Extracurricular Activity and Ethnicity: Creating Greater School Connection among Diverse Student Populations

A youth’s sense of connection to school has been theorized by several traditions to be an important predictor of school success and student behavior inside and out-side of school. Using a diverse sample of adolescents (N =1,755), this study focuses on the relationship between youth participation in extracurricular activities and a greater sense of school connection, particularly for non-European American students. In addition, we examined differences in participation rates for different categories of extracurricular activities. Results revealed that students who participated, regardless of ethnicity, had greater levels of school connection. Results also revealed that European American students had a significantly greater level of involvement, whereas Hispanic American students had significantly less involvement. These results are discussed in terms of creating accessible and attractive extracurricular activity opportunities for diverse students.