The research investigates the personal development benefits to students of involvement in a particular extracurricular activity (student theatre). It examines aspects of student personal development that are promoted by involvement in this extracurricular activity and discusses factors within the activity that encourage or promote these results. It does this through its focus on participants’ perceptions of what happens in the group, in terms of personal development and events and actions that affected that personal development. The extracurricular theatrical activity that is the focus of this study takes place annually in a regional Catholic co-educational secondary college in Victoria, Australia. It is a multi-age activity that involves students from Years 7 – 12. Participation is open to all students and the activity is non-competitive. A detailed review of the literature covering the areas of extracurricular activity, adolescent development and resilience is provided. The research is underpinned by an holistic enactivist world-view and makes use of the constant comparison methodology of grounded theory to analyse the data it obtains. The theoretical justification for this position is provided. The data were obtained through semi-structured or guided interviews with long term participants in the activity. The participants included students, ex-students, teachers and parents. The participants’ perspectives of the personal development that occurred through involvement in the extracurricular activity were revealed through their voices, and were examined as they described and reflected upon their experiences. The interconnectedness of the personal development benefits and the factors that enable them are highlighted. Conclusions about the significance of an increased awareness of the complex inter-relatedness of the events that subscribe to the enhancement of personal development are offered. Theory related to the elements that contribute to the development of an environment that facilitates personal development benefits is developed.

Former participants of an elementary-level gifted program were followed into junior high to determine the impact of the gifted program on their academic achievement and extracurricular participation. Parent and student perceptions of the gifted program were also determined. Academic achievement was measured by the variables grades in specific academic subjects, grade point averages, and achievement test scores. Extracurricular participation patterns were determined by response to a questionnaire on extracurricular activities. Intellectually- gifted former participants were compared on academic achievement and extracurricular participation to a comparable group of students who did not participate in any gifted program. No significant differences were found between the two groups. It was found that former participants of the gifted program were participating in their areas of giftedness as well as other areas of extracurricular activity. A substantial percentage of former participants were found to be excelling in their participation in extracurricular activities. It was also found that the gifted program was perceived positively by students and parents. It was concluded that the gifted program did not have an impact, positive or negative. on the subsequent academic performance of its former participants in junior high. It was also concluded that the gifted program did not have an impact, positive or negative, on the subsequent extracurricular participation of its former participants in junior high.

The thesis deals with science education and integration of field trip in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The theoretical part summarizes available information about science education and integrating field trip in the classroom, theoretical information about creating of questionnaires and a websites. The practical part contains the analysis of survey results. The main finding is that half of the teachers know their neighbourhood with regard to realize field trip. However they find obstacles in realization, such as price, time-consumption, knowledge of locations, students' interest, demanding organization etc. A website was created using the feedback from the questionnaire as described in the next part of thesis. It contains description of locations suitable for field trip in chemistry education. The aim of the website is to facilitate field trip organisation for teachers.

The major purpose of this study was to determine how no pass, no play has impacted the perceptions of academic player eligibility as perceived by high school coaches in Educational Service Center, Region 20, Texas. Variables such as coach characteristics, school characteristics, and community characteristics were researched. In addition, the study examined the influence gender and ethnicity of the coach had on their perceptions of no pass, no play. The study focused on the perceptions of coaches to no pass, no play relating to (1) student motivation, (2) instructional issues, (3) ethnicity specific variables, (4) student suspension variables. The relationship between poverty status in the district, annual household income, the type of sport, and demographic variables such as the gender, experience level, and ethnicity of the coach were also examined. Respondents’ answers were dependent upon a number of variables. The gender of the coach was a variable that reappeared as significant throughout the study. The ethnicity of the coach and minority population in the school also showed to be significant variables. Lastly, the type of sport, poverty status in the district, percentage of economically disadvantaged students on the campus, the annual dropout rate, and annual household income were also variables that significantly impacted the study. Findings of the study included: 1. Female coaches were four times more likely than male coaches to believe that no pass, no play was an effective motivational tool. 2. Female coaches were 87% more likely to feel that allowing students to practice while they are ineligible to participate motivated students to stay in school. 3. As the annual household income in the district increased, so did the likelihood that the coach perceived students to feel threatened by no pass, no play, resulting in increased study time by the students. 4. The type of sport did not have an impact on coaches’ perceptions that in order to influence student eligibility, parents and student-athletes challenge failing grades assigned by teachers. 5. As the number of ineligible students increased, the likelihood of an athlete making better grades following suspension decreased.

