Purpose is an important aspect of character development and thriving in adolescence; yet, there is little research explaining how it develops or how contexts such as school can support its development. In this study, 1,304 eighth graders completed a survey that measured purpose as the integration of 2 dimensions-- beyond-the-self life goal…

We investigated the effect of participating in two domains of extracurricular activities (sports and performance arts/clubs) in Grades 7 and 8 on Grade 9 academic motivation and letter grades, above baseline performance. Participants were 483 students (55% male; 33% Euro-American, 25% African American, and 39% Latino). Propensity score weighting…

The authors investigated whether participation in school-based extracurricular activities would predict social and behavioral outcomes (school membership, peer prosocial orientation, and prosocial behavior) associated with school social capital in a group of Hispanic middle school students from the United States of America. Results of hierarchical…

School motivation and attachment typically decline after the transition to middle school. According to the stage-environment fit approach, extracurricular activities are supposed to promote motivation. However, research has shown that the effects depend on the quality of the activities, which usually is measured by assessing students' individual…

National trends and goals have pushed beyond the dropout crisis and are now focused on raising the percentage of graduates prepared for college and career. This study examined a longitudinal cohort (n = 6443) of students in an urban, public school district in order to explore how districts and communities can redirect off-track high school…

This paper considers girls' participation in running and other outdoor physical activities in their local areas in London, UK. The paper is concerned with the operation of risk discourses in and around this participation and looks at the way that such discourses impacted on girls' opportunities to take part in physical activities that required…

To supplement research on adolescent social identities, the current study examined how social identity complexity relates to ethnic inter-group attitudes in a young adolescent sample (N = 97; "age range" = 12-14 years). Social identity complexity refers to the perceived overlap of groups with which youth align themselves. Descriptive…

This study examined the relative influence of adolescents' supportive relationships with teachers, peers, and parents on trajectories of different dimensions of school engagement from middle to high school and how these associations differed by gender and race or ethnicity. The sample consisted of 1,479 students (52% females, 56% African…

This report examines the academic and civic behavior outcomes of teenagers and young adults who have engaged deeply with the arts in or out of school. In several small-group studies, children and teenagers who participated in arts education programs have shown more positive academic and social outcomes in comparison to students who did not…

This study makes two contributions to the literature. First, it bridges the sociological discussion of social class habitus with psychological notions of adolescents' educational expectations, locus of control, and self-concepts. Second, it empirically examines the relationships between early employed parental practices and expectations and…

Several schools that eschewed the middle school model and remained K-8 discovered anecdotally that their students showed fewer behavioral problems and higher academic achievement than many students enrolled in middle schools. On the basis of studies that verified these observations, school district leaders in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia…