THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION, GENDER AND STUDENT OUTCOMES

Abstract

Extracurricular activity participation is often recommended by parents and educators because of its link to tangible benefits in the form of better academic and labour market outcomes. However, the distribution of effects across genders and activity types is not well established. This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to analyze the possible gender-differentiated effects of participation in various types of extracurricular activities. Findings suggest that the gains from participation differ substantially based on the choice of activity, with non-sports participants showing the greatest gains to academic outcomes and sports participants showing the greatest gains to labour market outcomes. In addition, a participant’s gender has significant impacts on the academic and labour market gains from participation in any activity. For instance, male participants in non-academic clubs are associated with the smallest benefit relative to their female counterparts in terms of GPA. These findings could affect an individual’s choice of extracurricular activity as well as the way activities are run in schools.