Extracurricular Participation in Rural Pennsylvania High Schools: What Helps? What Hurts?
Open Access
- Author:
- Hagedorn, Annelise Dejong
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- August 24, 2015
- Committee Members:
- Diane Krantz Mclaughlin, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- Extracurricular
Participation
Rural
Adolescent - Abstract:
- Participation in extracurricular activities is an important part of the American educational experience. The activities after school, such as marching in the school band, playing sports, singing at church, or competing in Future Farmers of America (FFA) help structure students’ free time and allow them to explore new interests. Extracurricular activities also offer social, emotional, and behavioral benefits to those who are involved, and have become part of some college admissions and job application considerations. With increasing importance and attention placed on participation as a part of social development and as a gatekeeping tool in the transition to adulthood, it is crucial to know if all students are equally likely to participate. Identifying the elements of students’ lives that help or hinder participation can shape policies to make activities more inclusive, so that all students have access to the benefits of participation. Using data from eleventh-grade students in the Rural Youth Education Study, a longitudinal study of youth from ten rural school districts in Pennsylvania, this thesis examines the relationship between parents’ participation in school, religious, and community activities with student participation in seven different extracurricular activities: school sports, arts clubs, other school clubs, church youth groups, community sports, volunteer work, and community clubs. It also considers other family, personal, peer, school and community factors that may influence participation. Findings reveal that parents’ participation in school and community activities increases the chances that youth participate in extracurricular activities. Having friends who participate, a parent with a college degree, and aspirations to go to college also make youth more likely to join extracurricular activities. However, overall participation did not always reflect the likelihood of participation in individual activities. Differences among the types of activities and number of activities students join are also explored.