New Horizons, Vol.12, No.2, 2018, pp 33-43 DOI:10.2.9270/NH.12.2(18).

03

the neXus betWeen cO-curricuLar

actiVities anD acaDeMic PerFOrMance:
a case stuDY OF hiGher secOnDarY
schOOLs OF kaMber, shahDaDkOt
ali Mustafa abro, Dr. asif ali shah, and Dr. sobia shafaq shah
abstract
The co-curricular activities are conceptualized as a
crucial aspect of students’ collective learning and
personal development in developed countries; however,
there is a lack of empirical research concerning the
contribution of co-curricular activities in achieving
academic progress in school settings within developing
countries. This research aims at investigating the impact
of co-curricular activities on academic performance of
secondary school students in the context of rural areas
of Pakistan. By employing the quantitative research
paradigm, the survey questionnaire was distributed to
500 secondary school students from five randomly
selected secondary schools in the district of Kamber,
Shahdadkot. The study data were analyzed by correlation
and regression techniques with the help of SPSS. The
study findings identified that the students’ engagement in
co-curricular activities could positively contribute to
their academic performance. This reflects that the
provision of co-curricular activity opportunities appear
to be pivotal for improved academic performance of
students within secondary school settings.
Keywords: Co-curricular Activities, Academic Performance, Secondary Schools, Students.

intrODuctiOn
The educational institutions are characterized as a hub for mental and
physical development of new generations. Although, the school
environment is primarily shaped by the academic activities, however, co-
curricular activities are also conceptualized as an important aspect of
school life (Davalos, Chavez, & Guardiola, 1999). Notably, the aim of
education is not confined to the pursuit of academic know-how only, but
education also means to boost the personal development of students
33
Abro, A.M., Shah, A.A. and Shah, S.S.

through skill development and active participation in co-curricular

activities. The basic curriculum of secondary schools mainly emphasis on
the development of basic skills, concerning reading, writing, and
arithmetic, along with nurturing of visual and social values (Lipscomb,
2007). Similarly, students’ development is equally emphasized in the co-
curricular activities framework in order to build talented and well-
disciplined future generations (Camp, 1990).

Primarily, the school curriculum incorporates a wide array of subjects

including arts, science, and technical subjects, moreover, every student is
also encouraged to take part in co-curricular activities. In government
schools of Pakistan, more emphasis has been placed on co-curricular
activities recently, because the government is taking multiple initiatives
to offer more opportunities to encourage students’ engagement in co-
curricular activities (Farooq et al., 2011). This reflects an effort taken for
students to become all-rounder by excelling their performances in
academic and co-curricular activities. Mainly, in the upper secondary
schools, students are evaluated through school’s examination, whereas,
applications for the admission to pre-university are also assessed on the
above examination criteria. However, an added advantage is given to those
students who earned good performances in extracurricular activities.

In developed countries, there is a strong emphasis on students’

participation in co-curricular activities, but in developing countries, such
as Pakistan, there is lack of awareness pertinent to the significance of
students’ engagement in such activities (Farooq et al., 2011). Thus, in
order to gain empirical evidence, it is relevant to know that whether
students’ engagement in co-curricular activities could benefit them in
improving their academic performance or they spend their time in non-
academic activities that do not relate to their academic development
(Rasberry et al., 2011). Generally, the contributions of co-curricular
activities have been stated as boosting various attributes, such as
teamwork, target setting, self-confidence, and creative thinking (Rasberry
et al., 2011). However, the clear understanding concerning the nexus
between co-curricular activities and academic performance is an important
area to understand.

