The influence of extracurricular activities on middle school students’ science learning in China

ABSTRACT

Informal science learning has been found to have effects on students’ science learning. Through the use of secondary data from a national assessment of 7410 middle school students in China, this study explores the relationship among five types of extracurricular science activities, learning interests, academic self-concept, and science achievement. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the influence of students’ self-chosen and school-organised extracurricular activities on science achievement through mediating interests and the academic self-concept. Chi-square tests were used to determine whether there was an opportunity gap in the student’s engagement in extracurricular activities. The students’ volunteer and school-organised participation in extracurricular science activities had a positive and indirect influence on their science achievement through the mediating variables of their learning interests and academic self-concept. However, there were opportunity gaps between different groups of students in terms of school location, family background, and especially the mother’s education level. Students from urban areas with better-educated mothers or higher socioeconomic status are more likely to access diverse science-related extracurricular activities.     

“90后”大学生课余生活性别差异的调查分析

对8所高校“90后”大学生的问卷调查显示,大学生课余生活的性别差异主要体现在以下方面：男生运动的时间多于女生,饮食的最低消费也高于女生;男生生活自控性弱于女生;男女社会活动参与度呈现平等趋势;男生更关注于社会,女生更注重情趣．     

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES OF HIGHLY GIFTED AND ‘NORMAL’ SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

About 9,000 West German students representing the whole range of academic aptitude were examined at the beginning of their 13th school year. A general scholastic aptitude test was administered, and school marks and information on the pupils’ extracurricular interests and activities recorded. A group of highly gifted students was defined in terms of exceptional performance both in school and on the scholastic aptitude test. The extracurricular activities of this group were compared with those of the representative group. The popular hypothesis that superior cognitive giftedness and outstanding achievement in school go with an ‘impoverishment’ of extracurricular activities was not supported: In most areas a larger percentage of the highly gifted than of the reference group were actively involved. Furthermore, the range of individual activities was somewhat broader among the top students than among the representative group.     

中学数学课外活动的组织与实施

探讨了中学组织实施数学课外活动的途径和方法．首先，分析了数学课外活动的基本特点．其次，确立了开展中学数学课外活动应遵循的基本原则，并提出了中学数学课外活动的实施模式中学数学课外活动的组织与实施应以年级为单位，按学生的程度、志趣和愿望设置不同的活动小组，采取分类指导的方式进行．最后，研究了中学数学课外活动的评价，包括对数学课外活动的组织工作的评价和学生参与数学课外活动的表现及其效果的评价．     

中学课外体育活动现状调查与对策

就东营市、滨州市中学课外体育活动的现状作了调查 ,发现如下问题 :初中有 67 80 %学校不开展早操 ;课外活动开展率为 65 % ,远低于全国学生的 86% ;课程负担重是导致学生不参加课外体育活动的主要原因 ;运动队学生文化课成绩与其他学生文化课相比较差 ,有随年级增高逐渐下降的趋势 .针对调查中发现的问题 ,结合东营市、滨州市的实际 ,提出了加强中学课外体育活动的对策     

听障学生课余管理的实践探索与反思——以丽水市特殊教育学校为例

寄宿制聋校学生在校课余时间长,加上学前交往障碍导致的心理缺陷增加了管理难度。要保证寄宿制聋校在校学生的学习生活质量,须以得力的管理措施和严密的管理制度作保障,并以丰富多彩的课余活动加以充实。根据听障学生的特点及学校实际,设计了快乐周末、传统的大型活动、外出实践活动、团队主题活动、日常课余管理活动等系列活动充实学生课余生活并收到良好的效果。     

Effect of Students' After-School Activities on Teachers' Academic Expectancies

Teacher expectancies can have an impact on students' academic achievement. These expectancies can be based on diverse student characteristics, only one of which is past academic performance. The present study investigated three student individual differences that teachers may use when forming academic expectancies: the sex of the student, the family socioeconomic status (SES) of the student, and the student's after-school activities. Results indicated teachers held higher grade, graduation, and college attendance expectancies for females than for males and for middle-SES than low-SES students. Also, students who participated in extracurricular activities were expected to achieve more academically than either students who were employed after school or who did nothing after school. The latter two groups did not elicit different teacher expectancies. Interactions revealed that (a) lowest expectations were held for low-SES males who did nothing after school and (b) the difference in graduation expectancies between the SES groups was only half as great for students who took part in extracurricular activities than it was for students who had no involvements after school or who had jobs. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

