“Creating capital”: the impact of sustained engagement with extracurricular activities on access students’ experience of university.

Holistic student development encompasses not only academic learning but also the development of skills such as problem solving and analysis while simultaneously recognising moral and emotional growth. Earlier research focused on the benefits of engagement with extracurricular activities and the broader non-formal curriculum in university settings. Studies concerned with the involvement of widening participation groups in extracurricular activities (ECAs) expressed concern that these groups do not enjoy equal access to extracurricular activities. Consequently, they may not be able to avail of vital social interaction, which can provide opportunities for accumulating social and cultural capital. To investigate this the researcher adopted a qualitative case study approach to gather data from nine graduates of the Dublin City University (DCU) Access programme. These graduates have come through a period of intensive, high-quality engagement with ECAs as validated and certified by the DCU Uaneen Module examination process. Semi-structured interviews, as well as archival record and documentation, generated valuable insights into the experience of access students in a university setting and the creation of capital through their involvement with the learning milieu outside the classroom. The data were coded and queried using NVivo software and organised using thematic analysis. Interviews with the directors of two university access programmes provided further insights and observations. The findings are presented in a case study report with supporting evidence. The results suggest that the graduates did benefit, both personally and professionally, through their engagement and are in a position to recognise and appreciate this. Several recommendations are made which are intended to create an environment, which encourages and facilitates students who enter through the access programmes to fully and meaningfully engage with extracurricular activities thereby promoting the creation of capital and other beneficial personal and professional outcomes