Extracurricular activities for social engagement

There is strong evidence that extracurricular activities increase self-esteem and positive social behaviors among children and adolescents (Durlak 2010, HFRP-Little 2008, YG-Afterschool). Extracurricular activities are also a suggested strategy to increase social support systems, develop social skills and relationships, and enhance neighborhood cohesion (CG-Anderson 2003a, Urban-Moore 1999). There are a variety of these types of activities and programs, however, and some are more effective than others (Farb 2012).

Creative extracurricular activities such as music, dance, drama, and visual arts can increase participants’ self-confidence, self-esteem, and positive behaviors (Bungay 2013). After-school activities appear to improve school belonging, motivation, and academic achievement among immigrant high school students (Camacho 2015). Additionally, developing friendships through school-based after school extracurricular activities is linked to school belonging and positive academic achievement (Knifsend 2018). Elementary school students appear to have greater social engagement benefits when they are highly engaged in after school programming than when they are less engaged (Grogan 2014).

Extracurricular activities with academic components can modestly improve grades, test scores, and academic proficiency along with social benefits (Grogan 2014, Durlak 2010, Farb 2012, RAND-Bodilly 2005, HFRP-Little 2008, Vandell 2007). Some studies indicate that participation in extracurricular activities may decrease problem behaviors such as substance use, risky sexual activity, and delinquency (Meier 2018, Farb 2012, Durlak 2010, Vandell 2007), while others suggest no effect on such behaviors (Taheri 2015, Kremer 2015).

Students’ attendance at extracurricular activities may be enhanced by supportive environments, age-appropriate structures, positive relationships between participants and staff, and diverse activities that foster child development and engage participants. These characteristics can also improve student outcomes (Leos-Urbel 2015, Vandell 2013, ASA). Barriers to recruitment, attendance, and quality implementation of extracurricular activities include scheduling conflicts, lack of parental support, and lack of space (Tibbitts 2019).

It is unclear what impact extracurricular activities for social engagement can have on disparities in social engagement and skills among school-aged children and adolescents.

School-aged children and adolescents do not have the same opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities for social engagement. Participation in extracurricular activities is low among youth experiencing disadvantages, especially non-Hispanic Black (Meier 2018) and Hispanic students (Kitchens 2018). Youth from disadvantaged backgrounds and youth from racial and ethnic minority groups may benefit more from participating in extracurricular activities than white youth (Heath 2018). After-school activities appear to improve school belonging, motivation, and academic achievement among high school students that identify as immigrants (Camacho 2015).

After-school programs were introduced in the latter part of the nineteenth century after restrictions in child labor laws were enacted. As children exited the labor force, subsequent education laws passed in the late 1800s increased formal educational expectations which led to children spending more time at school (Mahoney 2009). Other changes in the labor force, such as the growing number of women working outside of the home, also impacted the demand for after-school programs. After-school programs bridged the gap between the end of the school day and the end of the workday to ensure that children were being cared for (Mahoney 2009).

Since the 1990s, after-school activities have gotten considerable attention. Research has indicated the benefits children see when participating in after-school programs and extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities help expose school-age children and adolescents to different learning environments and can engage children in social and emotional growth (Gorski 2021). Many funding opportunities have been created to increase implementation of such programs (Mahoney 2009).

• Do the schools in your community offer extracurricular activities for social engagement? If not, how can you facilitate the implementation of such activities? Are there extracurricular activities that you could incorporate a social engagement component to?
• Who is participating in extracurricular activities for social engagement in your community? What barriers are there that may prevent school-age children and adolescents from participating?
• What organizations in your community could you partner with to provide extracurricular activities for social engagement?

Examples of extracurricular programs include Triple Play, offered at over 4,000 Boys and Girls Clubs across the country (Triple Play); Wyman’s Teen Outreach Program, offered in 1,500 clubs in rural, urban, and suburban settings in 32 states and Washington, D.C. (TOP); 4-H Afterschool, nationally implemented through public universities and Cooperative Extension (4-H); After-School All-Stars, serving low income and at-risk youth in 12 states (ASAS); and WINGS, providing social and emotional learning programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (WINGS).

California’s Proposition 49, the After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002, expanded after-school programs and extracurricular activities to benefit children; sports to increase physical fitness, tutoring to improve academic performance, and youth development programs to enhance social skills and responsible behavior (CA-After school).

ASA - Afterschool Alliance (ASA). Keep kids safe and inspire them to learn.

CSPV-Elliott 2002 - Elliott DS, Grady JM, Shaw TE, Aultman-Bettridge T, Beaulieu MT. Safe communities ~ Safe schools guide to effective program selection: A tool for community violence prevention efforts. Boulder: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV); 2002.

HOST-PA - Healthy Out-of-School Time (HOST) Coalition. Resources: Physical activity (PA).

