We investigated the effect of participating in two domains of extracurricular activities (sports and performance arts/clubs) in Grades 7 and 8 on Grade 9 academic motivation and letter grades, above baseline performance. Participants were 483 students (55% male; 33% Euro-American, 25% African American, and 39% Latino). Propensity score weighting controlled for potential confounders in all analyses. Delayed (Grade 8 only) and continuous participation (Grades 7 and 8) in sports predicted competence beliefs and valuing education; delayed and continuous participation in performance arts/clubs predicted teacher-rated engagement and letter grades. Benefits of participation were similar across gender and ethnicity; however, Latino youth were least likely to participate in extracurricular activities. Implications for reducing ethnic and income disparities in educational attainment are discussed.
AlexanderK. L.EntwisleD. R.KabbaniN. S. (2001). The dropout process in life course perspective: Early risk factors at home and school. Teachers College Record, 103, 760–822. doi:10.1111/0161-4681.00134
BlomfieldC.BarberB. (2010). Australian adolescents’ extracurricular activity participation and positive development: Is the relationship mediated by peer attributes?Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 10, 114–128.
4.
BohnertA.FredricksJ.RandallE. (2010). Capturing unique dimensions of youth organized activity involvement: Theoretical and methodological considerations. Review of Educational Research, 80, 576–610. doi:10.3102/00346543533
5.
BreimanL. (2001). Random forests. Machine Learning, 45, 5–32. doi:10.1023/A:1010933404324.
6.
BrohB. A. (2002). Linking extracurricular programming to academic achievement: Who benefits and why?Sociology of Education, 75, 69–91.
7.
BronfenbrennerU.MorrisP. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In BronsonM. B. (Ed.), Self-regulation in early childhood: Nature and nurture (pp. 793–828). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
8.
BrownB. B.LarsonJ. (2009). Contextual influences on adolescent development. In LernerR. M.SteinbergL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 74–103). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
9.
ChamH.WestS. G.HughesJ. N.ImM. (2015). Effect of retention in elementary grades on grade 9 motivation for educational attainment. Journal of School Psychology, 53, 7–24.
10.
DenaultA.PoulinF. (2009a). Intensity and breadth of participation in organized activities during the adolescent years: Multiple associations with youth outcomes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 1199–1213. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9437-5
11.
DenaultA.PoulinF. (2009b). Predictors of adolescent participation in organized activities: A five-year longitudinal study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 19, 287–311. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00597.x
12.
DenaultA.PoulinF.PedersenS. (2009). Intensity of participation in organized youth activities during the high school years: Longitudinal associations with adjustment. Applied Developmental Science, 13, 74–87. doi:10.1080/10888690902801459
13.
DoneganB. (2008). The linchpin year. Educational Leadership, 65, 54–57. doi:10.1177/1555458908317893
14.
DunnJ. S.KinneyD. A.HofferthS. L. (2003). Parental ideologies and children’s afterschool activities. American Behavioral Scientist, 46, 1359–1386. doi:10.1177/0002764203046010006
15.
EcclesJ. S.BarberB. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters?Journal of Adolescent Research, 14, 10–43. doi:10.1177/0743558499141003
16.
EcclesJ. S.RoeserR. W. (2009). Schools, academic motivation, and stage-environment fit. In LernerR. M.SteinbergL. (Eds.) Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., pp. 404–434). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
17.
EcclesJ. S.WigfieldA.MidgleyC.ReumanD. (1993). Negative effects of traditional middle schools on students’ motivation. Elementary School Journal, 93, 553–574. doi:10.1086/461740
18.
FarbA. F.MatjaskoJ. L. (2012). Recent advances in research on school-based extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Developmental Review, 32, 1–48. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2011.10.001
19.
FeldmanA. F.MatjaskoJ. L. (2005). The role of school-based extracurricular activities in adolescent development: A comprehensive review and future directions. Review of Educational Research, 75, 159–210. doi:10.3102/00346543075002159
20.
FeldmanA. F.MatjaskoJ. L. (2007). Profiles and portfolios of adolescent school-based extracurricular activity participation. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 313–332. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.03.004
21.
FredricksJ. A.EcclesJ. S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Developmental Psychology, 42, 698–713. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.698
22.
FredricksJ. A.EcclesJ. S. (2008). Participation in extracurricular activities in the middle school years: Are there developmental benefits for African American and European American youth?Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 1029–1043. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9309-4
23.
FredricksJ. A.SimpkinsS. D. (2012). Promoting positive youth development through organized after-school activities: Taking a closer look at participation of ethnic minority youth. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 280–287. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00206.x
24.
FredricksJ. A.SimpkinsS. D. (2013). Organized out-of-school activities and peer relationships: Theoretical perspectives and previous research. In FredricksJ. A.SimpkinsS. D. (Eds.), Organized Out-of-School Activities: Settings for Peer Relationships. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 140, 1–17.
25.
GardnerM.RothJ.Brooks-GunnJ. (2008). Adolescents’ participation in organized activities and developmental success 2 and 8 years after high school: Do sponsorship, duration, and intensity matter?Developmental Psychology, 44, 811–830. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.814
26.
GarnerJ. F. (2013). A phenomenology of nonparticipation in extracurricular activities by Hispanic middle school students. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. Order No. AAI3516819
27.
GuestA. M.McReeN. (2008). A school-level analysis of adolescent extracurricular activity, delinquency, and depression: The importance of situational context. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 51–62. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9279-6
28.
HiranoK.ImbensG. W.RidderG. (2003). Efficient estimation of average treatment effects using the estimated propensity score. Econometrica, 71, 1161–1189. doi:10.1111/1468-0262.00442
29.
