Extracurricular activities are a significant part of the school experience for many students, but there are concerns about the demands placed on students and the overscheduling of their after-school time. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine longitudinal middle school student outcomes based on one school’s efforts to provide the benefits of extracurricular activities by offering those activities during the regular school day. This study explored the nature of the relationship between middle school, school-based extracurricular participation and subsequent student views of school connection. The study was conducted in an independent, private, Pre-K through 12th grade school with data collected from interviews with junior and senior students who had participated in the program as middle school students. The collected data showed students had positive recollections from participating in mixed grade level activities and in developing connections to the people in the school. The data showed that offering the extracurricular activities during the regular school day allowed students to participate in more activities and experience the benefits of participation such as developing friendships and exploring areas of interest. The data also showed that students viewed the extracurricular enrichment activities offered at the end of the school day as fun and stress-relieving in a regular school day filled with academic classes. This study offers recommendations for school leaders working to increase school engagement through extracurricular activities.
","abstract_html":"<p>Extracurricular activities are a significant part of the school experience for many students, but there are concerns about the demands placed on students and the overscheduling of their after-school time. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine longitudinal middle school student outcomes based on one school’s efforts to provide the benefits of extracurricular activities by offering those activities during the regular school day. This study explored the nature of the relationship between middle school, school-based extracurricular participation and subsequent student views of school connection. The study was conducted in an independent, private, Pre-K through 12th grade school with data collected from interviews with junior and senior students who had participated in the program as middle school students. The collected data showed students had positive recollections from participating in mixed grade level activities and in developing connections to the people in the school. The data showed that offering the extracurricular activities during the regular school day allowed students to participate in more activities and experience the benefits of participation such as developing friendships and exploring areas of interest. The data also showed that students viewed the extracurricular enrichment activities offered at the end of the school day as fun and stress-relieving in a regular school day filled with academic classes. This study offers recommendations for school leaders working to increase school engagement through extracurricular activities.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ringley, Angela Coffman"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ella Benson","Peter Harrison","Glyn Cowlishaw"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:05Z","subjects":["Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/theses/131","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ella Benson","Peter Harrison","Glyn Cowlishaw"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ringley, Angela Coffman"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-08-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/131"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Extracurricular activities are a significant part of the school experience for many students, but there are concerns about the demands placed on students and the overscheduling of their after-school time. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine longitudinal middle school student outcomes based on one school’s efforts to provide the benefits of extracurricular activities by offering those activities during the regular school day. This study explored the nature of the relationship between middle school, school-based extracurricular participation and subsequent student views of school connection. The study was conducted in an independent, private, Pre-K through 12th grade school with data collected from interviews with junior and senior students who had participated in the program as middle school students. The collected data showed students had positive recollections from participating in mixed grade level activities and in developing connections to the people in the school. The data showed that offering the extracurricular activities during the regular school day allowed students to participate in more activities and experience the benefits of participation such as developing friendships and exploring areas of interest. The data also showed that students viewed the extracurricular enrichment activities offered at the end of the school day as fun and stress-relieving in a regular school day filled with academic classes. This study offers recommendations for school leaders working to increase school engagement through extracurricular activities.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Middle School Engagement Benefits Of Offering Extracurricular Activities During The School Day"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ella Benson","Peter Harrison","Glyn Cowlishaw"],"dc:creator":["Ringley, Angela Coffman"],"dc:date.available":["2017-08-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Extracurricular activities are a significant part of the school experience for many students, but there are concerns about the demands placed on students and the overscheduling of their after-school time. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine longitudinal middle school student outcomes based on one school’s efforts to provide the benefits of extracurricular activities by offering those activities during the regular school day. This study explored the nature of the relationship between middle school, school-based extracurricular participation and subsequent student views of school connection. The study was conducted in an independent, private, Pre-K through 12th grade school with data collected from interviews with junior and senior students who had participated in the program as middle school students. The collected data showed students had positive recollections from participating in mixed grade level activities and in developing connections to the people in the school. The data showed that offering the extracurricular activities during the regular school day allowed students to participate in more activities and experience the benefits of participation such as developing friendships and exploring areas of interest. The data also showed that students viewed the extracurricular enrichment activities offered at the end of the school day as fun and stress-relieving in a regular school day filled with academic classes. This study offers recommendations for school leaders working to increase school engagement through extracurricular activities.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/131"],"dc:subject":["Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"dc:title":["Middle School Engagement Benefits Of Offering Extracurricular Activities During The School Day"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:05Z"}