The Effect of Extracurricular Activities on Academic PerformanceShelby UllrichShelby Ullrich

Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIntroduction

College students are often pushed to be involved in everything they can. Extracurricular activities can look great on resumes, but how do they influence one’s academics? Sometimes when a person is very involved, they also seem to be more invested in their schooling. After all, research has shown that connectedness to one’s school influences academics (Bond et al, 2007). On the flip side, being too involved can result in declining grades. A study done on the effect of a part-time job on participants’ academics yielded results supporting such a decline (Tessema, 2014).

This poses an interesting question of how extracurricular activities and academic performance truly affect one another. I hypothesized that there would be a positive, linear relationship between the two, meaning that as one’s involvement increased, then one’s GPA and other academic things would improve.

Participants & Methods

ParticipantsParticipants (n=20) included 18 women and 2 men from a Psych 302 class at a large, Midwestern university. The participants self-described as White (n=17), Asian (n=1), Hispanic (n=1), and Other (n=1). The participant that responded as “other” identified as multiracial. The average age of the sample was 21.65 years.

Study DesignParticipation was voluntary and participants received compensation in the form of credit on a class assignment. There was debriefing information at the end of the survey.

MaterialsMaterials included an informed consent form, the survey itself, and debriefing information.

ProceduresAfter participants provided informed consent, they completed a 20 item survey that included only close-ended items on Qualtrics. Ten survey items assessed extracurricular involvement and ten assessed academic performance.

Variables

Extracurricular Activities1.How many hours per week do you spend on extracurricular activities (clubs, organizations, societies, etc.)?

2.How many leadership positions do you hold?

3.Compared to others, how much are you involved in extracurricular activities, leadership roles, work, and volunteering?

Academic Performance1.Compared to others, how good is your academic performance?

2.How frequently do you complete all of your assignments?

3.Please indicate how much you agree with the following statement: I am a good student.

Analysis of VariablesInternal consistency was high:Extracurricular Activities = .870⍺Academic Performance = .723⍺

There was a consistent four point scale and higher values reflected more involvement and better academic performance. For example, consistently reporting a “4” would reflect more involvement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is possible that there is no relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance. Past studies have shown that when the extracurricular involvement enhances learning (e.g. working in a research lab while taking a research class) (Brint, 2010). Also, other studies have shown that students that work more do not perform as well academically (Tessema, 2014).

It is clear many factors influence these two constructs from previous research. Therefore, there may be a relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance that needs deeper research to hone in on what truly relates the two.

References

Bond et al. (2007). Social and School Connectedness in Early Secondary School as Predictors of Late Teenage Substance Use, Mental Health, and Academic Outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(4), 357.e9-357.e18.Brint, S; Cantwell, A. (2010). Undergraduate Time Use and Academic Outcomes: Results from the University of California Undergraduate Experiences Survey 2006. Teachers College Record, 112(9), 2441-2470.Fredricks, J. (2012). Extracurricular Participation and Academic Outcomes: Testing the Over-Scheduling Hypothesis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(3), 295-306.Kouliavtsev, M. (2013). THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYMENT AND EXTRACURRICULAR INVOLVEMENT ON UNDERGRADUATES' PERFORMANCE IN A BUSINESS STATISTICS COURSE. Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, 14(3), 53-66.Tessema, M. T., Ready, K. J., & Astani, M. (2014). Does part-time job affect college students' satisfaction and academic performance (GPA)? the case of a mid-sized public university. International Journal of Business Administration, 5(2), 50-n/a.

Results & Discussion

The hypothesis – that more involvement in extracurricular activities would reflect better academic performance – was not supported. In my sample, the correlation between extracurricular involvement and academics was not significant (r=.361, p=.216). There are a few reasons that might have made the results not significant:1.The relationship between extracurriculars and academics is dynamic. As stated in the introduction, there are many ways these two constructs can affect one another. More organized people may need a lot of things in their schedule to ensure that they schedule time to study or complete assignments. For others, being too involved may overwhelm them and distract them from their academics.2.This study used a self-report method. The questions may not have had honest responses as participants may not have wanted to share their true answers related to their commitment to academics. Also, participants might have overestimated or underestimated their extracurricular involvement.

1 2 3 40-5 hours 6-10 hours 11-15 hours 16+ hours

1 2 3 40-1 positions 2-3 positions 4-5 positions 6+ positions

1 2 3 4Below Average Slightly Below

AverageSlightly Above

AverageAbove Average

1 2 3 4One of the worst Below average Above average One of the best

1 2 3 4Not at all Seldom Sometimes Often

1 2 3 4Strongly Disagree

Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

This research was done for Psychology 302 Research Designs class. Please contact Shelby Ullrich at sullrich@iastate.edu for more information about this research.