The Role of Extracurricular Activities in Belonging and Engagement

• In Event: 29.041 - Belonging and Engagement in STEM Education

Abstract

Undergraduate students participate in a variety of communities outside of their academic work, ranging from family to professional societies. While the degree to which they participate and the immediate benefits of participation have been explored, pathways by which participation in extracurricular activities leads to academic engagement are not as well understood. This study sought to identify the pathways by which important extracurricular communities influence students' academic endeavors, including pathways related to the fulfillment of belonging needs.

Previous research has shown that social activities significantly impact undergraduate education (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). One key affective outcome is a sense of belonging, defined here following Baumeister and Leary (1995) as frequent, local and desirable connections with other individuals. Belonging has been directly linked to academic outcomes in higher education, including intent to persist (Hausmann, Schofield, & Woods, 2007).

This study used a multi-phased mixed-methods approach including surveys and focus groups. A survey emphasizing measurement of belonging, engagement, and connection to community was collected from over 700 student participants at four different institutions. Analysis of quantitative survey data identified which communities students participated in most, and then focus groups were used to explore qualitatively how students' most important communities influenced their academic life.

Analysis of the focus group data revealed that students' extracurricular activities most frequently satisfied needs associated with belonging. Participation in extracurricular groups such as family, friend groups, clubs, or church appear to meet these needs by helping students find companionship, feel comfortable in their surroundings, or feel that they truly belong at their school or in their major. When belonging needs are met, students are then better able to engage in their educational pursuits. Students indicated that during times of academic stress, connecting with important communities (e.g., family) provided a sense of belonging, which improved their affective state (made them feel better), which they then felt allowed them to re-engage in their studies. Given the frequency with which students' pathways to academic engagement include extracurricular activities which meet belonging needs, we argue that it is important to examine what faculty and administrators can do to support these pathways.

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin 117(3), 497–529.

Hausmann, L. R. M., Schofield, J. W., & Woods, R. L. (2007). Sense of belonging as a predictor of intentions to persist among African American and White first-year college students. Research in Higher Education, 48(7), 803–839.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Authors

• Cheryl Allendoerfer, University of Washington - Seattle

• Denise Wilson, University of Washington - Seattle

• Diane Jones, University of Washington - Seattle

• Rebecca Bates, Minnesota State University - Mankato

• Tamara Floyd-Smith, Tuskegee University

• Melani Plett, Seattle Pacific University

• Nanette Veilleux, Simmons College