REGULAR ARTICLE

Demand for Extracurricular Activities Amongst Primary SchoolStudents: Exploratory Evidence from Survey Data in Penang(Malaysia)

Juliana Jelani • Andrew K. G. Tan •

Norzarina Mohd-Zaharim

� De La Salle University 2014

Abstract This exploratory study examines the sociode-

mographic factors associated with extracurricular activity

(ECA) participation of primary school students in Penang

(Malaysia). The dichotomous choice Logit model is

applied on survey data of 459 respondents. Results indicate

that household affluence, ethnicity, education level of

parent, and schooling level of the child are significant

factors associated with ECA participation likelihoods.

Several observations are noted. First, measures to introduce

free/subsidized non-academic classes to all school children

should be considered to prevent social inequalities with

regards to ECA favouring wealthier households. Second,

there exists a divergence of ECA selections even amongst

ethnic groups, with Chinese families favouring music and

arts, while Malay households are more inclined towards

religious studies. Third, education policymakers should be

cognizant of the advantages of ECA beyond the academic

realm when designing future educational curriculum. Last,

contemporary childhood upbringing methods in Malaysia

favour equal opportunities in ECA participation irrespec-

tive of gender.

Keywords Extracurricular activities � Malaysia �Participation likelihoods � Primary school students

Introduction

Non-academic extracurricular activities (ECA) are an

integral part of childhood development. Broadly defined as

remunerated lessons or classes undertaken by children

beyond the scope of standard school syllabus,1 ECA offer

opportunities for children to boost their creativity, promote

self-discipline, foster a sense of self-esteem and sense of

purpose, contribute to the making of a well-rounded indi-

vidual (Zaff et al. 2003) as well as provide an outlet for

stress relief (Fredricks and Eccles 2005). In turn, depending

on type of activity, ECA participation may also result in

enhanced interest in school subjects (Tasdemir et al. 2013),

positive impacts on in-class academic performance (Marsh

and Kleitman 2002; Eccles et al. 2003), as well as lowering

the likelihood of dropping out (McNeal 1995) and engag-

ing in truancy (Kombarakaran 2002). Given current

expectations and pressures of the modern schooling soci-

ety, it is therefore imperative for children to be actively

involved in ECA.

In Malaysia, although there exists a scarcity of gov-

ernment statistics on the scale of ECA participation

amongst school-going children, anecdotal evidence suggest

a growing industry in remunerated ECA lessons (The New

Straits Times 2012). This is supported by the fact that large

proportions of household expenditures are set aside for this

purpose (Jelani and Tan 2012). For instance, *46 % of

Malaysians surveyed rank the provision of private tuition

and ECA to their children as one of the top three spending

priorities (MasterCard Worldwide Survey of Consumer

Purchasing Priorities 2009).

An extensive review of the extant literature reveal that

although studies investigating the role of ECA on child

upbringing are prevalent in western cultures (Blake 1981;

J. Jelani � A. K. G. Tan (&) � N. Mohd-Zaharim

School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia,

11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia

e-mail: atan@usm.my

1 Examples of these activities include the learning of musical

instruments (e.g. piano, guitar, violin), dance movements (e.g. ballet,

classical, jazz, modern etc.), sports (e.g. swimming, tennis, badmin-

ton, gymnastics etc.), and others such as drama, painting and drawing,

martial arts, foreign languages, religious studies, and so forth.

123

Asia-Pacific Edu Res

DOI 10.1007/s40299-013-0165-y

Downey 1995; McNeal 1998; Dunn et al. 2003; Lareau

2003; Simpkins et al. 2005; Xu et al. 2009; among others),

there exists, in contrast, a dearth of literature on the

demand for ECA uptake amongst primary school children

in the Asian region. In fact, Bray and Lykins (2012) sug-

gest that while the non-academic domains (e.g. sports,

music and even interpersonal relationships) have emerged

as a growing phenomenon due to university admissions

criteria taking into account ECA participation, data quality

and accessibility issues remain as major challenges facing

many countries. This is particularly lacking in the context

of a newly industrialized country, such as Malaysia,

whereby increasing emphasis has been placed on promot-

ing ECA amongst school-going children to build individual

characters and social development instead of concentrating

on academic achievements only (Shahril et al. 2010).

Although previous studies have examined the role of

sociodemographic characteristics on the parallel growing

phenomenon of private academic tuition participation

amongst Malaysian school-going children (Marimuthu

et al. 1991; Chew and Leong 1995), these studies were

conducted nearly two decades ago. One notable recent

exception is by Jelani and Tan (2012) in the framework of

academic private tuition uptake. However, this particular

study only focused on private tuition for academic subjects

and did not take into account the non-academic nature of

ECA beyond the extent of the formal school curriculum.

It is confounding that the profiles of children who par-

ticipate in ECA or parents who send their children to ECA

are largely unknown in Malaysia. Is gender or income a

deterrent factor? Is the demand for ECA amongst children

in a multi-racial society driven by ethnic considerations?