Mainly, the educational institutes are responsible for equipping their

students with the updated knowledge and required skills which are
mandatory to achieve national development. The government secondary
34
 The Nexus between Co-Curricular Activities and Academic Performance

schools in Pakistan are functioning in the area of academics, skill

development, and co-curricular activities, but much emphasis is being
placed on academic activities, due to its conceptualization as a deciding
factor for shaping student’s future. Overall, parents, teachers, and all other
stakeholders have turned the student’s academic performance as the most
important criteria to judge the students’ achievement in school life.
Consequently, less interest is being shown by students towards co-
curricular activities, due to the perceptions that non-academic activities
would only waste their time and they would lag behind in their academic
performance. This situation raises a concern that, although the government
is taking multiple initiatives to boost co-curricular activities at the school
level, however, there is lack of explicit awareness regarding the potential
benefits of co-curricular activities at secondary school level. This reflects
that there is a need to provide empirical evidence to investigate that while
academic activities enhance students’ knowledge and competency, do
academic activities also enhance students’ academic performance or not?
The key objective of this paper was to determine underlying nexus
between students’ participation in co-curricular activities and their
academic performance.

Literature reVieW
The prior literature corroborated that the students’ communicative,
academic, and self-reliance skills get better when they actively participate
in co-curricular activities (Rasberry et al., 2011). There is a common view
that the competency building begins at the school level. In this regard,
Green (1998), stressed that the basic elements of competency building are
mainly embedded in producing such a workforce that is highly competitive
and literate to achieve good performance. In the similar vein, Russell et
al. (2005), reported that extra-curricular programs in high schools could
produce honesty and can stimulate fairness required to discourage unfair
means. In another study, Rose (2000), indicated that the consistent
academic performance of high school students across the various settings
of the United States revealed that students’ engagement in co-curricular
activities enable them to emerge as model students and minimizes the
chances of their involvement in illegal activities.
Extant research revealed that students’ involvement in co-curricular
activities could enhance the chances of their stay in the school and thus
increase retention rates ( Jayanthi et al. 2014, Hui, 1983). The significance
of co-curricular activities in terms of students learning has been discussed
35
Abro, A.M., Shah, A.A. and Shah, S.S.

from multiple dimensions (Carter et al., 2016, Lau et al. 2014 ). In this
regard, Davalos et al. (1999), reported the effects of extra-curricular
activities concerning students’ dropout ratio in the sample of Mexican-
American youths. The reported findings support the underlying notion that
participation in extra-curricular activities might offer a higher degree of
sense of belongingness that might contribute towards achieving a higher
degree of retention ration among students (Oliver, 1995; Zill, 1995).
Whereas, George (2002), noted that students’ engagement in co-curricular
activities could exert a positive influence on academic achievement.
Also, a report “The Condition of Education,” published by the United
States’ Department of Education, and National Centre for Education
Statistics (1991), found that participation in extracurricular activities
might influence academic progress, loyalty towards school, and social
inclusion. This reflects that co-curricular activities can offer opportunities
for students’ development such as better academic performance, improved
retention rate, development of social and competency skills, and assistance
of youth development and employment (Wong & Leung, 2018). Moreover,
Shulruf (2010), in their research reported an association between co-
curricular activities and academic performance. Modi, Konstantopoulos,
and Hedges (1998), concluded that extraordinary students appear to
allocate their time in productive outdoor activities. In the similar vein,
Muhoney and Cairns (1997), reported that students’ involvement in co-
curricular activities could be linked to reduced early dropout proportion
among boys’ and girls’ students.

Moreover, data obtained from University Interscholastic League on

Benefits of co-curricular Activities (n.d.) indicated that out of 4,800 high
school students, 4368 students who participated in school activities
demonstrated leadership and role model attributes to their fellow students.
Pertinent to these leadership attributes, students mentioned that
participation in school activities provide better chances of gaining self-
discipline skills, which cannot be practically taught in a classroom setting.
Young (1997), asserted that well-qualified physical education personnel
needs to be hired, to enhance the quality of physical education programs
in order to strengthen the notion of entire education to the child. Dworkin,
Larson and Hansen (2003), in their experimental study, reported that
students who participate in co-curricular activities show a higher degree
of self-knowledge due to the provision of multiple opportunities of trying
new things that help them in developing their self-identity.
36
 The Nexus between Co-Curricular Activities and Academic Performance

