Champions Inside and Outside the Classroom: Analyzing extracurricular activities, academic self- efficacy, & academic achievement. Shults, L. S., Gibson, B. W., Jackson, H. M., Fox, R. T.,& Dula, C. S. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY East Tennessee State University Johnson City, Tennessee INTRODUCTION For more information, contact: Scott Shults at or Chris S. Dula at Broh, B. A. (2002). Linking extracurricular programming to academic achievement: Who benefits and why? Sociology of Education, 75(1), Brown, R. B. (2008). An examination of the relationship between participation in school-sponsored extracurricular activities and student achievement. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 69(5-A), Carns, A. W., Carns, M. R., Wooten, H. R., Jones, L., et al. (1995). Extracurricular activities: Are they beneficial? TCA Journal, 23(2), Dole, S. (2000). The impliciations of the risk and resilience literature for gifted students with learning disabilities. Roeper Review, 23(2), Eccles, J. S., Barber, B. L., Stone, M., & Hunt, J. (2003). Extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Journal of Social Issues, 59(4), McNeal, R. B. (1995). Extracurricular activities and high school dropouts. Sociology of Education, 68(1), Pajares, F. (1997). Current directions in self-efficacy research. Advances in Motivation and Achievement, 10, Wood, R. E., & Locke, E. A. (1987). The relation of self-efficacy and grade goals to academic performance. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 47(4), Zaff, J. F., Moore, K. A., Papillo, A. R., & Williams, S. (2003). Implications of extracurricular activity participation during adolescence on positive outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(6), REFERENCES METHOD RESULTS Multiple extracurricular activities are available and encouraged for students in today’s schools. How these activities affect grades and an individuals perceived ability to attain these grades remains unclear. With such an interest in activities outside the class room, it is important to examine these activities further. While it could be argued that time spent in extracurricular activities result in a decrease in time available for schoolwork and thus a decrease in grades, previous literature has found that extracurricular activities can help develop self-esteem, social ties among students, teachers, and parents, and positive educational trajectories as well as low rates of involvement in risky behaviors (Broh, 2002; Dole, 2000; Carns, Carns, Wooten, Jones, et al., 1995). Numerous studies have shown that participation in extracurricular activities results in improved Math and English scores, higher GPA, higher college attendance and college graduation rates, lower rate of dropping out of high school, and prosocial behaviors (Beckett, 2002; Eccles, Barber, Stone, & Hunt, 2003; McNeal, 1995; Zaff, Moore, Papillo, & Williams, 2003). Possible themes that surface from interviews of coaches/sponsors of extracurricular activities include enthusiasm, attendance, discipline, and the teaching of valuable life lessons (Brown, 2008). Research has shown that efficacy beliefs influence effort, persistence, and perseverance, and have a significant relationship to academic performance (Parajes, 1997; Wood, 1995). The objective of the current study was to assess the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities, level of academic self-efficacy, and academic achievement. DISCUSSION Results showed a significant positive relationship for extracurricular activities and GPA, supporting H1.Academic self-efficacy and GPA were strongly correlated supporting H2.Academic self-efficacy and extracurricular activities were significantly correlated, supporting H3. Results were consistent with previous research demonstrating a strong positive relationship between extracurricular activities and GPA. The positive relationship between extracurricular activities and GPA demonstrates that this is not a matter of time management. The positive skills obtained for these activities, including discipline, hard work, and persistence in the face of new challenges, may also have an effect on academic performance. Past literature suggests efficacy mediates the effect of academic skills on achievement. Results suggest that confidence in ones academic ability influences academic achievement. Even though there was a significant relationship observed with extracurricular activities and academic self-efficacy, the effect was relatively small. Though each influence GPA, it appears that the effect of each is fairly distinct. Examining specific extracurricular activities indicates a relatively wide range of academic achievement associated with each activity. Future research may further examine each of these categories. Limitations Sample consisted of middle school aged students from a specific rural geographic region. Thus, results may not fully generalize to students of other ages or from other areas of the country. The data were collected from the survey using self-report measures, thus limiting validity due to common factors such as social desirability and context dependency. The items used to measure academic self-efficacy did not come from an established measure of the construct. Instead, these items were generated to act as broad survey questions to analyze trends. Implications Extra curricular activities play a building role for perceived academic efficacy and academic achievement for participants. These results suggest that you can help guide academic achievement by encouraging certain extracurricular activities. This information is important for parents and their individual concerns for activities to encourage for their children. With future research more can be inferred on this matter. Future Research Future research can use more valid and established measures to further explore the traits being examined based on preliminary findings from this study. Other factors that relate to extracurricular activities and academic self-efficacy could be investigated to better understand the relationships that these variables have with academic achievement, such as problem solving, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and logical reasoning. Note. * p<.01, **p<.001 A Pearson’s correlation was calculated to assess the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities, academic self-efficacy, and academic achievement. A significant relationship was observed between extracurricular activities and academic achievement (r =.350, p <.01). Results indicate a significant positive relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic achievement (r =.301, p <.01) There was a positive relationship between participation in extracurricular activities and level of academic self-efficacy (r =.133, p <.01). Participants Participants included 499 8th and 9th grade students from rural middle schools in the Southeastern United States. A total of 250 were male (50.1%) and 249 were female (49.9%). A total of 232 (46.5%) were from the 8th grade, 267 (53.5%) were from the 9th grade. Procedure One week prior to data collection, student’s parents were given a packet containing information about the study and an opt-out consent form. Students who did not have opt-out forms sent back to the school by their parents/guardians were allowed to participate after gaining their assent; participation was voluntary and could be stopped any time. Participants were excused from one class period and asked to participate in a brief survey. Grades were attained directly from the schools’ offices with consent of parents and assent of students. Measures Academic Self-Efficacy: multiple items were used to measure academic self-efficacy, such as “I can do well in Math,” “I know I can do very well in school if I want to,” anchored by “Strongly Agree” and “Strongly Disagree.” Students were asked to report the total number of extracurricular activities that they participate in (i. e. sports teams/cheerleading, chorus or band, dancing/gymnastics, school clubs, boy scouts or girl scouts, and tutoring). HYPOTHESES H1: Participation in extracurricular activities will have a significant positive relationship with academic achievement. H2: Levels of self-efficacy will have a positive relationship with academic achievement. H3: Participation in extracurricular activities will have a significant positive relationship with levels of self-efficacy. Extracurricular Activities Academic Self-EfficacyGPA Extracurricular Activities 1.133**.350** Academic Self-Efficacy.133**1.301** GPA.350**.301**1 Note. **p <.001