Who are attending or sending their children to ECA in

Malaysia? It is therefore the aim of this exploratory study

to examine the sociodemographic determinants associated

with the demand for ECA amongst primary school students

in Penang (Malaysia). As one of the foremost study on the

subject matter, its findings are relevant to educational

policy makers in Malaysia and elsewhere in the region who

are interested in identifying the profile of primary school-

going children who are more or less likely to participate in

ECA.

Primary Education and Co-curriculum Activities

in Malaysia

As of 2013, there are a total of 7,743 primary schools,

catering to 2,743,237 primary students in Malaysia (Min-

istry of Education Malaysia 2013). These primary schools

consists of two main types, national (Sekolah Rendah Ke-

bangsaan) and vernacular or national-type (Sekolah Ren-

dah Jenis Kebangsaan) schools, with the latter being

further categorized into Chinese and Tamil national-type

schools. The majority of primary students attend national

schools (75 %) compared to Chinese (21 %) and Tamil

(4 %) national-type schools. Funding for national primary

schools are provided by the government while national-

type schools are mostly government assisted (Ministry of

Education Malaysia 2013).

Co-curriculum activities are conceptually a compulsory

part of the primary school curriculum in Malaysia. Their

primary aims are to balance the positive development of

mental (academic) and the social, spiritual, and physical

well-being of the students. As extensions of the formal

classroom teaching and learning process, such activities

allow students to apply the knowledge, skills, and virtues

taught in class to further develop their individual potential.

These co-curriculum activities are also aimed at reinforcing

the interaction and integration amongst students of various

races in school (Ministry of Education Malaysia 2009).

Under these co-curriculum programs, each student is

required to participate in at least one uniform group, one

club or society, and one sport or game under the guidance

of their school teachers (Ministry of Education Malaysia

2009).2 While Primary 1 and 2 students are exempted from

such co-curricular activities, the time allocated are 60 min

per week for students in Primary 3 and 4, and 120 min

weekly for those in Primary 5 and 6.

In terms of appraisal, students are evaluated based on

attendance (50 %), achievement (20 %), involvement

(20 %), and position held (10 %). Evaluation grades are

then calculated, with bonus marks awarded for the stu-

dent’s involvement in school management and adminis-

tration activities, such as being a prefect, librarian, class

monitor and others. The final overall grade consists of the

three co-curriculum activities and bonus marks accumu-

lated by the student (Ministry of Education Malaysia

2009).

Notwithstanding the myriad of co-curricular activities

offered to Malaysian primary school students, several

limitations exist. First, it is the prerogative of the school to

decide on the types of co-curricular activities offered. As

such, the list of activities is not standardized within schools

in Malaysia, with much depending on the availability of

trained teachers and coaches to lead the programs. Second,

the lack of funding, facilities, and time constraints may

dampen its successful implementation. In reality, there may

not be enough pianos nor ping pong tables to cater to all

2 Examples of uniform groups include judo/karate/taekwondo clubs,

Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, School Youth Cadets, St. John’s

Ambulance, Red Crescent, and many more. Clubs and societies

consist of Road Safety Club, Robotics Club, Traditional Dance Club,

Entrepreneurial Club, Environment Club and others. Meanwhile,

sports and games are made up of badminton, table tennis, athletics,

hand ball, netball, volleyball and so forth.

J. Jelani et al.

123

interested students within the stipulated time slots for co-

curricular activities. Hence, students interested in certain

types of activities may have no choice but to resort to

private remunerated lessons instead.

Insights from the Literature

In general, studies concur that ECA participation is asso-

ciated with positive developmental outcomes for children

(Fredricks and Eccles 2005; Wickery 2011). Specifically,

ECA participation is associated with better academic per-

formance, greater school engagement, lower school drop-

out rates, higher rates of going to college, greater self-

respect, higher self-esteem, greater self-worth, lower rates

of depression, delinquency, and drug abuse, better emo-

tional and behavioural adjustment, greater interpersonal

competence, less likelihood of developing anti-social pat-

terns, and attainment of lifelong skills (Mahoney 2000;

Molinuevo et al. 2010). For high-risk (due to multiple

problem behaviours and economic disadvantages) boys and

girls, ECA participation is associated with reduced rates of

early school dropout and criminal arrest (Mahoney 2000).

Further, when children participate in sports, they get

exercise, improve their motor skills, and enhance their self-

esteem (Donaldson and Ronan 2006). Sports also provide

opportunities for children to learn important social skills

such as how to work effectively as part of a group. At the

same time, engaging in sporting activities allows children

to use their emerging cognitive skills as they come up with

new playing strategies or change the rules of a game (Kail

and Cavanaugh 2013).

In terms of parental involvement, Kremer-Sadlik et al.

