Effects of extracurricular activities on postsecondary completion for students with disabilities

ABSTRACT

The authors focused on participation in extracurricular activities as a way of improving the educational outcomes of children with disabilities. Regarding students in the general population, adolescent involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to have a positive association with school involvement and adolescent self-esteem, academic achievement, and adolescent development. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study dataset, the authors conducted logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between participation in high school–sponsored extracurricular activities and postsecondary degree completion for students with disabilities. Findings show a statistically significant association between postsecondary degree completion for students with disabilities and extracurricular activity participation, including extent and type of extracurricular activity. Students with disabilities who participate in high school extracurricular activities may have increased likelihood of completing a postsecondary degree. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Extracurricular activities
• IDEA 2004
• special education
• students with disabilities

Notes

1. No participants belong to category 1 because sample was restricted to students that obtained a high school degree or equivalent.

2. Category amounts for family income were created based on those from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Report “Money Income in the United States: 2001” (DeNavas-Walt, Cleveland, & Webster, 2003). Rather than using five categories for aggregate income as done in the U.S. Census Bureau report, the original family income variable was recoded into three categories for this study to increase sample size in each group.