Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Article
Patrick Buckley
University of Limerick, Republic of Ireland
Paul Lee
University of Limerick, Republic of Ireland
Abstract
Extra-curricular activities including clubs, fraternities and societies have been part of the fabric of higher level
institutions since their origin. A significant body of educational research has investigated the impact of these
activities on academic performance and the acquisition of discipline complementary skills and competencies.
In the modern context, driven by forces such as marketization and massification, higher level educational
institutions find themselves competing to attract students on the basis of the lived student experience. In
this article, a large qualitative survey is used to capture data on the impact of extra-curricular activity on the
lived student experience. In addition to supporting existing theories on the academic and skills acquisition
effect of extra-curricular activities, the article contributes by identifying a wide range of additionalities to the
student experience that participants attribute to their participation in extra-curricular activities.
Keywords
education, employability, extra-curricular activity, skills development, student experience
Corresponding author:
Patrick Buckley, Department of Management and Marketing, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Limerick,
Republic of Ireland.
Email: Patrick.Buckley@ul.ie
support from the state, institutions are moving towards a model that conceptualizes students as
consumers (Harrison and Risler, 2015). Governments and students demand that universities focus
on employability so that investment in tuition can be quickly repaid by gainful employment (Elwick
and Cannizzaro, 2017).
Taken together, these trends present significant challenges to traditionally structured
institutions. Larger cohorts of students mean fewer supports for students and difficult transitions
from earlier education. They can lead to negative effects at both the individual (alienation, lack of
motivation, lack of social engagement) and institutional level (high drop-out rates). The focus on
economic outcomes mandates that institutions be responsive in providing students with the skills
that are demanded by future employers. Institutions seek to build positive relationships with
alumni, in the hope of future donations, but also to receive other benefits such as institutional
advocacy, participation in institutional governance and acting as an institutional ambassador
(Gallo, 2012). Numerous studies have found that the student experience and the sense of belonging
generated by that experience have a significant impact upon the altruistic behaviour of alumni
(Iskhakova et al., 2017; McAlexander et al., 2005).
There is a long tradition of extra-curricular activities in higher level institutions (Sequeira and
Daly, 2012). Extra-curricular activities are ‘non-academic activities that are conducted under the
auspices of the school but occur outside of normal classroom time and are not part of the
curriculum’ (Bartkus et al., 2012: 698). Student societies, ranging from cultural and social
organizations (including fraternities and sororities) to student publications and athletic groups,
provide an enormous range of extra-curricular activities (Bartkus et al., 2012). However, as extra-
curricular activities generally do not involve a grade or academic credit, and participation is
optional and voluntary for the student, their wider contribution to the academy and society is
difficult to quantify (Seow and Pan, 2014). Most of the research exploring extra-curricular activities
has done so from a utilitarian perspective, relating extra-curricular activities to educational
outcomes for the students involved. Within this, two coherent research agendas can be identified.
The first investigates the direct effect of participation in extra-curricular activities on academic
performance. The second looks beyond outcomes directly tied to college curricula and investigates
how extra-curricular activities support the acquisition and development of so-called ‘soft’ skills
such as interpersonal skills, project and time-management and motivation management skills.
Academic performance
Education is seen as being a public good, with an educated citizenry seen as being beneficial at the
individual, public and community level (East et al., 2014). This perspective creates an imperative
for higher education institutions to help students to learn, with modern universities generally seen
as having three main missions: teaching, research and public service. This mandate creates a need
to measure educational quality and outcomes, a continuing and highly contested challenge at both
philosophical and practical levels (Noaman et al., 2017). This debate notwithstanding, academic
performance as measured by the achievement of grades and a final degree award are a major
concern of stakeholders such as students and parents. Its importance is illustrated by the volume of
work which investigates the impact of extra-curricular activities on academic performance.
Buckley and Lee 39
The literature suggests three main models which explain the impact of participation in
extracurricular activities on students’ academic performance (Seow and Pan, 2014). Arguably the
earliest model, the Zero-Sum model, views the resources a student uses to engage in academic
study, such as time, engagement, cognitive capacity and so on, as limited, finite resources
(Torenbeek et al., 2010). From the perspective of the Zero-Sum model, a student who spends time
or other resources on extra-curricular activities is allocating their resources sub-optimally in terms
of academic achievement. Put simply, the time devoted to extra-curricular activities is at the
expense of academic study. This model motivated academic policies such as the 2.0 Rule in the
United States, which mandated that students must maintain a grade average higher than a particular
norm before being allowed to participate in extra-curricular activities (Seow and Pan, 2014).
The Zero-Sum framework has been largely superseded in the literature by what Seow and Pan
(2014) refer to as the Development model. This model suggests that extra-curricular activities have
a positive, though indirect effect on academic performance because of the non-academic and social
benefits of participation. Turning first to the non-academic effects of participation in extra-
curricular activities, many suggest that participants develop a wide range of competencies that
support academic achievement such as time-management, personal organization and team-work
(Larson et al., 2006). Also noted are personal development effects such as increased resilience
(Thompson et al., 2013). Numerous social effects that have a positive effect on academic
achievement have been proposed. It is suggested that participants in extra-curricular activities build
social capital and social networks which promote discipline and conformance to institutional norms
and expectations (Stuart et al., 2011). Students with a strong social connection to their educational
institution built by extra-curricular activities are likely to be more motivated and have improved
academic performance (Osterman, 2000). Chan (2016) suggests that extra-curricular activities
should strengthen mental health, promote engagement and improve academic performance.
