The purpose of this study was to examine the association between school connectedness and participation in extracurricular activities. A current gap in the research prevents a complete understanding of the relationship between extracurricular participation and school connectedness; therefore, this study aimed to bridge this gap. It is reasonable to suggest that by simply improving the amount, type, and availability of activities, schools have the potential to help students become more motivated in their role as both a student and a community member. The objective was to provide further support to research implying that increased participation in school-based extracurricular activities improves and encourages school connectedness among students. Overall, the study was aimed at examining what factors predict school connectedness.<p> Data for this study were collected in a survey format from 252 grade 11 and grade 12 students from several rural Saskatchewan schools. A sequential multiple regression was performed to predict school connectedness. After adjusting for various sociodemographic characteristics, two independent variables predicted school connectedness: health-risk behaviours and extracurricular participation. This research was able to show that beyond factors such as age, gender, grade, and participation in health-risk factors, students who reported being involved in extracurricular activity reported higher scores of school connectedness. Extracurricular participation was associated positively with school connectedness, indicating that participating in extracurricular activities increases school connectedness. Health-risk factors were negative predictors of school connectedness. That is, students who reported participating in health-risk behaviours reported lower school connectedness scores. First Nations students report lower school connectedness scores than Caucasian students. The limitations, directions for future research and implications for practice of these findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between school connectedness and participation in extracurricular activities. A current gap in the research prevents a complete understanding of the relationship between extracurricular participation and school connectedness; therefore, this study aimed to bridge this gap. It is reasonable to suggest that by simply improving the amount, type, and availability of activities, schools have the potential to help students become more motivated in their role as both a student and a community member. The objective was to provide further support to research implying that increased participation in school-based extracurricular activities improves and encourages school connectedness among students. Overall, the study was aimed at examining what factors predict school connectedness.<p> Data for this study were collected in a survey format from 252 grade 11 and grade 12 students from several rural Saskatchewan schools. A sequential multiple regression was performed to predict school connectedness. After adjusting for various sociodemographic characteristics, two independent variables predicted school connectedness: health-risk behaviours and extracurricular participation. This research was able to show that beyond factors such as age, gender, grade, and participation in health-risk factors, students who reported being involved in extracurricular activity reported higher scores of school connectedness. Extracurricular participation was associated positively with school connectedness, indicating that participating in extracurricular activities increases school connectedness. Health-risk factors were negative predictors of school connectedness. That is, students who reported participating in health-risk behaviours reported lower school connectedness scores. First Nations students report lower school connectedness scores than Caucasian students. The limitations, directions for future research and implications for practice of these findings are discussed.

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation presents a multi-method investigation of first-year engineering students’ extracurricular and co-curricular (extra-/co-curricular) participation, examining its impact on their professional development and well-being. Through three interrelated studies, this dissertation aims to broaden conceptualizations of extracurricular participation and to develop a holistic framework capturing the ways in which these activities and experiences influence students.</p><p dir="ltr">The first study analyzed survey data from 710 first-year engineering students to characterize what about participation in a given extra-/co-curricular experience is impactful to students and to identify patterns in how students choose to participate in one or more extra-/co-curricular activities. Exploratory factor analysis identified seven dimensions of participation that characterize students’ participation experiences in a given activity, spanning social and career-related aspects: career-related experiences, professional development and networking, community engagement and leadership, financial support, social integration, peer-influenced exploration, and mentorship and peer relationships. Cluster analysis identified five profiles of participation in specific extra-/co-curricular activities: social-focused, career-preparation, comprehensive, interest-driven, and paid work. Findings show that many students seek a balance of experiences, with few activities characterized solely by engineering-specific elements and many students participating in combinations of recreational and career-preparation activities.</p><p dir="ltr">The second study analyzed 860 short-text, open-ended survey responses, investigating how students perceived the benefits of extra-/co-curricular participation in relation to dimensions of wellness. This analysis identified four themes in how students perceived the benefits of their participation: fostering a sense of community and belonging, offering peer mentorship and support networks, facilitating authentic experiences and career exploration, and supporting stress management and overall well-being through interest-driven participation. These themes spanned multiple wellness dimensions, including social, emotional, occupational, and intellectual wellness, with patterns in the benefits students perceived by type of extra-/co-curricular activity.</p><p dir="ltr">The third study examined the use of natural language processing (NLP) approaches to facilitate the analysis of the short-text, open-response survey datasets. This study compared NLP-facilitated results to the manual analysis of the open-response survey data, demonstrating consistency between these approaches. Findings also demonstrate areas where integrating NLP-facilitated results with manual analysis helped improve the codebook and resulting analysis.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation characterizes key dimensions and perceived benefits of extra-/co-curricular participation that support students’ professional development and well-being. By investigating how first-year engineering students participate in and benefit from extra-/co-curricular activities in complement to the curriculum, this research contributes to broader efforts in engineering education to create more inclusive and engaging learning environments.</p>

