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.

The primary focus of the current study was to determine if there is a relationship between size of high school and advanced academic achievement as measured by the Virginia Index of Performance while statistically controlling for multiple combinations of the following variables; socioeconomic status, urbanicity of school, per-pupil expenditure, and student-teacher ratio. The combinations of variables used in the current study were determined by knowledge gained in the review of the literature. Level of award on the Virginia Index of Performance, school enrollment, percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch prices, per-pupil expenditures, student-teacher ratios, and school locale were collected for all high schools in Virginia with 9th-12th grade configurations for school years 2006-07 through 2008-09. A sequential multiple regression analysis was conducted using level of Virginia Index of Performance award earned as the dependent variable and school size as the primary predictor variable while statistically controlling for per-pupil expenditure, student-teacher ratio, socioeconomic status, and urbanicity in different combinations. The analyses performed on the collected data revealed that school size, when other variables were accounted for, was not a significant predictor of performance on the Virginia Index of Performance incentive program. When the analyses were performed for Research Question 2, however, socioeconomic status was found to be a significant predictor of performance on the Virginia Index of Performance incentive program. Multiple limitations should be noted when interpreting the results of the analyses. The main limitations to the current study were a restricted population of schools due to confines placed on grade configurations of schools included in the study and the initial criteria of making Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years in order to be eligible to receive an award in the Virginia Index of Performance program. The combination of these restrictions resulted in a large number of schools being excluded from the current study. Due to the range restrictions placed on the studied population, the relationship between size of school and advanced student achievement could be stronger than reported. Future research should include a less restricted population of schools and other measures of advanced student achievement. / Ed. D.