School completion, though an ambition pursued by many, is not a feat achieved by everyone. Successfully completing high school is often hindered by a loss of motivation during the transition to middle school and encouraged by compulsory school attendance laws. Exploring ways in which society could facilitate a student’s academic success and discourage dropouts has been a subject of many research papers, a few of which would be discussed in this literature review. In light of the research, one could argue that extracurricular activity (EA) participation indirectly decreases dropout rates among high school students by increasing their motivation to succeed academically and by promoting their sense of belonging in their school.
Research studies claim that there is no direct link between EA participation and school completion. However, because EA participation grants students the opportunity to develop the motivation and attachment necessary to refrain from dropping out, one should not immediately dismiss EA’s utility. Finn and Rock’s study, for instance, argues that though EA participation is not directly linked to school completion, its ability to encourage students to actively engage in school could motivate school completion (1997), thus discouraging any decision to drop out. Additionally, Ficher and Theis reason that EA’s ability to exert an influence on academic achievement is contingent on a student’s perception of school quality and their sense of attachment to the school. According to them, social support not only functions as a moderator between EA participation and school attachment but it also moderates the relationship between EA participation and learning goal orientation (defined by the study as a student’s attitude toward the process of learning or simply the student’s motivation to succeed academically) (2014). Though there may be no direct link between EA participation and dropout rates, schools must be receptive to the possibility that by promoting school engagement and attachment through EA participation, they could indirectly discourage students from dropping out.
Upon reading the literature examining how extracurricular activities could prevent dropout rates, one may recognize motivation as a reoccurring. During their analysis, researchers would either acknowledge the student’s loss of motivation as they progress through adolescence or high school (Fredricks & Eccles, 2008) or integrate it into their methodology as a similar variable like learning goal orientation (Fischer & Theis, 2014). The significant role of motivation could be further illustrated by Knifsend and Grahm’s work that acknowledged that a student’s sense of belonging is related to both their motivation and performance in school. Their study suggests that if schools were able to promote motivation by manipulating a student’s sense of belonging, schools could integrate extracurricular activities to discourage students from dropping out (2012). Though EA does not exert any direct influence on dropout rates, research suggests that because it facilitates the development of motivation, it could be a means to which schools could promote their student’s academic success which in turn could discourage dropouts.
A majority of the literature also agree that a student’s sense of belonging could exert a significant influence on a student’s academic success. As previously alluded to through Knifsend and Grahm’s work, if schools intend to diminish dropout rates, they must consider EA participation’s potential to promote a student’s sense of belonging which could influence a student’s decision to remain in school (2012). Another study suggests that in order to encourage students to develop the aspiration they need to succeed academically (consequentially reducing dropout rates) schools must aim to establish a school climate that is structured to promote, among other things, a sense of belonging (Plucker, 1998). In a similar vein, schools with high-quality social support in the activities could encourage students to develop the positive attachments they need to keep them from dropping out of school which indirectly affects achievement (Fischer & Theis, 2014). Mahoney and Cairn argument that at-risk students would benefit most from extracurricular participation due to having less positive incentives to keep them in school emphasizes the importance building attachments could be in dissuading students from dropping out (1997). Their research suggests that by participating in EA, students could develop a sense of belonging that encourages them to remain in school. A different study emphasizes the significant role a sense of belonging plays in keeping students engaged in school (Gillen-O'Neel & Fuligni, 2013); using their data, one may reasonably argue that schools could hamper dropout rates by providing students with a means to build connections. The positive connections, attachments and social support afforded by participating in extracurricular activities must be taken into consideration if schools intend to discourage further dropouts from occurring.
An immediate concern of exploring the relationship between extracurricular activities and school dropout rates is the possibility that students who choose to participate in any EA could be qualitatively different from those who don’t. In the interest of maximizing validity, researchers use different methods to control for each student’s unique characteristics. For instance, in order to avoid the possibility of the connections between the student’s quality ratings and motivation development from being confounded with the student’s characteristics, Fischer and Theis assesses the quality of the activity at the school (and not individual) level l (2014). Future research should also consider establishing a control and treatment group to acquire a more comprehensive view on the relationship between EA participation and dropout rates that is not limited to students who, because they had chosen to participate in EA, could be qualitatively different from non-EA students. Though there are multiple studies that explore the ways in which schools could discourage students from dropping out through the indirect influence of EA, researchers must be conscientious of the validity of their findings.
Upon reviewing the literature, integrating extracurricular could be a rational decision made by schools in response to the need to reduce dropout rates. However, as the literature would contend, simply participating in extracurricular activities is not enough. Fischer and Theis, for instance, observed that in order to effectively encourage the development of attachment and learning goal orientation (motivation), the EA has to be challenging (2014). Mahoney and Cairn’s assertion that EA participation is negatively related to early school dropout among at-risk students for both males and females (1997) suggests that the number of extracurricular activities must also be taken into consideration. Furthermore, Knifsend and Graham would agree that the number of extracurricular activities matter; through their study, they contend that students are more likely to benefit from participating in a moderate amount of extracurricular participation than they would if they were to participate in an amount that is significantly greater or less (2012). Future studies should also consider whether the frequency of participation matters. Although the integration of extracurricular activities could yield benefits conducive to the student’s decision to not drop out, researchers and schools alike must be mindful that simply participating in extracurricular activities is not enough.
Different research studies affirm that extracurricular activity participation indirectly decreases dropout rates among high school students by increasing their motivation to succeed academically and by promoting their sense of belonging in their school. In hopes of reducing dropout rates, schools should consider integrating a variety of challenging extracurricular activities that provide them with an engaging opportunity to develop not only the motivation to succeed academically but also the sense of belonging that could keep them in school. In order to maximize the effects EA participation could have on student outcomes, future studies should explore what features of EA makes it so conducive to the student’s development and consider how different populations, such as students who are at risk, respond to EA participation.