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<p>Föreningsengagemang, sociala relationer och stress är ofta omnämnda tillsammans och relateras ofta till varandra. Eftersom befintlig forskning är begränsad vad gäller sambanden dem emellan, var det av intresse att undersöka dessa. Syftet med studien var att kartlägga föreningsengagemang bland högskolestudenter på en högskola i södra Sverige samt undersöka eventuella samband mellan föreningsengagemang, sociala relationer och stress. Metoden för studien var deduktiv med ett kvantitativt angreppssätt. Enkäter med frågor om föreningsengagemang, stress och sociala relationer genomfördes på 230 studenter. Att avsluta snarare än att påbörja föreningsengagemang var vanligare vid högskolestudier. Aktivitet i idrottsförening innebar lägre grad av upplevd stress. Studenter som var tillfreds med sitt umgänge, upplevde att de har vänner som visar stort intresse för det hon/ han gör samt umgås dagligen med vänner upplever lägre grad av stress. En slutsats kan vara att börja studera på högskola har en negativ inverkan på föreningsengagemang. Att vara aktiv i en idrottsförening samt att ha goda sociala relationer har en positiv inverkan på studenters upplevelse av stress. Denna nya kunskap kan användas vid arbete med och rådgivning till stressade studenter. Studien kan även informera högskolor om att fysiska aktiviteter genom skolan kan ha en positiv inverkan för studenters psykiska hälsa.</p> / <p>Extracurricular participation, social relationships and stress is often mentioned together and are related to each other. Because of insufficient research of the correlation between these three, there was an interest to study this subject. The aim for this study was to investigate the degree of extracurricular participation among college students and also to investigate potential correlations between extracurricular participation, social relationships and stress. The method for this study was deductive whit a quantitative approach. A questionnaire about extracurricular participation, social relationships and stress was performed among 230 college students. The result showed that withdrawal from extracurricular activities was more common among students than to begin. Students who were active in sport associations experienced lower stress than students that did not participate in sport associations. The result also showed correlations between the student’s satisfaction with their friends and how they reported stress. Students who felt that their friends show them a big interest also reported lower stress. Also students who meet their friends on daily basis reported lower stress. A conclusion could be that entering college has a negative influence on extracurricular participation. Involvement in sport activities and to have satisfying social relationships has a positive influence on students stress. This knowledge can be used for work and guidance of stressed college students. This study can also inform colleges that physical extracurricular participation can have a positive influence on student’s mental health.</p>

Föreningsengagemang, sociala relationer och stress är ofta omnämnda tillsammans och relateras ofta till varandra. Eftersom befintlig forskning är begränsad vad gäller sambanden dem emellan, var det av intresse att undersöka dessa. Syftet med studien var att kartlägga föreningsengagemang bland högskolestudenter på en högskola i södra Sverige samt undersöka eventuella samband mellan föreningsengagemang, sociala relationer och stress. Metoden för studien var deduktiv med ett kvantitativt angreppssätt. Enkäter med frågor om föreningsengagemang, stress och sociala relationer genomfördes på 230 studenter. Att avsluta snarare än att påbörja föreningsengagemang var vanligare vid högskolestudier. Aktivitet i idrottsförening innebar lägre grad av upplevd stress. Studenter som var tillfreds med sitt umgänge, upplevde att de har vänner som visar stort intresse för det hon/ han gör samt umgås dagligen med vänner upplever lägre grad av stress. En slutsats kan vara att börja studera på högskola har en negativ inverkan på föreningsengagemang. Att vara aktiv i en idrottsförening samt att ha goda sociala relationer har en positiv inverkan på studenters upplevelse av stress. Denna nya kunskap kan användas vid arbete med och rådgivning till stressade studenter. Studien kan även informera högskolor om att fysiska aktiviteter genom skolan kan ha en positiv inverkan för studenters psykiska hälsa. / Extracurricular participation, social relationships and stress is often mentioned together and are related to each other. Because of insufficient research of the correlation between these three, there was an interest to study this subject. The aim for this study was to investigate the degree of extracurricular participation among college students and also to investigate potential correlations between extracurricular participation, social relationships and stress. The method for this study was deductive whit a quantitative approach. A questionnaire about extracurricular participation, social relationships and stress was performed among 230 college students. The result showed that withdrawal from extracurricular activities was more common among students than to begin. Students who were active in sport associations experienced lower stress than students that did not participate in sport associations. The result also showed correlations between the student’s satisfaction with their friends and how they reported stress. Students who felt that their friends show them a big interest also reported lower stress. Also students who meet their friends on daily basis reported lower stress. A conclusion could be that entering college has a negative influence on extracurricular participation. Involvement in sport activities and to have satisfying social relationships has a positive influence on students stress. This knowledge can be used for work and guidance of stressed college students. This study can also inform colleges that physical extracurricular participation can have a positive influence on student’s mental health.

x, 84 p. : ill. / This study examines the relation between Hispanic students' extracurricular participation and GPA. Research suggests that participation in extracurricular activities is positively related to academic achievement in high school. This study addresses the Social Capital connection to school as a contributing factor in academic achievement. This study's findings provide evidence to support the hypothesis that extracurricular activities have a positive relation to freshman year GPA scores, specifically for Hispanic students. The study's findings also suggest there is a difference in terms of GPA for Hispanic students across trimesters. This study adds to the growing body of literature on the positive relation between extracurricular activities and cumulative GPA for Hispanic students. / Committee in charge: Dr. David Conley, Chair Dr. Paul Yovanoff, Member Dr. Keith Zvoch, Member Dr. Geraldine Moreno, Outside Member