Extracurricular activities, graduate attributes and serious leisure: competitive sport versus social-cultural clubs in campus life

ABSTRACT

Research indicates that students’ participation in university-based extracurricular activities contributes to their graduate attributes such as leadership, teamwork, communication and resilience. However, it has yet to be determined which types of extracurricular activities are more impactful. This study inquired if participation in competitive sporting activities compared to social-cultural clubs have a greater impact on graduate attributes. Students attending a large metropolitan university in Sydney, Australia, who participated in extracurricular activities were surveyed (n = 844) with an instrument adapted to measure their degree of club engagement and questions on the skills, knowledge and experience they acquired. The findings indicate that engagement in competitive sport is more effective at contributing to graduate attributes when compared to social-cultural clubs. The study drew on the theories of serious leisure and leisure constraints to interpret this phenomenon. Participation in competitive sport was found to relate to more aspects of serious leisure such as study/work-life balance, stress reduction and skill development such as teamwork, time management and leadership skills. However, there are greater constraints to participating in competitive sport. The study concludes with implications for university administrators and recommendations for facilitating greater student opportunities to participate in all types of extracurricular activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Extracurricular activities
• graduate attributes
• leisure constraints
• serious leisure
• competitive sport
• university

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The benefits literature used to inform the benefits statements in the survey included the following, enhanced leadership and teamwork skills (de Prada Creo et al., 2020; Griffiths et al., 2017), community contribution (Díaz-Iso et al., 2019), employability (Jackson & Tomlinson, 2021; Thompson et al., 2013) academic performance (Muñoz-Bullón et al., 2017) and wellbeing (Wang et al., 2020; Winstone et al., 2022).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the ActivateUTS .

Notes on contributors

Carmel Foley

Carmel Foley is a Professor in Event Management and Deputy Head of Management at the UTS Business School. Carmel specialises in research that supports organisations to maximise social impact. Key projects in this space include the Business Events Sydney “beyond tourism benefits” series and the Joint Meetings Industry Council legacy case study project. Carmel is a Legacy Ambassador for ICC Sydney.

Simon Darcy

Simon Darcy is a Professor of Social Inclusion at the UTS Business School. He specialises in developing inclusive organisational approaches for diversity groups. Simon has researched and published widely on human rights, public policy and social participation.

Anja Hergesell

Dr Anja Hergesell is a Lecturer in Event Management at the UTS Business School. Before this appointment, Anja worked at UTS in various other positions, including as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, and taught and researched at universities in Austria and Denmark. Anja’s research interests include evaluation, sustainability, mobility and tourist behaviour.

Barbara Almond

Barbara Almond is an experienced academic and research project manager at University of Technology Sydney Business School. Experienced in sustainability and planning with a Master’s degree focussed in Sustainable Development and Resource Management. Her research interests and current research areas include sustainable tourism, social inclusion and social capitol, accessible tourism, destination and protected area management, events management, accessible education and innovation.

Matthew McDonald

Matthew McDonald is a Professor of Social Psychology on the Psychology Program, Fulbright University, Vietnam. He has published widely on the application of social psychology to work, leisure, consumer culture and political economy, as well as the application of Continental philosophy to psychology.

Lan Thi Nguyen

Lan Thi Nguyen is an Adjunct Faculty Member on the Psychology Program, Fulbright University, Vietnam. She teaches courses in Organizational Psychology and The Psychology of Gender. Her work has been published in a range of journals, including Applied Psychology: An International Review and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology.

Elizabeth Morgan-Brett

Elizabeth Morgan-Brett OLY was the Chief Executive Officer of Activate UTS and Director of Uni Sport Australia at the time this research was conducted.