The third theoretical model in the literature is the Threshold model. This model extends the
development framework by suggesting that extra-curricular activities have a positive effect on
academic performance up to a certain point but contends that beyond a certain point excessive
participation can become detrimental to achievement if the time investment becomes so great that
it displaces academically focused activities (Seow and Pan, 2014). It is also important to note that
most studies which demonstrate the Threshold model include activities such as part-time jobs or
caring for relatives which can add significant time and emotional burden to the participants in such
studies.
Methodology
This research is largely exploratory in nature. In this context, a grounded theory study capturing
qualitative data was the most appropriate research method. A free-form survey asking three
openended questions was created. Participants were asked what they liked about participation in
extracurricular activities, what they disliked about participation and what being involved in extra-
curricular activities meant to them on a personal level. Participants were asked to provide open-
ended, unstructured, textual answers. The questionnaire was distributed electronically to 5078
participants active in extra-curricular activities in a higher level institution in the Republic of
Ireland, representing approximately 37.6% of the total student population in the institution. A total
of 849 valid surveys were returned, a response rate of 16.7%. The data were collected in 2017.
In all, 52.9% of the respondents were female, with the balance of 47.1% identifying as male. As
one would expect from a survey of college/university age students, the age of the majority of the
respondents clustered between 18 and 23 (18 years old = 10%, 19 years old = 20.8%, 20 years old
= 17.9%, 21 years old = 15.7%, 22 years old = 11.7%, 23 years old = 4.65). A total of 13.7% of
respondents were between 24 and 30 years old while 5.7% of respondents were over the age of 30.
In all, 74.9% of respondents were undergraduate students. 9.9% were postgraduate students, while
15.2% were Erasmus or international students studying in the university temporarily. Further
breakdown of the undergraduate population shows that 41.6% of respondents were in the first year
of their studies, 25.4% of respondents were in their second year, 18.1% were in their third year and
14.9% were in their fourth year.
The analysis was performed in two phases. The first phase was coding the data which involved
three steps, an initial coding stage, an aggregation stage and a final review stage. In the first step,
the questionnaire responses were read sequentially. Any benefits or drawbacks associated with
extra-curricular activities were coded using the respondent’s words. One rater coded the data. A
response could be coded to multiple themes if appropriate. In the aggregation phase, a second
review of the data was conducted, with a view to recoding responses in order to aggregate similar
concepts. The review step consisted of a final pass through the data to verify the coding process
and correct any errors in the preceding phases. After the textual coding was completed, the final
codes were divided into two groups, depending on whether the code referred to a complementary
employability skill or another benefit or positive outcome associated with extracurricular activities.
The second phase of the analysis was quantitative in nature, and consisted of calculating the
percentage of responses which contained each code. This analysis was not intended to be
statistically descriptive of the population. However, the proportion of respondents who mention a
42 Active Learning in Higher Education 22(1)
particular effect has informational value, and this analysis provided a relatively straightforward
metric to indicate the relative occurrence of concepts in the data, in order to aid interpretation of
the data set.
Results
Impact on academic performance
The demands that extra-curricular activities place on participants were clearly recognized by
respondents. Quotes such as extra-curricular activities being ‘very time consuming during the
semester when I should be focusing more on college work’ and ‘it takes up so much time!!!! It is so
easy to get sucked in and then realise all of your other commitments have been neglected!’ were
typical exemplars of the comments offered. In total, 32% of respondents noted time as being a
concern with extra-curricular activities. From the perspective of academic performance and
commitment to studies, respondents clearly noted the tension that can exist between extra-curricular
activities and academic endeavour. Some went so far as to identify extracurricular activities as
being a potential cause of stress. In addition to the magnitude of the time commitment involved,
respondents also noted the challenges that can be presented by scheduling issues.
On the contrary, the analysis does not suggest that this is a problem beyond the ability of
participants to address. There was clear recognition among respondents that this was a challenge,
and most were clear about the trade-offs involved. For example, one respondent commented that
there are ‘many amazing clubs and not enough time to be involved in them all unfortunately’. These
comments are representative of rational engagement with extra-curricular activities and clear
recognition of the need to balance extra-curricular activities with commitments in other life
spheres. A sizable proportion of respondents observed that this tension can be a positive influence
and credited it with helping them to develop skills in time-management and prioritization.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
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Author biographies
Patrick Buckley is a Lecturer in Information Management in the University of Limerick. Patrick’s research
interests include active learning, lifelong learning and the pedagogical use of technology. His work in this
area has been published in journals such as Computers and Education and Interactive Learning Environments.
Address: Department of Management and Marketing, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick,
Republic of Ireland. [email: Patrick.Buckley@ul.ie]
Buckley and Lee 49
Paul Lee has worked for the Students Union in the University of Limerick since 1998 and is currently Head
of Student Engagement. He is responsible for the management and development of student clubs and societies
in the University of Limerick, including the development of administrative systems that cover financial
management, health and safety, insurance and legal considerations. He serves on the University of Limerick
Arena Board of Directors and has served as Chairperson and Executive member of the Board of Irish Colleges
Societies (BICS). Address: University of Limerick, Republic of Ireland. [email: Paul.Lee@ul.ie]