Generally, in Pakistani school settings, parents, teachers, and other

stakeholders attach high importance to academics due to its key role in
shaping a student’s future. Consequently, extracurricular activities are not
taken seriously. Even though, the government is undertaking multiple
initiatives to encourage every student’s participation in co-curricular
activities; nevertheless, the goal of maximum participation from students’
side is yet to be accomplished. There is a general agreement that
academics promote students’ knowledge and competency (Cassel et al.,
2000), but there is little known pertinent to the role of co-curricular
activities towards students’ academic performance in secondary school
settings of Pakistan. This empirical study compares the competency level
of both types of students who participate and who do not participate in co-
curricular activities. Primarily, this study aimed at examining the
underlying relationship between students’ participation in co-curricular
activities and their academic performance. The research framework of this
study is presented below.

Figure 1. The Research Framework

Co-curricular Academic
Activities Performance

Overall, this study aims to achieve the following research objectives.

1. To identify the relationship between students’ participation in co-

curricular activities and their academic performance in higher
secondary schools of district Kamber, Shahdadkot.

2. To analyze the impact of students’ participation in co-curricular

activities on the students’ academic performance in higher
secondary schools of district Kamber, Shahdadkot.

Drawn from the above mentioned research objectives, this research

study aim to address the following research questions:

Q 1. What is the relationship between students’ participation in co-

curricular activities and their academic performance in higher
secondary schools of district Kamber, Shahdadkot?

Q 2. What is the impact of students’ participation in co-curricular

37
Abro, A.M., Shah, A.A. and Shah, S.S.

activities on the students’ academic performance in higher

secondary schools of district Kamber, Shahdadkot?

research MethODOLOGY
Keeping in view the explanatory nature of this research, deductive
approach was adopted to undertake this study. Primarily this research
endeavor focused on explaning the relationship between students’
participation in co-curricular activities and their academic performance.
By applying quantitative research approach, survey technique was adopted
pertinent to collecting data from the respondents through a self-
administered questionnaire by the researchers. The questionnaire used in
this study was segmented into two parts, namely section A and section B.
The section A was comprised of four items, aimed to gain background
information of the research participants. Section A includes questions
concerning school type, experience, gender, and names of different forms
of student bodies. While, the section B of the questionnaire, incorporated
twenty-two items concerning competency criteria. The competency criteria
include communication competency, cognitive competency, self-managing
competency, and academic competency. In order to analyze the data, the
competencies mentioned above were treated as independent variables,
whereas, students’ academic performance was regarded as the dependent
variable in the study.

The population of this research endeavor is constituted of all students

of higher secondary schools of Kamber, Shahdadkot district. Based on
random sampling, the survey questionnaire was distributed to 500
students, randomly selected from five secondary schools of Kamber,
Shahdadkot district, who were engaged in academic and co-curricular
activities. Out of distributed questionnaires, 450 completed questionnaires
were received back from the research participants. This study used a cross-
sectional research design, as the data were gathered from the research
participants only once. In order to achieve the research objectives, the data
were analyzed through a correlation coefficient and regression analysis
were conducted. Before data analysis, the reliability of the survey
questionnaire was measured through Cronbach Alpha technique. The
resulting Cronbach Alpha value was computed at .74 and was found
acceptable (Pallant, 2010).

research FinDinGs
The data analysis were conducted through SPSS software version 20.0.
38
 The Nexus between Co-Curricular Activities and Academic Performance

Regarding addressing the research question, the correlation coefficient

statistical test was employed to determine the direction and strength of
the underlying nexus between study variables, investigated in this
research.

