schooling that might$ in turn$ motivate them to e#cel academically. 78igher grades and positive attitudes to%ards school is the second effect that e#tracurricular activities have on students. &elf esteem can be a predictor of academic performance. &tudents that don+t like school %on+t do as %ell as the students that do like school because they are not motivated to succeed. )f students don+t like school$ it is usually because they do not feel as though they are succeeding or that they can succeed. "articipation in an after school program or e#tra!curricular activities that is designed to build self esteem$ had positive effects on standards test scores in math and reading$ %hile receiving e#tended time to complete home%ork did not have the same positive effects on self esteem or achievements9. -,osden et al.$ 233:$ 22;1 This is regardless of student's previous background or achievement. &tudents that participate in e#tra! curricular activities also sho%ed positive changes in students self confidence$ teacher perception$ and greater confidence$ and then developed positive school related adult attachments. <#tra!curricular activities increases a students connection to school$ raises their self esteem$ and positive social natures. (From the story from Cosden, Morrison, Gutierrez, and Brown a out a !irl who improved her !rades ecause of her participation in extra-curricular activities"#

=nother effect that e#tra!curricular activities have on students is the social aspect. &tudents that are involved in e#tracurricular activities meet many ne% people. <ach club or sport is different$ so students meet different people in all different groups. By oining different ones they meet people %ith the same backgrounds they have and people they share interests %ith. Most times the people that students meet are students that they %ould never talk to or become friends %ith on a normal basis. )n different e#tracurricular activities students learn about group %ork$ and sometimes they end up having less conformity to gender stereotypes 8o%ever$ Mc6eal -.//>1 indicates that they encoura!e peer interaction and e#tracurricular participation provides previously marginali'ed students %ith access to a more 7elite9 stratum of the student population and e#poses the students to peers %ho have better attitudes to%ard school. These are ust some of the many reasons %hy e#tra!curricular activities can help students to improve their academic ratings and increase their academic interests. 8o%ever$ it is also believes that it is not al%ays positive$ some states that students participating on e#tra! curricular activities also got negative effects on their academic performances. &ome studies highlight the negative effects of e#tracurricular activities. Bothpositive and negative effects of participation are dependent on factors such as the nature of theactivity and the background of the student involved. &tudies have sho%n that some athletic activities can coincide %ith increased alcohol use. )nformal activities$ that is$ those activities not set up or supervised by an adult$ or controlled by the school$ can lead to problem behaviour by the youths involved in terms of undesirable social norms -Fredricks$ 233?$ ?/@1. The undesirable social norms remain undefined$ but it is evident that the effect of participating in unsupervised and disorganised activities can be negative. Time management also contributes a lot in regards of e#tra!curricular activites negative effects to student's academic performance. Teenagers often struggle %ith time management and some e#tracurricular activities demand more time and energy than many students can handle. )f a student %ho needs a little longer than other peers to finish your home%ork$ an activity that takes up a fe% hours every afternoon after school may not leave you %ith sufficient time to get all the %ork done )t has been generally assumed then that participation in e#tra!curricular activities has a positive impact on the retention of the students. 8o%ever$ it many also believe that these activities may actually affect student performance in a negative manner due to conflicting time reAuirements and competing schedules$ even if they do in fact enhance student persistence. nterestingly$ relatively fe% studies have been performed in either of these areas due to a lack of applicable data on e#tra!curricular activities %hich has both positive and negative effects to student's academic performancces$ it ust that$ everything is defend to the students on ho% they %ill handle it. ,ontrol$ discipline and time management are a must but e#tra!curricular activities are not ust e#tra!curricular activities. By engaging in e#tracurricular activities$ students may be reAuired to maintain good grades in order to meet eligibility to participate in such activities. <ligibility may motivate students to do their best academically in order to participate in the activity. ,ompeting in a speech contest$ may help a student gain confidence$ and being involved in a youth group or scouting organi'ation may help the student develop character and connect %ith the community. ,ommunity service or volunteering might help a student pro ect a caring and compassion attitude to%ard others. Be may come to the fact that negative effects are inevitable in this imperfect %orld$ but everything also has a positive effects$ it is ust necessary and important to understand e#actly ho% each activity is impacting a student and %hat type of positive development is taking place. = 233. survey of more than >3$333 high school students in Minnesota published in the March 233; issue of the $ournal of %chool &ealth found that those %ho participated in e#tracurricular activities had higher levels of social$ emotional$ and healthy behavior than students %ho did not participate. The purpose of this study is to e#plore and %iden the kno%ledge of everyone on ho% being involved in e#tra!curricular activities can influence development in academics$ social skills and completion. Determining the long!lasting effects of e#tracurricular activities may help parents and students understand ho% participation can impact students' development no% and in the future. =rmed %ith this information$ families can make %iser choices for creating balance n academics and activities in a student's life. <#tra!curricular activities are a part of students every day life. They play important roles in student+s lives. They have positive effects on student+s lives by improving behavior$ school performance$ school completion$ positive aspects to make successful adults and social aspects.