Extracurricular Activities and Academic Performance in Elementary School Students

The aim of this study is to assess the potential impact of extracurricular activities on the academic performance of elementary school students. Attendance or not attendance, type of extracurricular activities (recreational, cognitive or both) and the number of hours a week have been taken into account. The final sample consisted of a total of 721 elementary school students (366 boys and 355 girls) from various schools in the counties of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Parents of the students were provided with a questionnaire asking for the pupils’ grades in different academic subjects (mathematics, Catalan, Spanish and English languages, gymnastics and arts) and information about type and amount of extracurricular activities. The results show that performing any kind of extracurricular activity improves academic performance. More specifically, performance of some activity (whether recreational or cognitive, or a combination of both) significantly accounts for improvement in academic results, except for math, gymnastics and arts. Also, the study shows that a high number of hours of extracurricular activities (more than 10 hours a week) negatively affect the performance in all subjects except in gymnastics.