Table 1. Correlation Coefficients between Academic Performance and Co-

curricular Activities
Academic Performance Co-Curricular Activities
Pearson Academic
1.000 .290
Correlation performance
CCA .290 1.000
Academic
Sig. (1-tailed) . .000
performance
CCA .000 .
The findings presented in Table 1, reported that participation in co-
curricular activities (r = 0.290, p ≤ 0.01) show a positive association with
students’ academic performance. Moreover, the inferential statistical
technique of linear regression was used. Primarily, the linear regression
technique was employed to evaluate the characteristics and strength of the
relationship between one independent and one dependent variable (Field,
2009). In the context of this research study, students’ academic
performance was treated as a dependent variable, whereas, students’
participation in co-curricular activities was treated as an independent
variable. The findings emerged from linear regression tests are summed
up in Table 2.

Table 2. Summary of Findings Drawn from Linear Regression

Predictors R Square F- test Statistics
F Sig.
Participation in co-curricular activities .084 31.957 .000
a. Dependent Variable = Students’ academic performance
b. Predictors (Criterion) = Students’ participation in co-curricular activities

The findings emerged from regression test, as reported in Table 2,

indicated that students’ participation in co-curricular activities could
predict 8.4 percent of students’ academic performance, as represented by
the R square value of 0.084. This reflects that 8.4 percent of the variation
in students’ academic performance could be elucidated by students’
participation in co-curricular activities.
39
Abro, A.M., Shah, A.A. and Shah, S.S.

DiscussiOn anD cOncLusiOn

The findings drawn from this study corroborate that co-curricular
activities play a significant role in the academic performance of secondary
school students and these activities appear unavoidable for attaining better
academic performance that is the primary aim of education. This suggests
that there is a need to acknowledge that contemporary notions of academic
learning and curriculum are broader than the past. Nowadays, all activities
which are offered by any institution, inside or outside the school, are part
of the curriculum to enhance students’ performance in multiple dimensions.
This study also points out that educational institutions are well aware of
the importance of co-curricular activities and are undertaking multiple
initiatives to encourage students’ participation in these activities.
The positive association between students’ participation in co-
curricular activities and their academic performance reflects that co-
curricular activities can promote discipline, collective learning, and
self-confidence among the school students and ultimately these attributes
could positively contribute towards their academic and social life domains.
This study concludes that students’ participation in co-curricular activities
could positively contribute towards student’s academic performance and
suggests that there is a need to raise awareness among students concerning
the maximum participation in co-curricular activities.

Primarily, co-curricular activities should not be isolated from academic

learning, and these activities need to be promoted as a critical aspect of
academic performance. Although, the government is taking multiple
initiatives to offer various co-curricular activities in schools, however,
there is need to increase general awareness that co-curricular activities do
not deviate students’ attention from academic learning and students’
participation in these activities does not decrease students’ academic
performance. The main contribution of this research is embedded in
examining the nexus between students’ participation in co-curricular
activities and their academic performance in under researched area of rural
Sindh, namely secondary schools of Kamber, Shahdadkot District. While
concluding this study, it is of note that the sample of this study is confined
to five secondary schools of Kamber, Shahdadkot District only. Therefore,
a precautionary approach is needed to generalize these study findings to
other settings. Keeping in view this limitation, it is suggested that future
research studies should include a larger sample size across different school
settings throughout the country.
40
 The Nexus between Co-Curricular Activities and Academic Performance

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Cassel, R. N., Chow, P., Demoulin, D. F., & Reiger, R. C. (2000). Extracurricular
Involvement in High School Produces Honesty and Fair Play Needed
to Prevent Delinquency and Crime. Education, 121(2).

Carter, D. F., Ro, H. K., Alcott, B., & Lattuca, L. R. (2016). Co-curricular
connections: The role of undergraduate research experiences in
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Davalos, D. B., Chavez, E. L., & Guardiola, R. J. (1999). The effects of

extracurricular activity, ethnic identification, and perception of
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Dworkin, J. B., Larson, R., & Hansen, D. (2003). Adolescents’ accounts

of growth experiences in youth activities. Journal of youth and
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Farooq, M. S., Chaudhry, A. H., Shafiq, M., & Berhanu, G. (2011). Factors
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Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Sage publications.

