Effectiveness of Extracurricular Activities on Students’ Learning Processes in Public Secondary Schools in Sikonge District, Tanzania

Abstract

Extracurricular activities are an integral part of today's teaching and learning process. It allows learners to develop positive character traits. It demonstrates how to cultivate discipline, commitment, and self-discipline tenacity, self-control, and a healthy regard for the school environment. This study investigated the effectiveness of extracurricular activities on students’ learning process in public secondary schools in Sikonge District, Tabora Region, Tanzania. The specific objectives were to identify the extracurricular activities performed by students; and to evaluate infrastructural facilities of extracurricular activities in aiding the learning process. The mixed approach research and a convergent parallel design were used in this study. The simple random and purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 100 respondents. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Validity and reliability of the instruments were ensured through content validation and a test-retest reliability procedure-respectively. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics with the help MS-Excel while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The major findings of the study revealed that there is a significant contributions of extracurricular activities in the learning process since extracurricular activities attract students to attend school; make learners physically and mentally fit and they increase confidence. Therefore, it is recommended that educational stakeholders should consider using professional teachers on different extra-curricular activities so as to ensure effective and efficient interplay among variables associated with extra-curriculum activities.