(2010) suggest that parents do perceive ECA as important

for children’s success and as preparation for adult life,

emphasizing competition and accomplishment. For boys,

parental involvement in schooling combined with partici-

pation in ECA increases academic achievement. In con-

trast, for girls, parents attending ECA events that they are

involved in increases their child’s academic achievement

(Perino 2000). Studies have also found a positive rela-

tionship between perceived parental support and children’s

ECA participation rates, whilst perceived parental support

and pressure dictate children’s affective experience of ECA

participation (Anderson et al. 2003). Moreover, Lagace-

Seguin (2010) noted that parental pressure and support,

combined with ECA participation, predicted the well-being

and academic competence of elementary school children.

The role of sociodemographic factors and its correlation

to ECA participation amongst children have received

attention in the literature as well. For instance, studies have

shown that decisions to participate in ECA are inversely

related to the number of children in a household (Blake

1981; Downey 1995). As noted by Xu et al. (2009), when

the number of children in a household increases, financial

investments are diluted in order to cater to more depen-

dents in the family. Given a proportional increase in

household expenditures, especially on basic necessities

(e.g. school fees, medical expenses, food bills, and clothing

and so forth), families with more children may be less

willing to spend on ECA, especially if it is not considered

to be an item of basic necessity. This notion is also shared

by Blake (1981) and Downey (1995) as the time invested

on each child may also be divided since children in larger

households receive relatively less parental attention and

time compared to those from smaller households.

Ethnicity/race is found to play a significant role in

participation of children’s activities in previous studies

(McNeal 1998; Brown and Evans 2002; Xu et al. 2009). As

such, the unique multi-racial composition in Malaysia,

consisting of Malay (56 %), Chinese (26 %), Indian (7 %),

and a proportion of various other indigenous races (11 %)

(Department of Statistics Malaysia 2008), allows an ideal

opportunity for an examination of the role of diverse ethnic

backgrounds to influence ECA demand amongst children.

Historically, the Malays were the indigenous people while

both the Chinese and Indian populations in Malaysia date

to several generations, as workers immigrated to Malaysia

during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to work in

mines and on plantations. Today, even as the three primary

ethnic groups in Malaysia co-exist in sharing a common

government and similar basic economic traits, yet they are

also dissimilar in their language, religion, belief, and cul-

tural practices. Additionally, based on the historical and

political background of Malaysia, there exist affirmative-

action policies (e.g. New Economic Policy, NEP), whereby

a reasonable proportion of educational (e.g. government

scholarships and places to public universities), employ-

ment, business, and asset ownership opportunities are

reserved for the Malays (Sundaram 1989). This contributes

to keen competition amongst the non-Malays for the lim-

ited number of opportunities in both the educational and

employment sectors (Pong 1993). It is therefore plausible

that a higher (lower) tendency or willingness to invest in

ECA are observed amongst the non-Malays, especially if

such activities are viewed as beneficial (detrimental in

terms of opportunity costs of time) to their children’s

future. It is also of interest to note the findings of Pong

(1994) that Chinese parents in Malaysia exhibit a pro-

nounced preference for sons, while Malay and Indian

parents do not show a consistent sex preference. Given

such inclinations, the possibility exists that Chinese parents

may even consider their child’s ECA participation based on

gender as well.

The education level of a child’s parents may be an

important factor in determining ECA participating

Demand for Extracurricular Activities Amongst Primary School Students

123

decisions. Dunn et al. (2003) and Lareau (2003) found that

children with higher educated parents are more likely to

engage in ECA compared to those with parents with lower

educational attainment. Two possible reasons arise. First,

higher parental educational achievements may also trans-

late to better paying occupations with higher disposable

family income. Therefore, children with more affluent

backgrounds may better afford additional remunerated

ECA. Second, it is also conceivable that better educated

parents may be more knowledgeable or have a better

understanding of the benefits of ECA in enriching a child’s

social development. In general, it can thus be surmised that

children of higher educated parents are more likely to

partake in ECA.

A child’s participation in ECA entails not only financial

outlays from parents. A different type of investment

involves the amount of time devoted by parents in pro-

viding transportation, supervision, and their overall pre-

sence during these activities (Hoefer et al. 2001; Huebner

and Mancini 2003). As suggested by Xu et al. (2009),

measures of parental time availability can be proxied by

the employment type of the parent. In such cases, it is

expected that parents with occupations directly involved

with the labour market would face greater time restrictions

to be involved in their child’s activities than those who are

not in the paid labour market (Strohschein et al. 2008). It is

therefore hypothesized that parents working in the private

sector would have greater time constraints to attend to their

child’s ECA compared to those working for themselves or

in the government sector. While self-employed individuals

have greater flexibility with their time schedule, civil ser-

vants enjoy longer holidays, job security and a more

relaxed and congenial working style compared to the

pressures faced by their private sector counterparts (Bender

1998; Im 2009).

Household income is one of the conspicuous predictors

of ECA participation. Studies often report that low income

households are less likely to send their child to ECA

compared to their more affluent cohorts, particularly in

organized sports activities (Simpkins et al. 2005; White and

Gager 2007). These outcomes can be rationalized by the

fact that many ECA outside of the school curriculum

involve remunerated lessons or classes. Therefore, it is

plausible that children of families with lower socioeco-

nomic status would not be able to afford and therefore have

lower propensities to participate in ECA (McNeal 1998).