This study investigated views, beliefs, and values about extracurricular activities of two sets of parents, Korean immigrant parents and American U.S. born parents, both groups of middle or higher class socioeconomic status with above college degrees. By examining how parents perceive their own involvement in their children’s extracurricular activities and how differently parents of recent immigration from Korea or of established European American descent become involved with their children’s activities, parents’ motivation and their role emerged using self-determination theory as a basis to explain the internalization underlying self-determined motivation. Participants in this study were 31 parents (approximately10 each from 3 activity groups) associated with three extracurricular activities for young children. This study used a mixed-methods approach. First, the degree of to which parents perceived their involvement based on parental support or pressure, the two factors from Anderson et al. (2003), were surveyed. Second, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to elicit in-depth information from three parents for each activity, selecting them based on their responses to the survey. The findings suggested that parents expect their children to find their own interest, build competence, and ultimately acquire autonomy by engaging in extracurricular activities. In terms of cultural differences, the results revealed that though there are cultural differences in their involvement, these parents were aware of possible gaps and strove to close these gaps to help their children. / text

The purpose of my study was to explore the experiences of senior island high school students and their participation in extracurricular activities. I investigated a rural island high school, located on the west coast of Canada, by conducting interviews of senior high school students to reveal their experiences with extracurricular activities available at the school. Using a qualitative case-study design, I provide recommendations for improving access to extracurricular activities. My results support literature finding that voluntary participation in extracurricular activities positively affects student academic standing, and that recognized school excellence improves student culture. I also found that organizational efforts and transparency in programming are needed to entice nonparticipants to become involved. Through comparative reflective analysis, I determined that word-of-mouth was a primary source of extracurricular promotion; however, this was found to create tiers of social groups, which in turn prevented access to the extracurriculum. Participants also indicated that a longer timetabled school day was a barrier to participation, and that active community volunteering efforts in the operation and offering of extracurricular activities were limited. My research is aimed at enabling educational practitioners to improve access to extracurricular activities in an island high school environment. / Graduate

The thesis deals with science education and integrating field trip in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The theoretical part summarizes available information about science education and integrating field trip in the classroom, theoretical information for creation of a questionnaire and a website. The practical part analyzes results of the survey. The main result is that half of the teachers know their neighbourhood with regard to realize field trip. However they find obstacles in realization, such as price, time- consumption, knowledge of locations, students' interest, demanding organization etc. A website was created using feedback from the questionnaire as described in the next part of thesis. It contains description of locations suitable for field trip in chemistry education. The website is designed to remove at least some of the obstacles.

Little is known about the mechanisms by which extracurricular participation in high school influences educational attainment in young adulthood. Also limited is an understanding of the different types of extracurricular participation and how various activities may manifest within the relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine the link between high school extracurricular participation and educational attainment, with social capital, parental expectations, and academic achievement presented as mediators. Additionally, the present study will explore socioeconomic differences in the proposed relationships. The sample consisted of 5,239 ninth through twelfth graders from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multiple-group SEM were used to test pathways. Extracurricular participation was categorized into sports participation, non-sport participation, mixed participation (including both sport and non-sport), and no participation. Social capital, a latent factor, was measured by the latent variables of family and school capital. Various indicators of family closeness and inclusion of school culture from survey items operationalize social capital. Parental expectations, another latent factor, was measured by one survey indicator using the question of how disappointed would your resident father and mother be if you did not graduate from college. Academic achievement was measured by grade point average and calculated by the average of self-reported grades in four subjects: English, math, social studies, and science. Educational level attained used seven levels ranging from less than 8th grade to beyond a Bachelor degree. Gender, race, and parent education were also included as covariates. Social capital, parental expectations, and high school academic achievement were all shown to be mediators between high school extracurricular participation and educational attainment. However, social capital's impact on educational attainment was indirect through GPA rather than direct. Sport showed better capacity to strengthen social capital than non-sport. However, non-sport participants achieved higher high school GPA than sport participants. On average, students involved in both sport and non-sport activities had more positive effects on all model variables than students involved in sports only. Results for socioeconomic comparison showed some evidence for the benefit of sport participation directly on educational level for low-income students. Practically speaking, the conclusion of the study is that students need to participate in a combination of activities that include both sport and non-sport to improve their chances of educational attainment.

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The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between extracurricular activity participation and concurrent and longitudinal youth academic and psychosocial development in academically gifted youth. Extracurricular activity participation as a potential protective factor against the negative effects of life events, and the theoretical role of personality/activity fit as a determinant of positive developmental benefits in youth were also explored in this study. Secondary data analysis was conducted using data provided by two cohorts of middle school youth from a public magnet school in Philadelphia. After controlling for sociodemographic selection factors, Study 1 revealed that music was the only type of activity that was related to academic achievement. Time spent in music significantly contributed to predicting performance on reading, language, math and science standardized exams. Sport made significant negative contributions to predicting reading and language exam scores. These findings were limited by a ceiling effect caused by high mean scores on grade point average and standardized exams. Sport/dance was the only activity associated with well-being, significantly contributing to the prediction of positive affect. The results also revealed nonlinear associations between time spent in activities and standardized math scores, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and grit. The results of Study 2 revealed support for the protective role of activity participation on the negative academic and psychosocial impact of life events stress, which was a significant predictor of poorer adolescent outcomes across all of the domains. Accounting for the impact of life events, music positively predicted academic outcomes, and sport/dance positively predicted higher life satisfaction, positive affect, and self-esteem, and lower levels of negative affect. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed that youth participated in activities that appeared to be compatible with personality characteristics. For example, sport was associated with higher extraversion and music with higher openness to experience. / Kinesiology