大学生课外教育需求实证研究——以重庆大学虎溪校区为例

本文通过对大学生课外教育需求的实证研究,分析得出大部分大学生对大学生活感到困惑,没有明确的目标,很多时间在上网、游戏或无聊度过。而大学生最希望学校提供创新、创业指导和个人内涵、素质提升等方面的课外教育活动,实地调研则被学生认为是效果最好的课外教育形式。重庆大学虎溪校区积极开展的舍区教育活动得到了学生的肯定。     

国内四省区普通中小学作业情况调查研究

以自编问卷调查北京、山西、四川、澳门四省市的1、3、5、8、11年级学生连续1周的课外作业情况、作息时间及课外活动安排。调查结果显示:学生作业时间严重超标;学生作业类型单一,以记忆、背诵为主的巩固类作业为主;作业主要集中于语文、数学等主要学科,副科几乎没有作业;学生睡眠时间严重不足;中学生每日在校时间大大超过国家规定时间;学生课外活动种类少,室外活动时间偏少,时间安排不合理;学生的作业时间及课外活动时间与地域、学校类型及年级有较大关联,与学生的性别无相关。     

Engaged or excluded: LGBTQ youth's participation in school sports and their relationship to psychological well-being

Sports participation has been shown to positively affect youth well-being. However, research has also shown that sports environments can be unsafe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. Using data from a large study on school-related experiences of LGBTQ secondary students who reported on their extracurricular activities in school, (N = 15,813), this study examined LGBTQ youth's participation in school sports, the effects of participation on well-being and school belonging, and whether any such benefits of participation varied by transgender status and gender binary identity. Over a quarter of LGBTQ respondents in our study had participated in school sports, and being transgender and being nonbinary were related to a lower likelihood of sports participation. Transgender males and transgender nonbinary youth had the lowest likelihood of sports participation. In general, LGBTQ youth who participated in sports had increased well-being and greater school belonging. However, in regard to self-esteem, transgender nonbinary youth appeared to have greater benefit from participating in sports than did their transgender male and transgender female peers. Considering these results, schools have a responsibility to ensure that school sports are safe and welcoming for LGBTQ youth.     

Civics education in Thailand: three case schools

This chapter describes the study as it was conducted in Thailand in three secondary schools: a university model school, a private school, and a public school. The results suggest that the main national policy intention was aimed at developing students’ good citizenship and living in society with peace and harmony. The schools, however, emphasized different policy intentions: the public school emphasized order, discipline, and social development; the private school focused on religious conduct; and the university model school was primarily concerned with intellectual activities and critical thinking. In all schools civic values were integrated with coursework, extracurricular projects, and activities.     

THE RELATION OF VOCATIONAL INTERESTS TO LIFE GOALS, SELF-RATINGS OF ABILITY AND PERSONALITY TRAITS, AND POTENTIAL FOR ACHIEVEMENT

In three analyses using canonical correlation, interests as measured by Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory, were related to (a) 35 life goals, (b) 31 self-ratings of ability and personality traits, and (c) 22 scales measuring potentials for achievement. The sample consisted of 20,369 college freshmen in 37 institutions. Results are shown separately for males and females for five factors for each analysis.     

BOOK REVIEWS

The relationship between components of emotional intelligence (EI) (interpersonal ability, intrapersonal ability, adaptability and stress management) and academic performance in English, maths and science was examined in a sample of 86 children (49 males and 37 females) aged 11–12 years during the primary–secondary school transition period. Results indicated that for both males and females, intrapersonal ability had little relationship with academic achievement, while adaptability had the strongest relationship with achievement in all subjects. Gender differences were particularly pronounced for science, for which stronger relationships were observed with all EI components for males. In addition, apparent only for males was a negative relationship between stress management and science. These findings offer support for the current inclusion of a personal and emotional element in the primary school curriculum, and indicate that such training is likely to help males more than females to make a successful transition from primary to secondary school.     

Chapter 3 Learning style factors and mathematics performance: Sex-related differences

This study examined the relationships among (a) sex; (b) grades in Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II; (c) mathematics learning styles and interests; and (d) scores on the PSAT-M, in a sample of high school students enrolled in Algebra II. The average grade in Algebra I was significantly higher for females than for males. Females reported significantly less interest in technical hobbies or careers than did males, less confidence in their ability to excel on mathematical tasks involving cognitive restructuring or applications, and a greater desire for structure when learning mathematics. In a sub-sample, males scored significantly higher than females on the PSAT-M. Scores on the PSAT-M were significantly related to grades in geometry but not algebra.     