Gender of child is an important predictor of ECA par-

ticipation. As suggested by McNeal (1998), Xu et al.

(2009), and Molinuevo et al. (2010), girls participate in

more activities and a wider range of ECA compared to

boys (except in sports). However, the effect of ECA par-

ticipation decreases for both boys and girls when parental

education is taken into account. Furthermore, better

emotional and behavioural adjustment is more strongly

related to sports activities in boys and to non-sport activi-

ties in girls (Molinuevo et al. 2010).

On level of schooling, it is hypothesized that children in

the upper primary levels of Primary 4, 5 and 6 (ages

10–12 years) display lower propensities to participate in

ECA compared to those in the lower primary levels of

Primary 1, 2, and 3 (ages 7–9 years). This is attributed to

the relative complexity of subjects taught in the upper

primary levels and pressure of the centralized examination

known as the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR)

or primary school achievement test, which is administered

at the end of primary education (Primary 6) (Jelani and Tan

2012). Since ECA are outside the scope of the formal

schooling curriculum and often compete with a child’s

limited time resource, more attention is focused on the

examination subjects instead.

The medium of instruction in national primary schools is

Bahasa Malaysia, while lessons are conducted in Chinese

and Tamil in national-type schools. More importantly,

students in national primary schools are tested on five

subjects (Malay comprehension, written Malay, English,

Science, and Mathematics), while comprehension and

written Mandarin/Chinese and Tamil are the two additional

compulsory subjects in Chinese and Tamil national-type

schools, respectively (Ministry of Education Malaysia

2013). With two additional subjects to be tested in the

UPSR, it is hypothesized that students attending national-

type schools would have less time to devote to ECA

participation.

Methodology

In many cross-sectional household demand studies, a

common issue that arises is that large clusters of respon-

dents may report non-participation or zero expenditures

during the survey period. In such cases, non-participation

or zero expenditures may be due to a variety of reasons,

amongst which include economic circumstances, religious

prohibitions, social stigma, or a general non-preference for

the particular good or activity. Under these circumstances,

the use of the dichotomous-choice Logit model is appro-

priate in modelling the likelihood of demand, as its spec-

ification allows for monotonic transformations to guarantee

that predictions (probabilities) lie in the unit interval

(Greene 2007).

The Logit Model

In general, the Logit model is written as:

Log P = 1�Pð Þ½ � ¼ b0 þ b1X1 þ . . .þ bnXn þ e ð1Þ

J. Jelani et al.

123

where, P = probability of a child to participate in ECA in

the past 6 months; X = explanatory variables hypothesized

to influence this probability as listed in Table 1;

bi = coefficients for explanatory variables; e = stochastic

disturbance term; and, P/(1 - P) = ratio of probability or

odds that the child attends ECA.

Data

Data for the study is collected from a pool of respondents in

Penang (Malaysia) based on a set of questionnaires prepared

in both Bahasa Malaysia and English. Due to the exploratory

nature of the study, as well as time, economic and resource

constraints, no formal sampling methods were employed

during the data collection process. However, since the

respondents were selected by chance and independently of

one another, a certain level of randomness was anticipated.

An earlier pilot study with ten (10) respondents was

conducted at one of the primary schools. From this study,

several notable changes were made to improve the survey

instrument. For example, the initial survey lasted about

8–9 min. As several respondents show survey fatigue or

confusion while completing the survey, we streamlined the

questions by eliminating those that were irrelevant or

ambiguous and managed to reduce the actual time required

to about 6 min. Additionally, ECA was initially too nar-

rowly defined as it excluded religious and language classes.

As a few of the respondents revealed participation in both

these activities, they were later included in the broader

definition of ECA in the actual questionnaire.

Direct interviews of the target population were con-

ducted from August to November 2009. This period did not

coincide with any extended school holidays nor the end-of-

year holiday break from late-November till beginning

January. Permission was granted by the Ministry of Edu-

cation Malaysia, Education Department of Penang and the

various school headmasters/headmistress to conduct per-

sonal interviews of parents waiting for the child’s school

dismissal within the compounds of selected primary

schools. It is assumed that these parents are fully knowl-

edgeable of their child’s ECA participation and given the

nature of some of the responses solicited (e.g. monthly

household income, education level of parent), non-parents

(e.g. relatives, maids, minders, friends) were excluded from

the sample. As there did not exist any basis to favour the

gender of the parent being interviewed, both sexes were

sampled in equal proportions.

From the 112 total primary schools (with 57,221 total

students) located in Penang Island (Penang Education

Department 2009), 18 (16.1 %) schools were randomly

chosen based on their locations in the city of Georgetown,

Table 1 Variable definitions and sample statistics

Variables Definition ECA participants

(n1 = 237)

Non-ECA participants

(n2 = 222)

Total sample

(N = 459)

Dependent variable

Participate Participates in ECA during the past 6 months 0.52 0.48 1.00

Continuous explanatory variable

No. children in family Number of children in household (HH) 2.53 (0.95)a 2.76 (1.14) 2.64 (1.05)

Binary explanatory variable (Yes = 1; No = 0)

Malay Malay ethnic HH head 0.44 0.44 0.44

Chinese Chinese ethnic HH head 0.51 0.41 0.46

Indian/others Indian or other ethnic HH head (ref.) 0.05 0.16 0.10

Tertiary parent One of the parent is tertiary educated 0.64 0.39 0.52

Government/self employed HH head working in government sector

or self employed (ref.)

0.45 0.45 0.45

Private employed HH head employed in private sector 0.55 0.55 0.55

Income RM0–999 Low monthly HH income (ref.) 0.06 0.16 0.11

Income RM1000–3999 Lower-middle monthly HH income 0.45 0.59 0.52

Income RM4000–7999 Upper-middle monthly HH income 0.29 0.18 0.24

Income C RM8000 High monthly HH income 0.19 0.07 0.13

Gender child Gender of child is male 0.45 0.50 0.47

Level of schooling Level of schooling is upper primary (Primary 4, 5, 6) 0.51 0.64 0.57

Type of school Type of school is national (Sekolah Kebangsaan) 0.53 0.61 0.57

a Standard deviation in parenthesis

Demand for Extracurricular Activities Amongst Primary School Students

123

urban surroundings of Jelutong, Gelugor, Green Lane, and

suburban areas of Sungai Nibong, Bayan Lepas, Bayan

Baru, and Teluk Kumbar. On the basis that three-quarters

of primary school students attend national schools nation-

wide (Ministry of Education 2013), the breakdown of type

of school in the current study consist of 15 (78.9 %)

national and 4 (21.1 %) national-type schools. A total

number of 539 parents were initially approached to par-

ticipate in the survey but after accounting for the 55

(10.2 %) who rejected the interview and removing the 25

(4.6 %) who failed to provide complete information (e.g.

refusing to divulge monthly household income, uncertainty

of information or unexpected interruptions), a total of 459

(85.2 %) were retained for analysis.

Definition of Variables

In response to the survey question, ‘‘Does your child attend

any remunerated non-academic ECA classes during the

past 6 months?’’, affirmative (Y = 1) and negative (Y = 0)

responses are used as the dependent variable to denote

participation in ECA or otherwise. In this case, ECA is

broadly defined to include various types of sports (e.g.

swimming, badminton, tennis, etc.), musical instruments

(e.g. piano, violin, guitar, etc.), dancing (e.g. ballet, modern

dance, etc.), arts (e.g. drawing, painting), religious studies,

foreign languages, and others, all of which constitute non-

academic activities or subjects that are excluded from the

formal school curriculum.

The selection of explanatory variables hypothesized to

affect the likelihood of ECA participation relies primarily

on insights from previous scholarly works (Bray and Kwok

2003; Tansel and Bircan 2006; Xu et al. 2009; Jelani and

Tan 2012). The following sociodemographic variables are

considered: (1) number of children in the family; (2) eth-

nicity; (3) education level of parent; (4) working sectors of

household head; (5) household income level; (6) gender of

child; (7) level of schooling; and (8) type of school

(Table 1).

In terms of household characteristics, the number of

children living in the household, ethnicity (Malay or Chi-

nese, while those of Indian and other ethnic backgrounds

are grouped due to their small sample sizes), educational

background (as indicated by whether one of the parent is

tertiary educated), and working sectors of the parent

(government sector/self-employed) are employed. Four

income categories, representing low (RM0–999),3 lower-

middle (RM1000–3999), upper-middle (RM4000–7999),

and high (RM8000 and above) income brackets are con-

sidered. Also included are dummy variables representing

gender of the child (male), level of schooling (upper pri-

mary)4 and type of school attended (national or Sekolah

Kebangsaan) (Table 1).

Results

Characteristics of Survey Respondents

Descriptive statistics of variables are presented in Table 1.

The average monthly household expenditures on ECA were

RM49.95 (US$16.11) for the overall sample compared to

RM96.74 (US$31.29) amongst the participating house-

holds. Overall, the proportion of those who send their

children to ECA and otherwise are almost equally distrib-

uted as 51.6 % answered affirmatively in sending their

child to at least one ECA during the past 6 months.

On average, there are about three children per household

in the entire sample. The stratified ethnic composition of

the total sample consist of 44 % Malays, 46 % Chinese,

and 10 % Indians or others. In comparison, the ethnic

breakdown of the total population in the state of Penang in

2009 consist of 44.5 % Malays, 44.3 % Chinese, and

11.3 % Indians or others (Penang Institute 2013). About

52 % of the total samples have at least one tertiary edu-

cated parent. However, a higher proportion (64 %) of those

who send their child for ECA are tertiary educated, thus

suggesting the possibility that educational background of

the parent may be a significant factor in ECA participation

likelihood.

