The Relationship between Participation in School-Sponsored Extracurricular Activities, Attendance, and Academic Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether participation of high school students in extracurricular activities was related to their school attendance and academic achievement. Data were collected for this study using a questionnaire developed by the researcher, which focused on topics such as respondents’ activities, time management and satisfaction with school. The questions, which were open-ended and used Likert scale ratings, were designed to reflect degrees of satisfaction and agreement related to school and extracurricular activities. The questionnaire asked students to respond to items regarding their participation in and feelings about the various activities in which they participated and to rate or describe the effects of this participation on students’ ability to complete assignments. Overall, data indicated that students who participated in extracurricular activities exhibited higher levels of academic performance and lower absenteeism than those who did not do so. Of students who participated in extracurricular activities, those who participated in school- sponsored activities had a higher GPA and attendance rate than those students participating in out-of-school activities.