In the midst of the pandemic, this school district made a significant investment with recovery dollars to expand enrichment opportunities in art, music, and physical education for students in their K-8 schools. The hypothesis was increasing the quality and quantity of these opportunities, the school district would increase student engagement, lead…

The present longitudinal study examined whether extracurricular activities in the arts and corresponding scores in art classes have a positive association with general academic performance. Data were collected from 488 seventh-grade children (259 boys and 229 girls) for over two years. Information regarding their participation in extracurricular…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has the potential to enhance both cognitive and affective engagement but has been criticised for being unsuitable for learners with low levels of knowledge and skills, such as South African learners from poor backgrounds. In such cases, guided problem-based learning (GPBL), which includes direct instruction and teacher…

Computational Thinking (CT) is an emerging topic in school curricula. Different tools exist to support the learning of CT, namely visual programming languages and tangible development platforms (TDP), which are widely used in extra-curricular activities. To date, few tools have been developed that consider both teachers' needs and the school…

Mental Health of primary and secondary school students has drawn wide public attention against the backdrop of the implementation of the Double Reduction policy. This article aims to analyze the effects of non-subject-based off-campus training on student mental health based on an investigation among primary and secondary school students from 30…

Because large-scale studies repeatedly indicated low reading literacy for many students, a need for interventions fostering reading literacy, such as extracurricular tutoring, has often been emphasized. Several reading promoting programs, suitable for extracurricular tutoring, were developed and shown to be effective in recent years. Moreover,…

Multilingual learners, some of whom are also new immigrants to the United States, are a growing demographic in our K-12 public schools. Unfortunately, multilingual learners find limited academic opportunities in our public schools. This research explores the opportunity gap for our culturally and linguistically diverse students, the positionality…

The role of soft skills at school is still debated, but they have emerged as important factors for students' academic achievement and life satisfaction. This study focuses on the combined influence of soft skills (in terms of adaptability, curiosity, leadership, initiative, perseverance, and social awareness), extracurricular activities,…

In this paper we present a collaborative 3D modeling and printing experience within a Project Based Learning (PBL) activity, carried out with two different groups of participants: pre-service teachers at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), and school students of Primary and Secondary level taking part in an extra-curricular activity.…

Background: Over the two last decades, the interest in personal and psychosocial youth development has been growing due to its engagement in sport activities. Furthermore, participation in sport has been referenced as a favourable mechanism and context for positive youth development (PYD). However, some studies and researchers continue to question…

The present study tested the learning avoidance model by examining the degree to which learning avoidance in various afterschool settings mediated the negative association between math anxiety and math achievement. Participants consisted of 207 third to sixth graders. Using a path model, findings showed that students' math anxiety was negatively…

Hispanic/Latina students face difficulties engaging in physical activity, but schools can help by integrating activity into accrue the school day and offering sport and activity-based extracurriculars. In this study, we examined physical activity (PA) and school-related factors among adolescent Hispanic/Latina students. Participants (N = 5,539)…

Background: The goal of the study was to develop and verify a pathway model (or theory of change) for STEM Scouts, an out-of-school time (OST), positive youth development program for elementary through high school-aged youth. Pathway models include connections between hypothesized activities to short-, mid-, and long-term outcomes. STEM Scouts is…

In this study, an extracurricular observation module is suggested for the purpose of observing the sustainability of biodiversity based on gathering evidence regarding different seed dispersal processes in the natural environment. These observations were made during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when human activity inflicted a…

This article explores how extracurricular programs designed as interventions in the criminalization of Black girls may constrict their identities. Through a womanist theoretical framework, authors investigate the discourses about Black girlhood that permeate one extracurricular initiative which aims to counter the effects of exclusionary…