While about 45 % of the entire samples of household

heads either work in the government sector or are self-

employed (combined as reference group), 55 % work in the

private sector. In terms of income brackets, 11 % of the

whole sample earn a household income of between RM0

and 999 (low-income) (reference group), 52 % between

RM1000 and 3999 (lower-middle income), 24 % between

RM4000–RM7999 (upper-middle), and 13 % with house-

hold income of RM8000 and above (high income). Slightly

less than half (47 %) of the children sampled are males.

This proportion is comparable to the breakdown of 50.5 %

male students in the state of Penang (Penang Education

Department 2009). Approximately 57 % of the children are

in the upper primary school levels (Primary 4, 5, and 6)

compared to 43 % in the lower primary levels (Primary 1,

2, and 3). The majority of children sampled (57 %) study in

national schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan) where the medium

of instruction is the national language of Bahasa Malaysia

while 43 % are enrolled in national-type (Sekolah Jenis

3 In Ringgit Malaysia, approximately RM1.00 = US$0.33 or

US$1.00 = RM3.10 as of 26 December 2012.

4 This is akin to segmenting the sample according to two different

age groups, consisting of those between ages 7–9 (lower primary) and

ages 10–12 (upper primary).

J. Jelani et al.

123

Kebangsaan) schools with either Chinese or Tamil as the

main medium of instruction (Table 1).

Logit Regression Analysis

Results of the Logit analysis are presented in Table 2. The

goodness-of-fit tests of Pearson v2 is 250.86 (P = 0.367;

244 d.f.), likelihood-ratio is 67.32 (P = 0.000; 2 d.f.) and

link test (P = 0.105) for the squared term. Thus, it is

concluded that no evidence of incorrect model specification

exists and the model fits the data well as one or more of the

total effects in the model are important in predicting the

probability of ECA participation. Besides, the model is

found to accurately predict 64.27 % of the outcomes in the

sample, with McFadden R2 = 0.106 (Table 2).

To check for multicollinearity among regressors, we first

calculate the variance inflation factors (VIF) for each var-

iable. The highest VIF values coinciding with those of

Chinese (7.42) and type of school (5.17) are obtained,

while the remaining variables have values approximately

three. Marquardt and Snee (1975) and Cohen et al. (2003)

note that VIF values over five are considered to be suffi-

ciently correlated to warrant suspicion of severe multicol-

linearity, especially in small sample sizes. Therefore, a

decision was made to drop the variable ‘‘type of school’’

from the analysis as it was found that over 97.5 % of the

sampled students in national-type schools are Chinese. By

doing so, all VIFs are now below four and it can be con-

cluded that no evidence of multicollinearity amongst

regressors is present.

Marginal Effects

Since Logit parameter estimates do not have any direct

interpretations, the subsequent discussion focuses on the

marginal effects of the respective factors of ECA partici-

pation. In general, six of the ten (60.0 %) hypothesized

variables considered are significantly associated with ECA

participation. Specifically, Malays (33.5 %) and Chinese

(29.9 %) are more likely to send their child to ECA com-

pared to those of Indian or other ethnic backgrounds.

Meanwhile, the effect of parental education is statistically

Table 2 Results of logit

analysis

a For a discrete change of

dummy variable from 0 to 1

*** Significance at the 1 %

level, ** at the 5 % level, and

* at the 10 % level. Standard

errors in parenthesis

Variables Estimated

coefficient (b)

Odds

ratio (eb)

Mean

sample

Marginal

effects

Constant -1.453*** 0.234 – –

(0.563)

No. children in family -0.098 0.907 2.641 -0.024

(0.101) (0.025)

Malaya 1.402*** 4.062 0.440 0.335***

(0.400) (0.088)

Chinesea 1.238*** 3.449 0.460 0.299***

(0.402) (0.091)

Tertiary parenta 0.622*** 1.862 0.519 0.154***

(0.226) (0.055)

Private employeda -0.006 0.994 0.553 -0.002

(0.205) (0.051)

Income RM1000–3999a 0.436 1.547 0.516 0.108

(0.352) (0.087)

Income RM4000–7999a 0.838** 2.311 0.240 0.202**

(0.403) (0.092)

Income C RM8000a 1.470*** 4.351 0.133 0.325***

(0.479) (0.084)

Gender childa -0.181 0.834 0.471 -0.045

(0.202) (0.050)

Level of schoolinga -0.460** 0.631 0.571 -0.114**

(0.209) (0.051)

Pearson Chi square 250.860

Likelihood ratio 67.320

Prob (LR) 0.000

McFadden R2 0.106

% correct predictions 64.27 %

Demand for Extracurricular Activities Amongst Primary School Students

123

significant as a child with at least one parent who is tertiary

educated is 15.4 % more likely to attend ECA than a child

with neither parents having tertiary education.

The results also corroborate those of Dunn et al. (2003)

and Lareau (2003) that affluent levels are significantly

associated with ECA participation, as those in the upper-

middle (20.2 %) and high (32.5 %) income ranges are

more likely to engage in ECA services for their child

compared to households in the low income groups. While

not explicitly shown here, it is interesting to note from the

data that this trend is supported by the escalating amounts

of average monthly ECA expenditures by low (RM13.43),

lower-middle (RM30.11), upper-middle (RM70.87) and

high (RM119.87) income earning groups. Finally, level of

schooling is significantly associated with the likelihood of

ECA participation as children in the upper primary levels

are 11.4 % less likely to partake in non-academic ECA

compared to those in the lower primary levels.

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

Results of the study suggest that the ECA culture is dic-

tated by ethnicity, educational status of parent, income

levels, and level of schooling. Specifically, those who are

more likely to send their children for ECA include Malay

and Chinese families, tertiary educated parents, and higher

income families. Meanwhile, children in the lower primary

levels are more likely to attend ECA compared to children

in the upper primary. Based on these results, several

observations are noted vis-a-vis the demand for ECA

amongst primary school children in Penang (Malaysia).

First, a better understanding of ECA demand amongst

primary school children is gained as the role of ethnicity is

found to be significantly associated with participation

likelihoods. Specifically, both Malay and Chinese families

are more likely to send their children to ECA compared to

Indians/others. It is also interesting to note that ethnic

differences are prevalent in terms of specific type of

activities. For example, while Malay families form 44 % of

the total sample in the study, a large majority (92.4 %; 97

of 105) who send their children for ECA enrol them for

religious studies. Meanwhile, amongst the 46 % of Chinese

households in the sample, 62.0 % (75) and 40.5 % (49) of

the 121 Chinese children who attend ECA sign up for

music and arts classes, respectively. These outcomes sug-

gest a divergence of ECA selections even between ethnic

groups, whereby Malay families favour sending their child

for religious studies while Chinese households are more

inclined towards music and arts classes instead. These

results are not surprising as studies have shown the pro-

pensity of the Malays (as Muslims) to be generally more

religious than the Chinese or Indians, particularly since the

everyday life of the typical Malay household is often gui-

ded by the Quran (Ko and Kua 1995; Kua et al. 2003).

Meanwhile, the Chinese concept of leisure is deeply

ingrained in, amongst others, music and traditional arts

such as painting and poetry (Wang and Stringer 2000).

These religious and cultural tendencies may possibly

explain the patterns found in the present study and high-

lights the significance of ethnic differences being associ-

ated with ECA demand as well as the choice of activities

for their respective offspring.

It is also noteworthy that the preferred ECA of both

Malay and Chinese primary school students are non-sport

related and do not involve any physical activity. This may

be cause for concern given that the number of Malaysian

children who are diagnosed as overweight and obese is on

the rise (Kasmini et al.1997; Lee et al. 2012). To combat

this problem, parents of all ethnic backgrounds should be

encouraged to enrol their children in sports-related ECA as

well.

Second, the present results corroborate those of Dunn

et al. (2003) and Lareau (2003) that higher educated par-

ents are more likely to send their child for ECA than non-

tertiary educated parents. Two possible reasons explain this

outcome. First, higher educated individuals place a higher

premium on the non-academic based extracurricular edu-

cation of their children compared to those who are less

educated. It is very likely that these individuals possess a

better understanding of the benefits of ECA in enriching a

child’s cognitive and socioemotional development. Second,

it is conceivable that parents with higher educational

backgrounds may translate to better paying occupations.

This results in higher disposable household income to

afford remunerated ECA for their children instead of

having to rely on those supported by the school system.

Based on these reasonings, it is envisioned that future

demand for ECA amongst primary school students is

expected to rise as Malaysia progresses toward its aspired

developed nation status by 2020. Higher investments in

education and training for a more educated workforce will

invariably boost the willingness of parents to send their

child for ECA in the future. Such results may also be

extrapolated to other countries in the region experiencing

rapid educational transformation in its workforce.

Third, ECA participation is primarily driven by afflu-

ence levels. This is evidenced by the results of the study,

whereby higher income households yield greater ECA

participation likelihoods for their child. This outcome can

be rationalized by the fact that lower income households

are less able to afford the additional expenses associated

with remunerated activities and may thus be dependent on

the formal educational system to provide for their chil-

dren’s ECA needs. Meanwhile, affluent households enjoy

more disposable income and have the luxury of providing

J. Jelani et al.

123

better quality and quantity of ECA alternatives on top of

those offered by their children’s schools. This is especially

true if ECA are seen as normal goods in the context of the

overall Malaysian society. Hence, if indeed ECA are seen

as a complementary and necessary booster in a child’s

academic or interpersonal development, measures to

introduce more supplementary non-academic classes (e.g.

more music, dance, language and religious classes, plus a

better array of co-curricular and sporting activities) to all

school children should be considered by the Ministry of

Education of Malaysia. These efforts should be in tandem

with the current focus on academic subjects. Additionally,

serious considerations should also be undertaken to miti-

gate the issues of lack of funding, facilities and time con-

straints in the current educational system. Failure to

address these concerns may indirectly exacerbate the social

inequalities conundrum raised by Bray and Kwok (2003)

and Kwok (2010) with regards to educational opportunities

favouring the wealthier households.

