High School Size and Extracurricular Participation

Abstract

This investigation examined carry-over effects of high school size on the extracurricular participation of 142 students attending a small liberal arts college. Procedures used in previous research to examine extracurricular activities of students at a large university were replicated so that the findings of both investigations could be compared. In agreement with earlier findings, students in smaller high schools showed greater high school extracurricular participation, but they were not more involved college participants. Overall, participation declined from high school to college, but this decline was not as great as in the large university study. Prior extracurricular history showed no relationship to absolute amount of involvement in the small college, and students who were low participators in high school actually gained in participation from high school to college. Females were more involved participants in five different high school activities, but they lost their extracurricular advantage in college, while males showed greater college participation in two highly visible, talentrelated activities. Results suggest that a special strength of the small college environment is the availability of extracurricular learning opportunities for previously inactive students. College extracurricular involvement among women students needs encouragement, even in small university settings where general environmental press to participate is high.