The impact of extra-curricular activity on the student experience

TLDR

Extracurricular activities such as clubs, fraternities, and societies have long been integral to higher education, with research showing they influence academic performance and skill development, and institutions now compete to enhance the student experience. The study uses a large qualitative survey to examine how extracurricular activities affect students’ lived experience. Data were collected via a large qualitative survey of students about their extracurricular participation. The survey confirms the academic and skill benefits of extracurriculars and reveals additional positive impacts on students’ overall experience.

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.