Extracurricular School Activities: The Good, the Bad, and the Nonlinear

In this article, Herbert W. Marsh and Sabina Kleitman examine the effects of participation in extracurricular school activities (ESAs) on grade-twelve and postsecondary outcomes (e.g., school grades, coursework selection, homework, educational and occupational aspirations, self-esteem, freedom from substance abuse, number of university applications, subsequent college enrollment, and highest educational level). Their analyses are grounded in three theoretical models: the threshold model, the identification/commitment model, and the social inequality gap reduction model. They find that, consistent with the threshold model predictions, there were some small nonlinear ESA effects — monotonic increases over most of the ESA range, but diminishing returns for extremely high levels of ESA. Consistent with identification/commitment model predictions, school-based ESAs were more beneficial than out-of-school activities, and the most beneficial ESAs included both nonacademic (sports, student government, school publ...

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