Building school connections through integrating extracurricular programs

<p>The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated extracurricular program and evaluate its effectiveness on improving middle school students' emotional connectedness to the school. The integrated extracurricular program provided an opportunity for a diverse group of students to work cooperatively as a team toward a common goal.</p> <p>The program's first extracurricular activity was a Haunted House event which was utilized for this study. Participants in the study included 232 students and 21 staff members. Two separate surveys were administered to the student and staff participants. Each survey resulted in general opinions about the effectiveness of the integrated extracurricular program toward increasing student participation and improving students' emotional connectedness with the school. The data from the surveys and after school club attendance sheets revealed that the Integrated Extracurricular Program's event of the Haunted House had a positive impact on the students' sense of connectedness and involvement with the school. However, the program's impact on school unity was explored as discrepancies surfaced between the student and staff responses.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. in School Administration

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Services and Leadership

Year dc:date.available

2009

Author dc:creator

• Gerber, Grete E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Capasso, Ronald

• Middle school students; School improvement programs; Student activities--United States
• Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration

Repository record dc:identifier

https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1152

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rdw.rowan.edu:etd-2152