Relationship Between Psychopathology and Vocational Interests Among School-Going Adolescents in Nigeria

The study examined the relationship between psychopathology and vocational interests among some school-going adolescents in Nigeria. Two hundred and seventy-eight secondary school final year students responded to a psychopathology inventory and the Bakare's Vocational Interest Inventory (VII). Data obtained were analysed using the Discriminant Function Analysis and the students' t-test. Results obtained showed that the students' vocational interests could not significantly differentiate between high and low psychopathology groups at the .05 level. Significant differences were however obtained in the outdoor, mechanical, and musical areas when comparing the VII scores of males with females. The findings support the need to collect both vocational interests and psychopathological/personality data of clients in order to assist them in their vocational problems.     

Prediction of Post-High School Destination Choice from Curriculum,Financial Need,and Students’ Rating of Parents’ Wishes for Post-High School Occupation

Data from a survey of 2,431 students attending high schools in Hawaii indicated that students agreed with their parents’ wishes for post-high school occupation. Females tended to choose more academic post-high school destinations than males. An inverse relationship between academic high school curricula and post-high school academic goals was found, probably due to the fact that females were academically upwardly mobile. The need for financial assistance tended to decrease academic aspirations. It was concluded that knowledge of parental values, differences in academic aspirations between males and females, financial need, and a student’s high school curriculum would be valuable in helping students select post-high school destinations.     

Delinquency and reputational orientations of adolescent at‐risk and not‐at‐risk males and females

This research investigated differences in delinquent activities and the reputational orientations of at‐risk and not‐at‐risk male and female adolescents. Initially, we sought to establish that adolescent males and females differed in these respects. This was found to be the case: males (n = 722) scored significantly higher than females (n = 738) on seven self‐reported delinquency variables and on eight reputation enhancement variables pertaining to social deviance, non‐conforming reputation, and power/evaluation private identity. When a sample of 31 at‐risk females was subsequently pair‐wise age matched with 31 not‐at‐risk females, at‐risk females scored significantly higher on all delinquency variables other than school misdemeanors. These at‐risk females also scored significantly higher on four reputation enhancement variables relating to social deviance and non‐conformity. Given that at‐risk females did not differ from their not‐at‐risk counterparts in level of involvement in school misdemeanors, we sought to determine whether this was also the case for at‐risk and not‐at‐risk males. An age‐matched sample of 91 pairs revealed that at‐risk males reported significantly higher involvement than not‐at‐risk males in all aspects of delinquency, including school misdemeanors. They also sought a more non‐conforming reputation. To explore the relationships between delinquency and reputation enhancement, a canonical correlation analysis was performed. All findings are discussed in the light of reputation enhancement theory.     

山西省高校课余体育开展的影响因素及对策

课余体育是学校体育重要的组成部分,是实现学校体育目标的重要途径。当前,山西省高校开展课余体育受体育设备的配备情况、体育教师的状况、学生学习体育的兴趣、学生的体育价值观等因素的影响。山西省高校应高度重视开展课余体育的力度,丰富课余体育的内容,充分发挥课余体育的现实价值。     

河南省农村中学生课外体育活动的调查分析

采用问卷调查法对河南省农村中学生课外体育活动情况进行调查研究．结果显示：1）河南省农村中学生课外体育活动的现状不容乐观．2）学习压力较大、缺乏场地设施以及自身体育基础差是制约农村中学生参加课外体育活动的主要消极因素．3）个人的兴趣爱好、增进健康以及受他人的影响是促进农村中学生参加课外体育活动的主要积极因素．提出培养学生体育兴趣,营造校园体育氛围,树立素质教育思想以及加强场地器材建设等应对措施．     

Effects of extracurricular activities and their quality on primary school-age students’ achievement in mathematics in Switzerland

In this study, we examined the development of mathematics achievement in children attending extracurricular activities intensively in comparison with the development in a control group of children attending only the obligatory hours of school instruction. In addition, we investigated the question of possible effects of intensity of attendance and quality of extracurricular activities on achievement in students attending extracurricular activities from the end of Grade 1 to the end of Grade 3. This was a longitudinal study of a sample of N = 295 students in the first years of school at 35 primary schools in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The results show that attendance in extracurricular activities had a positive effect on the development of students’ achievement. Students who attended extracurricular activities intensively in Grade 1, students who attended high-quality extracurricular activities, and especially those who did both, had greater improvement.