The Academic Impact of Extracurricular Activities on Middle School Students

This research study examined the academic impact of extracurricular activities on middle school students. This study investigated a possible relationship between the amount of hours that students spent participating in extracurricular activities and their academic achievement, as well as the amount of hours that students spent participating in in-school extracurricular activities and their academic achievement. This study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to reach its results. The quantitative data ultimately did not show a statistically significant correlation between the hours that students spent in extracurricular activities in general or in in-school activities and academic achievement. However, there was an upward trend in the data for hours that students spent in extracurricular activities in general and their academic achievement. The qualitative component drew upon the prior research on traits that contribute to the success of middle school students academically, and found a pattern consistent with the evidence of these traits through the results of a survey and interviews. Therefore, the qualitative component showed that through connecting these answers to and relying on the prior research, middle school students most likely benefitted academically from being involved in extracurricular activities, especially in-school activities that met these needs. The researcher also reflected on the study and made several recommendations for future research on the topic, ranging from survey and sampling augmentations to suggestions of sub-topics worthy of further exploration