Abstract
This article reports on secondary school students’ perspectives of participating in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related extracurricular activities in six secondary schools in Scotland. The extracurricular activities aimed at supporting students in developing knowledge of STEM subjects and confidence in their preparation for high school examinations, post-secondary schooling and the world of work. The study used a mixed-methods design. This entailed collecting data using qualitative semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion and a quantitative questionnaire. Findings indicate that students viewed extracurricular activities positively. They felt that the activities they participated in made a difference in their overall development. STEM related extracurricular activities provided students with relevant subject knowledge, wider learning opportunities and confidence in their own abilities, thereby contributing towards academic and social development. Students also reported increased knowledge of post-schooling opportunities. The activities resonated with the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), thereby complemented formal learning.
Highlights
Extracurricular activities (ECAs) such as sport, drama, debate, volunteering, academic revision clubs etc., have gained an important place in students’ school life to the extent that many schools are making significant efforts of offering different types of extracurricular activities (ECAs) to their learners (Straw et al, 2011; Mtika and Payne, 2014; Seow and Pan, 2014)
Increased Knowledge of Post-schooling Opportunities The students felt that they increased their knowledge of further education/higher education opportunities
They increased their belief that further education/higher education is accessible to them
Summary
Extracurricular activities (ECAs) such as sport, drama, debate, volunteering, academic revision clubs etc., have gained an important place in students’ school life to the extent that many schools are making significant efforts of offering different types of ECAs to their learners (Straw et al, 2011; Mtika and Payne, 2014; Seow and Pan, 2014). ECAs are a means of ensuring that all students, irrespective of individual circumstances such as socio-economic background, have the opportunity to succeed in school (Cazden, 2012). ECAs can support young people by providing them with necessary opportunities for academic and interpersonal development in preparation for post-secondary schooling and the world of work (Roulin and Bangerter, 2013; Fischer and Theis, 2014; Mtika and Payne, 2014; Brooks et al, 2015; Greenbank, 2015). Where ECAs are fee-based, young people from deprived backgrounds are unlikely to access extra academic and personal development. This can effectively contribute to ECAs as vehicle for reproduction of inequality in society (Covay and Carbonaro, 2010; Thomson, 2019). The provision of free ECAs constitute a socially just and more accessible way of supporting all the young people to develop necessary academic, social, and employability skills (Scottish Government, 2018)
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