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Green, J. C. (1998). A case for continuing and mid-career education based on

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Jayanthi, S. V., Balakrishnan, S., Ching, A. L. S., Latiff, N. A. A., & Nasirudeen,
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43
 about the authors
Meet our Contributors
Dr. Tahir Saleem is currently Dr. Sakina Riaz is currently
working as Assistant Professor in working as Assistant Professor in
the department of English, FASS, the department of Social Work,
University of Central Punjab, University of Karachi. Dr. Riaz has a
Lahore. Dr. Saleem is a keen wide experience of teaching and
researcher and his area of research research. Her area of research
interest includes the Post-Colonial include Sociology, Medical Social
Literature, the Literary theory, Work, Community Development and
South- Asian and Pakistani Social Welfare Administration. She
Literature in English. His email ID can be contacted via email at
is [email protected] syedasakinariaz @yahoo.com

Dr. Sobia Shafaq Shah is working Dr. Muhammad Saeed Akhtar is

as Associate Professor in the the head of the department of
Institute of Business Administration, English in Riphah University,
University of Sindh, Jamshoro. Faisalabad. He has a vast research
Dr Sobia has vast research and academic background and has
experience in the domain of supervised several M.Phil. and PhD
management, banking and finance, students. His several articles have
higher education, and training been published in different national
and development. and international journals.
She can he contacted at He can be contacted at
[email protected] [email protected]

Dr. Muhammad Abrar is working Prof. Shahbaz Afzal Bezar is

as Assistant Professor in the currently working as a lecturer in
department of Social Work, the English department in
University of Peshawar, Khyber Government degree college,
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. His email Faisalabad. His research interests
id is [email protected] include Native American Literature,
Cultural Studies, Critical Discourse
Prof. Muhammad Mooneeb Ali is Analysis, Sociology of Literature,
currently working as Lecturer in the Postmodernism and Learning
department of English in English as Second Language.
Government College of Science, Mr. Bezar has also authored a
Wahdat road, Lahore. Dr. Ali collection of poetry ‘Dusk in Dawn.’
can be contacted via email at His email address is
[email protected] [email protected]

93
 Dr. Malik Ajmal Gulzar is Dr. Ghazala Kausar is currently
currently working as Associate associated with the department of
Professor in the department of English at the National University of
English language and linguistic, Modern Languages, Islamabad, as
Allama Iqbal Open University Assistant Professor. She is a keen
Islamabad. Dr. Gulzar can be researcher and a committed
contacted via email at academician. She can be contacted
[email protected] via email at [email protected].

Summiya Azam is serving as a Qasim Sarwar is a passionate

lecturer in English department in the researcher pursuing his Master of
University of Central Punjab, Lahore. Philosophy degree from the
She has done her Master of Arts (MA) department of English Language and
in English from Punjab University, Literature, University of Lahore. He
Lahore, and M.Phil. in English from is currently serving as Lecturer in
University of Management and English department in the Higher
Technology, Lahore. Her email is Education of Punjab. His email ID is
[email protected] [email protected]

Dr. Asif Ali Shah is working as Ali Mustafa Abro is working as a

Assistant Professor at Mehran University research scholar at Mehran
Institute of Science, Technology and University Institute of Science,
Development MEUT Jamshoro. Dr Asif Technology and Development, MUET
his vast experience of research in the Jamshoro. He has his research on
domain of’ public policy, higher education different social issues. Mr. Abro can
and social issues. He can be contacted at be contacted via email at
[email protected]. [email protected]

Tayyaba Yasmeen is working as Mehwish Zahoor is a PhD

Lecturer in the University of candidate persuaing her PhD in
Education, Lahore. Her email address English Literature from the
is [email protected] International Islamic University,
Islamabad. Ms. Zahoor is a
Hamid Alam is currently working as passionate researcher. Her research
Assistant Professor and the incharge interests include a wide array of
of the department of Social Work, topics and themes covering the
University of Malakand, Khyber English Literature subject. She can
Pakhtunkhwa. His email ID is be contacted via email at
[email protected] [email protected].

94
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