Extracurricular Activities In The Broader Personal Development: Reflections From Youth In Public Secondary Schools

Authors

  • Mathias Mkude Assistant Lecturer, Department of Gender Studies, Tengeru Institute of Community Development, Arusha, Tanzania image/svg+xml
  • Christian Mubofu The Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53724/ambition/v6n4.02

Keywords:

Extracurricular activities, leadership, good academic performance, sexual reproductive health

Abstract

This study examined extracurricular activities in the broader personal development: Reflections from Youth in Public Secondary Schools. Specifically, the study examined the contribution of extracurricular in the areas of leadership, sexual reproductive health, and good academic performance in public secondary schools in Muheza and Korogwe districts in the Tanga region, Tanzania. The study was qualitative which adopted the interpretive paradigm. Data were collected through focused group discussions from 160 secondary school students who experienced extracurricular activities in their school environment. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyze the data collected. The study findings revealed that extracurricular contribute to leadership as it builds youth with leadership skills, teach youth to volunteer, and inform youth that leadership is about having agenda. Additionally,  the study exposed that extra-curricular activities are important in educating the youth on sexual reproductive health as they learn about their bodies,  hygiene at puberty age, being unastonished by the biological changes but also extracurricular help youth to manage risk sexual behavior. With regards to good academic performance, the study revealed that extracurricular are for academic benefits, as it aspires to academic discussion and has minimized students' truancy. The study concludes that Extracurricular influences secondary school youth's development as it exposes them to environments translating into real situations affecting their wellbeing. Through extracurricular students can explore their environment, encouraging innovations and building creativity with very minimal resources.  Additionally, extracurricular activities have proved to have a positive behavior outcomes such as academic performance in the school-age stage and occupational status and income in adulthood. The study suggests that the government should translate extracurricular activities from documents to actions and give equal weight to both classroom and non-classroom activities. The extracurricular activities balance the existing gap between soft and hard skills. That extracurricular helps youth to address challenges they face in their daily life. Extracurricular found to be of interest to students because it all connected to people’s character and it is widely applicable to most areas. While hard skills help an individual to enter a job market, soft skills guarantee job opportunities and further career growth.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Balague, Á, Benítez, E., Albertos, A., & Lara, S. (2020). Not everything helps the same for everyone: relevance of extracurricular activities for academic achievement. Humanity and Social Sciences Communication, 1-8.

Bartkus, K., Nemelka, B., Nemelka, M., & Gardner, P. (2012). Clarifying the Meaning of Extracurricular Activity: A Literature Review of Definitions. American Journal of Business Education, 693-704.

Bonaventure, N., & Marie, M. (2020). Influence of Extracurricular Activities on Students’ Discipline in Twelve Years Basic Education in Rwanda. Stratford Peer Reviewed Journals and Book Publishing, 37-47.

Chaitanya, K. (2018). Soft Skills to Complement Professional Students’ Technical Skills to Enhance their Employability Rate. Language in India, 52-60.

Chengula, M. (2015). The contribution of extracurricular activities in enhancing students' retention in secondary schools: A case of Songea Municipality.Dodoma: University of Dodoma.

Dickinson, J., Griffiths, T.-L., & Bredic, A. (2020). 'It's just another thing to think about: encouraging students' engagement in extracurricular activities. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1-14.

Enachescu, V. (2019). Management of educational potential through extracurricular activities. Review of International Comparative Management, 317 - 322.

Fialkov, C., Haddad, D., Ajibose, A., Le Flufy, C., Ndungu, M., & Kibuga, R. (2021). The impact of Menstrual Hygiene Management and gender on psychosocial outcomes for adolescent girls in Kenya. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 172-184.

Fischer, N., Radisch, F., & Schüpbach, M. (2014). International perspectives on extracurricular activities: Conditions of effects on student development, communities, and schools –Editorial. Journal for Educational Research Online, 5–9.

Fong, B. (2019). Soft Skills in Entrepreneurship and Employment in Tanzania. Cambridge: Cambridge Development Initiative.

Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Mill Valley: Sociology Press.