IES WWC-Beckett 2009 - Beckett M, Borman G, Capizzano J, et al. Structuring out-of-school time to improve academic achievement. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED); NCEE 2009-012.

* Journal subscription may be required for access.

ASA - Afterschool Alliance (ASA). Keep kids safe and inspire them to learn.

ASAS - After-School All-Stars (ASA). Comprehensive after-school programs.

Bungay 2013* - Bungay H, Vella-Burrows T. The effects of participating in creative activities on the health and well-being of children and young people: A rapid review of the literature. Perspectives in Public Health. 2013;133(1):44-52.

CA-After school - California Department of Education. After school education & safety program.

Camacho 2015* - Camacho DE, Fuligni AJ. Extracurricular participation among adolescents from immigrant families. Empirical Research. 2015;44(6):1251-1262.

CG-Anderson 2003a - Anderson LM, Scrimshaw SC, Fullilove MT, Fielding JE, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. The Community Guide’s model for linking the social environment to health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2003;24(3S):12-20.

Durlak 2010* - Durlak JA, Weissberg RP, Pachan M. A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology. 2010;45(3-4):294–309.

Farb 2012* - Farb AF, Matjasko JL. Recent advances in research on school-based extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Developmental Review. 2012;32(1):1–48.

Gorski 2021 - Gorski KJ. In school for after school: The relationship between extracurricular participation and school engagement. Sociological Forum. 2021;36(1):248-270.

Grogan 2014 - Grogan KE, Henrich CC, Malikina MV. Student engagement in after-school programs, academic skills, and social competence among elementary school students. Child Development Research. 2014:498506.

Heath 2018 - Heath RD, Anderson C, Turner AC, Payne CM. Extracurricular activities and disadvantaged youth: A complicated—but promising—story. Urban Education. 2018:1-35.

HFRP-Little 2008 - Little PMD, Wimer C, Weiss HB. After school programs in the 21st century: Their potential and what it takes to achieve it. Cambridge: Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP); 2008: Brief Number 10.

Kitchens 2018* - Kitchens KE, Gormley W. The Hispanic extracurricular participation gap. Social Science Quarterly. 2018;99(5):1776-1790.

Knifsend 2018 - Knifsend CA, Camacho-Thompson DE, Juvonen J, Graham S. Friends in activities, school-related affect, and academic outcomes in diverse middle schools. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2018;47(6):1208-1220.

Kremer 2015* - Kremer KP, Maynard BR, Polanin JR, Vaughn MG, Sarteschi CM. Effects of after-school programs with at-risk youth on attendance and externalizing behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2015;4(3):616-636.

Leos-Urbel 2015* - Leos-Urbel J. What works after school? The relationship between after-school program quality, program attendance, and academic outcomes. Youth Society. 2015;47(5):684-706.

Mahoney 2009 - Mahoney JL, Parente ME, Zigler EF. Afterschool programs in America: Origins, growth, popularity, and politics. Journal of Youth Development. 2009;4(3):090403FA002.

Meier 2018 - Meier A, Hartman B, Larson R. A quarter century of participation in school-based extracurricular activities: Inequalities by race, class, gender and age? Journal of Youth Adolescence. 2018;47(6):1299-1316.

RAND-Bodilly 2005 - Bodilly S, Beckett MK. Making out-of-school-time matter: Evidence for an action agenda. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation; 2005.

Taheri 2015* - Taheri SA, Welsh BC. After-school programs for delinquency prevention: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Criminology & Penology. 2015:1-19.

Tibbitts 2019 - Tibbitts B, Porter A, Sebire SJ, et al. Action 3:30R: Process evaluation of a cluster randomised feasibility study of a revised teaching assistant-led extracurricular physical activity intervention for 8 to 10 year olds. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):1111.

TOP - Wyman Teen Outreach Program (TOP). Teen Outreach Program: Help transform teens and change communities.

Triple Play - Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Triple Play: A game plan for mind, body, and soul.

Urban-Moore 1999 - Moore K, Ehrle J. Children’s environment and behavior: Participation in extracurricular activities. Washington, D.C.: Assessing the New Federalism (ANF), Urban Institute; 1999.

Vandell 2007 - Vandell DL, Reisner ER, Pierce KM. Outcomes linked to high-quality afterschool programs: Longitudinal findings from the study of promising afterschool programs. Irvine: University of California, Irvine, Department of Education; 2007.

Vandell 2013 - Vandell DL. Afterschool program quality and student outcomes: reflections on positive key findings on learning and development from recent research. In: Expanding minds and opportunities: Leveraging the power of afterschool and summer learning for student success. Expanded Learning & Afterschool Project; 2013:10-16.

WINGS - WINGS for Kids (WING). WINGS: Helping kids soar.

YG-Afterschool - Youth.gov (YG), Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP). Afterschool programs.