Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
How Many? What Kind? Parent Involvement and Extracurricular Participation Among Rural Pennsylvanian High School Students
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Extracurricular activities are area-specific, youth-focused activities that can have many direct and latent positive outcomes for students. Though participation in extracurricular activities can have benefits for all participants, not all high school students are involved. The choice to participate is made within the structure of adolescents’ contexts. This research examines the relationship between parents’ participation in school, religious, and community activities with student participation in seven different extracurricular activities. Other family, personal, friend, school and community factors are taken into consideration for their role to encourage or discourage participation. The analysis uses data from eleventh-grade students in the Rural Youth Education Study, a longitudinal study of youth from ten rural school districts in Pennsylvania. Logistic regression is employed to examine influences to overall participation rates, as well as participation in each of the seven specific types of extracurricular activities separately to note different patterns of influence on participation in each type of activity. Findings reveal that most students do participate in at least one extracurricular activity, but they vary widely in the type and number of activities they choose to pursue. Parents’ participation in school and community activities increased the chances that youth participate in extracurricular activities, as did having friends who participate, a parent with a college degree, and aspirations to go to college. However, overall participation did not always reflect the likelihood of participation in individual activities. Differences among the types of activities and number of activities students join are also explored.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Annelise is working towards a doctoral degree in Rural Sociology at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include issues of rural education, youth, and growing up in the rural context. She is currently developing a study of new parents’ strategies and access to childcare resources in rural Southern Appalachia.
How Many? What Kind? Parent Involvement and Extracurricular Participation Among Rural Pennsylvanian High School Students
Extracurricular activities are area-specific, youth-focused activities that can have many direct and latent positive outcomes for students. Though participation in extracurricular activities can have benefits for all participants, not all high school students are involved. The choice to participate is made within the structure of adolescents’ contexts. This research examines the relationship between parents’ participation in school, religious, and community activities with student participation in seven different extracurricular activities. Other family, personal, friend, school and community factors are taken into consideration for their role to encourage or discourage participation. The analysis uses data from eleventh-grade students in the Rural Youth Education Study, a longitudinal study of youth from ten rural school districts in Pennsylvania. Logistic regression is employed to examine influences to overall participation rates, as well as participation in each of the seven specific types of extracurricular activities separately to note different patterns of influence on participation in each type of activity. Findings reveal that most students do participate in at least one extracurricular activity, but they vary widely in the type and number of activities they choose to pursue. Parents’ participation in school and community activities increased the chances that youth participate in extracurricular activities, as did having friends who participate, a parent with a college degree, and aspirations to go to college. However, overall participation did not always reflect the likelihood of participation in individual activities. Differences among the types of activities and number of activities students join are also explored.