Godfrey, E., & Grayman, J. (2014). . Teaching citizens: The role of open classroom climate in fostering critical consciousness among the youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1801–1817.

Godswill, J. (2012). Education and Sexuality: Towards Addressing Adolescents’ Reproductive Health Needs in Nigeria. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences, 285-293.

Gold-Watts, A., Hovdenakb, M., Gandhimathi, S., Sudha, R., & Bastien, S. (2020). A qualitative study of adolescent girls’ experiences of menarche and menstruation in rural Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 1-14.

Guest, A., & Schneider, B. (2003). Adolescents' Extracurricular Participation in Context: The Mediating Effects of Schools, Communities, and Identity. Sociology of Education, 89-109.

Hancock, D., Dyk, P., & Jones, K. (2012). Journal of Leadership Education. Adolescent Involvement in Extracurricular Activities: Influences on Leadership Skills, 84-101.

Hassan, A., Oladeji, A., Atibioke, O., Ehimatie, B., Ojomo, O., Lannap, F., et al. (2016). Sexual behavior and knowledge of reproductive health and HIV prevention among secondary school students in Nigeria. International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology, 231-238.

Hastuti, L., Wuriani. W., Lestari, L., Makmuriana, L., & Hidayah, H. (2018). Health Promotion Model "Extracurricular" Approach of Reproductive Health among Early Adolescents. International Journal of Public Health Science, 81-90.

Jenkins, D. (2011). Findings suggest adolescents’ perceptions towards their leadership skills are influenced by extracurricular activity involvement roles and the support of their parents and other adults. Florida: University of South Florida.

Laker, D., & Powell, J. (2011). The differences between hard and soft skills and their relative impact on training transfer. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 111–122.

Lunenburg, F. (2010). Extracurricular Activities. Schooling, 1-4.

Marks, H., & Jones, S. (2016). Community Service in the Transition. The Journal of Higher Education, 307-339.

Martin, M., & Bonesto-Tuggu, F. (2020). An Extracurricular activities extension in public elementary schools. Management Research Journal, 40-50.

Metsäpelto, R.-L., & Pulkkinen, L. (2014). The benefits of extracurricular activities for socioemotional behavior and school achievement in middle childhood: An overview of the research. Journal for Educational Research Online, 10-33.

Modecki, K., Barber, B., & Eccles, J. (2014). Binge Drinking Trajectories Across Adolescence: For Early Maturing Youth, Extra-Curricular Activities Are Protective. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61-66.

Ngendahayo, E., & Askell-Williams, H. (2016). Rwanda’s New Competence-Based School Curriculum. Research Gate, 1-11.

Poteat, P., Calzo, J., Yoshikawa, H., Rosenbach, S., Ceccolini, C., & Marx, R. (2019). Extracurricular Settings as a Space to Address Socio-Political Crises: The Case of Discussing Immigration in Gender-Sexuality Alliances Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. American Educational Research Journal, 1-33.

Shaffer, M. (2019). Impacting Student Motivation: Reasons for Not Eliminating Extracurricular Activities. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation &Dance, 8-14.

URT. (2007). Curriculum for Ordinary Level Secondary Education in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Institute of Education.

URT. (2018). Education Sector Performance Report 2017/2018. Dar es Salaam: Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology.

URT. (2019). Pre-Primary, Primary, Secondary, Adult and Non-Formal Education Statistics. Dodoma: President's Office - Regional Administration and Local Government.

Van Hung, M., Van Khoa, D., Tinh, H., Thuy, T., & Hung, N. (2019). Extra-Curricular Activities Improved Reproductive Health Knowledge of Ethnic Minority High School Students in Vietnam. J Family Reprod Health, 80-84.

Published

28-02-2022
CITATION
DOI: 10.53724/ambition/v6n4.02
Published: 28-02-2022

How to Cite

Mathias Mkude, & Christian Mubofu. (2022). Extracurricular Activities In The Broader Personal Development: Reflections From Youth In Public Secondary Schools. Research Ambition an International Multidisciplinary E-Journal, 6(IV), 01–05. https://doi.org/10.53724/ambition/v6n4.02