Fourth, it is observed that the ECA demand amongst

primary school children is significantly motivated by the

level of schooling of the child, as those in the upper pri-

mary (Primary 4, 5, 6) levels are less likely to participate in

ECA classes compared to their lower primary (Primary 1,

2, 3) level peers. Two possible explanations arise for this

outcome. First, heavier daily school workloads faced by

students in the upper primary levels compared to their

younger cohorts in the lower primary levels may prevent

the former from indulging in ECA. Since ECA as defined

in the current study are non-academic in nature or extends

beyond the scope of the standard school syllabus, less

importance may be placed on such activities while more

attention is focused on the formal school work. This

increased work burden may also result from the public

examination pressure faced by upper primary students in

preparation for the UPSR national examination at the

conclusion of their primary education. Second, the dis-

crepancy between lower primary and upper primary chil-

dren’s participation in remunerated ECA may be due to the

fact that children in the lower primary are currently

required to attend 60 min of ECA per week compared to

120 min weekly for those in the upper primary. So, parents

might perceive the 120 min of ECA at school to be suffi-

cient for older children.

The practical implication of this outcome is that edu-

cation policy makers in Malaysia should work towards

enhancing ECA participation beyond the academic realm

when designing future educational curriculum. This could

be in the form of reducing the workload of exam-oriented

syllabus. Recent announcements by the Malaysian Ministry

of Education to streamline the syllabus of the UPSR (The

Star 2010) serves as a positive step towards lowering the

anxiety levels of Malaysian school children. Additionally,

the introduction of the Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah

(PBS) (School Based Assessment) in 2011 to reduce the

exam orientation of the existing school system augurs well

in mitigating student’s stress and anxiety levels given the

minimal number of examinations that students are required

to undertake (Ministry of Education Malaysia 2012).

Last, the explanatory variables that did not appear sta-

tistically significant merit some discussion. The a priori

expectations that gender of child (McNeal 1998; Xu et al.

2009; Bray and Lykins 2012) and number of children in a

household (Downey 1995; Xu et al. 2009) may be associ-

ated with ECA participation decisions are not upheld by the

results. This is not entirely surprising since this implies that

contemporary childhood upbringing measures in Malaysia

favour equal opportunities for children’s ECA participa-

tion, irrespective of gender and number of children in the

household.

The present study represents one of the foremost

attempts at examining the association between sociode-

mographic factors and ECA participation amongst primary

school children in Penang (Malaysia). However, given the

exploratory nature of the study, and geographic, time and

cost constraints, several possible caveats are acknowl-

edged. First, it is assumed that the respondent (parent) of

the survey questionnaire is fully informed of the informa-

tion provided. Although the possibility exists that the

spouse (and not the respondent) may be the person in

charge of the household decision-making, it is assumed that

reported participation decisions and household income

levels are accurate. Second, it is acknowledged that

selection biases may arise since responses were only

obtained from responding parents available and waiting to

pick up their child compared to those not waiting at the

school compound during the survey period. Third, students

from Tamil national-type schools were not sampled in the

current study due to logistical problems as well as its

limited population size.

Meanwhile, several avenues for future research exist. For

instance, the current analysis could be replicated based on

follow-up interviews, comprehensive nationwide data or

longitudinal panel data to assess the robustness of the find-

ings. Furthermore, given results of the present exploratory

study indicating significant association between ethnicity

and ECA demand, further research extensions could include

a cross-national study using data from Malaysia and Sin-

gapore. This is particularly relevant given the close simi-

larities between both countries with respect to language,

culture, and historical background. Yet, major differences

exist between the two neighbouring countries in terms of the

majority ethnic groups and its respective affirmative-action

policies. For example, while the NEP affirmative-action

policies in Malaysia are placed to aid the Malay majority as

well as other indigenous citizens, similar programs such as

Demand for Extracurricular Activities Amongst Primary School Students

123

the Yayasan Mendaki are aimed to empower and support the

Malay minority in Singapore through excellence in educa-

tion (Yayasan 2010). These affirmative-action policies may

conceivably dictate decisions of certain ethnic groups in

favouring ECA to advance their child’s social and economic

positions in a competitive environment. Finally, additional

variables (e.g. availability of ECA, distance to school,

school characteristics, urbanization level of households)

could be solicited in future analysis while mixed method

approaches could also be employed to obtain additional

qualitative information (e.g. preferences, choices, and rea-

sons influencing decisions to enrol or not to enrol) to enable

a more complete understanding of the demand for ECA

amongst primary school students.

Acknowledgments Research support from the Universiti Sains

Malaysia Research University (RU) grant (Grant No. 1001/PSOSIAL/

816969) is acknowledged. The authors are grateful to the journal

reviewers for their suggestions. We thank the Ministry of Education

Malaysia and the Education Department of Penang for permission to

conduct this study, and the various school headmasters/head-

mistresses for consent to collect data. We also express gratitude to all

the parents who participated in the survey.

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