HoD. E.ImaiK.KingG.StuartE. A. (2007). Matching as nonparametric preprocessing for reducing model dependence in parametric causal inference. Political Analysis, 15, 199–236. doi:10.1093/pan/mpl013
30.
HughesJ. N.LuoW.KwokO.LoydL. (2008). Teacher-student support, effortful engagement, and achievement: A three year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 1–14. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.1
31.
HullP.KilbourneB.ReeceM.HusainiB. (2008). Community involvement and adolescent mental health: Moderating effects of race/ethnicity and neighborhood disadvantage. Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 534–551. doi:10.1002/jcop.20253
32.
JanoszM.ArchambaultI.MorizotJ.PaganiL. S. (2008). School engagement trajectories and their differential predictive relations to dropout. Journal of Social Issues, 64, 21–40. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00546.x
33.
KnifsendC. A.JuvonenJ. (2014). Social identity complexity, cross-ethnic friendships, and intergroup attitudes in urban middle school. Child Development, 85, 709–721. doi:10.1111/cdev.12157
34.
LarsonR. W.HansenD. M.MonetaG. (2006). Differing profiles of developmental experiences across types of organized youth activities. Developmental Psychology, 42, 849–863. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.849
35.
LeeB. K.LesslerJ.StuartE. A. (2010). Improving propensity score weighting using machine learning. Statistics in Medicine, 29, 337–346. doi:10.1002/sim.3782
36.
LegaultL.Green-DemersI.PelletierL. G. (2006). Why do high school students lack motivation in the classroom? Toward an understanding of academic amotivation and the role of social support. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 567–582. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.98.3.567
MahoneyJ. L.CairnsR. B. (1997). Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout?Developmental Psychology, 33, 241–253. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.33.2.241
39.
MarshH. W.KleitmanS. (2002). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 464–514. doi:10.17763/haer.72.4.051388703v7v7736
40.
MuthénL. K.MuthénB. O. (1998–2014). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
PegueroA. A. (2010). A profile of Latino school-based extracurricular activity involvement. Journal of Latinos and Education, 9, 60–71. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348430903253076
43.
ReamR. K.RumbergerR. W. (2008). Student engagement, peer social capital, and school dropout among Mexican American and non-Latino White students. Sociology of Education, 81, 109–139. doi:10.1177/003804070808100201
44.
RosenbaumP. R.RubinD. B. (1984). Reducing bias in observational studies using subclassification on the propensity score. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 79(387), 516–524. doi:10.1080/01621459.1984.10478078
45.
RubinD. B. (2001). Using propensity scores to help design observational studies: application to the tobacco litigation. Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology, 2, 169–188. doi:10.1023/A:1020363010465
46.
SchaferJ. L.KangJ. (2008). Average causal effects from nonrandomized studies: A practical guide and simulated example. Psychological Methods, 13, 279–313. doi:10.1037/a0014268
47.
ShadishW. R.CookT. D.CampbellD. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin.
48.
ShannonC. S. (2006). Parents’ messages about the role of extracurricular and unstructured leisure activities: Adolescent’ perceptions. Journal of Leisure Research, 38, 398–420.
49.
SimpkinsS. D.O’DonnellM.DelgadoM. Y.BecnelJ. N. (2011). Latino adolescents’ participation in extracurricular activities: How important are family resources and cultural orientation?Applied Developmental Science, 15, 37–50. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2011.538618
50.
SimpkinsS. D.VestA. E.DelgadoM. Y.PriceC. D. (2012). Do school friends participate in similar extracurricular activities?: Examining the moderating role of race/ethnicity and age. Journal of Leisure Research, 44, 332–352.
51.
SkinnerE. A.Zimmer-GembeckM. J.ConnellJ. P. (1998). Individual differences and the development of perceived control. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 63, 1–231. doi:10.2307/1166220
52.
SonnenscheinS.StapletonL. M.BensonA. (2010). The relation between the type and amount of instruction and growth in children’s reading competencies. American Educational Research Journal, 47, 358–389. doi:10.3102/0002831209349215
53.
StroblC.BoulesteixA. L.KneibT.AugustinT.ZeileisA. (2008). Conditional variable importance for random forests. BMC Bioinformatics, 9. doi:10.1186/1471-2105-9-307
54.
StuartE. A. (2010). Matching methods for causal inference: A review and a look forward. Statistical Science, 25, 1–21. doi:10.1214/09-STS313
55.
ToweC. R. (2012). Hispanic students’ connection to school: The relation between extracurricular participation and grade point average. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 3709.
56.
VillarrealV. (2013). Characteristics and consequences of extracurricular activity participation of Hispanic middle school students. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. (Order No. AAI3532241)
57.
WestS. G.ChamH.ThoemmesF.RennebergB.SchulzeJ.WeilerM. (2014). Propensity scores as a basis for equating groups: Basic principles and application in clinical treatment outcome research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82, 906–919. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036387
58.
WestS. G.FinchJ. F.CurranP. J. (1995). Structural equation models with nonnormal variables: Problems and remedies. In HoyleR. H. (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 56–75). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
59.
WigfieldA.CambriaJ.EcclesJ. S. (2012). Motivation in education. In RyanR. M. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 463–478). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
60.
WigfieldA.EcclesJ. S.YoonK. S.HaroldR. D.ArbretonA. J. A.Freedman-DoanC.BlumenfeldP. C. (1997). Change in children’s competence beliefs and subjective task values across the elementary school years: A 3-year study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 451–469. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.451
61.
WoodcockR. W.McGrewK. SMatherN. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III tests of achievement. Riverside, CA: Riverside Publishing.
62.
WoodcockR. W.Muñoz-SandovalA. F. (1993). Woodcock-Muñoz language survey, Spanish form. Riverside, CA: Riverside Publishing.
