At-Risk High School Students and High Prestige Extracurricular Activities John P. McClure, Saint Mary’s University Todd Redalen

At-risk High School Students and High Prestige Extracurricular Activities

John P. McClure Saint Mary’s University

Todd Redalen Wisconsin Department of Corrections

Abstract

When high school students participate in the high prestige extra-curricular offerings of athletics and fine arts, they have greater chances of staying in school (McNeal, 1995; Neely & Vaquera, 2017). Factors such as low socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity correlated with unequal student participation in extracurricular activities (Metsäpelto & Pulkkinen, 2014). The Risk Assessment Scale (Morley & Veale, 2005) was used to identify students. This study was an exploration of the experience of high-risk student participants in athletics and fine arts and how these had meaning for the students and their educational trajectories. Interviews and focus groups took place with 12 students. Participation appeared to cultivate and nourish the affective learning domain, as described by Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia (1964), by appealing to students’ interests, passions, and hopes. Students attributed improvement in academic achievement and persistence in school to participation in high-prestige activities.

In a landmark work, McNeal (1995) found that among 14,000 high school students, those involved in athletics (including cheerleading) and fine arts, to a lesser degree, were less likely to drop out of high school than those who did not participate. Mahoney and Cairns (1997), using a sample of fewer than 400 students, documented the incidence of early dropout as markedly lower for those who participated in athletics. Blevins (2015) compared at-risk student participants in athletics with at-risk student nonparticipants and found a positive relationship with high school athletic participation and not dropping out of school. Also, factors such as low socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity correlated with unequal student participation in extracurricular activities (Metsäpelto & Pulkkinen, 2014). Blevins (2015) suggested that encouraging student participation in athletics may help address the contemporary problems of school failure. Brown (2017) believed that participation in the arts has the capacity to engage students; therefore, educators should deliberately encourage student involvement to help reduce incidents of dropping out of high school. Heckman and LaFontaine (2010) suggested that high school graduation rates plateaued at 80% in the 1970s. This number varies substantially from estimates by scholars such as Swanson (2004), who reported a 68% high school graduation rate, and within that national average, 50.2% of African American students and 53.2% of Hispanic students completed high school during that year. Swanson (2010) reported that more than 7,200 students dropped out of high schools in America each day, and male students graduated at lower rates than female students (Heckman & LaFontaine, 2008). Dewey (1938) suggested that student development should not only focus on the physical and intellectual, but also on the ethical dimension that occurs as a result of the educative process; because the process helps in the formation of attitudes of desire and purpose within the student. A quality educational experience includes extensive contact between the mature and immature, and the most beneficial type of contact and guidance is likely more complex and meaningful than that which often takes place in a traditional school (Dewey, 1938). The purpose of this study was to learn from the student participants directly about their experiences. Using qualitative research, specifically a phenomenological inquiry with interviews and focus groups, allowed us to gain insight into how 12 high school students in athletics and fine arts experienced the extra-curricular offerings. The research question was: What are the

experiences of high-risk students involved in high school athletics and fine arts and have these impacted persistence toward graduation?

Characteristics of Educative Experiences

Even though educators may believe they can impact how students develop social and personal strengths, today’s educators must focus more on helping students acquire minimal academic skills than on inspiring and mentoring them (Griffith & Nguyen, 2006). According to Dewey’s (1938) philosophy of education, the type of experience a student has and the relationship between the student’s experience and his or her learning are crucial. Lawhorn (2008/2009) discussed the importance of the voluntary, interest-based nature of student participation in extra-curricular activities. These activities may represent one of the first times students work toward a common goal with others, and the experience of the extra-curriculum provides participants with opportunities to grow directly, culturally, and sensibly (Lawhorn, 2008/2009). Dewey (1938) also expounded that student development should focus not only on the physical and intellectual, but also on the ethical dimension, which is a social process that helps in the formation of attitudes of desire and purpose within the student. This view is consistent with the affective domain of learning, as discussed by Pierre and Oughton (2007), who stated that learning has to do with beliefs and openness to try new things and the capacity to make choices and judgments regarding how to respond and behave in many situations. These theorists implied that the ancillary attainment of permanent character traits (Dewey, 1938), which students internalize, may be the most important aspect of the educational experience. The extra-curriculum may be the arena in which schools have the best hope of accomplishing what Dewey (1938) identified as a quality education. The application of the affective domain, as proposed by Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia (1964), provides a practical description of learning within this complex phenomenon of student experiences in the extracurricular offerings of athletics and fine arts. This study’s findings were that students’ participation in athletics and fine arts cultivated and nourished their affective domain.

Methodology

Following recommendations by Creswell (2014), Giorgi, Fischer, and von Eckartsberg (1971) a phenomenological approach was implemented for this study. This approach involved asking participants to describe their experiences unfettered by restrictions, to put forth a conscious effort by using verbs such as thinking, remembering, and judging to create vivid meanings and reconstructions of their experiences in high school athletics and fine arts (Moustakas, 1994).

Selection of Participants

The 12 student participants in this study met the following criteria: They had been active participants in school-sponsored athletics or fine arts programs in the same high school. They were willing to describe their experiences in the activity in an individual interview and focus group. They were at high-risk for school dropout and/or failure, as identified and recommended by school faculty and staff who knew them well; and as determined by the Risk Assessment Scale (Morley & Veale, 2005), as administered by the faculty and staff.

They had been recommended by school faculty and staff as resilient because they stayed in school and pursued a trajectory of future success.

Description of the Sample

Although more boys (8) than girls (4) comprised the active sample, the sample achieved an even distribution of students who participated in athletics and fine arts. Students who participated in more than one athletic or fine art offering selected the activity that they identified as most meaningful to them. The 12 students represented the following racial demographic groups: White (n = 4), Black (n = 3), Mixed race (n = 1) and Hispanic/Latino (n = 4), and more males (n = 8) than females (n = 4) participated in the study. Several steps were incorporated to mitigate potential problems with data collection. Because the interviews would play a central

role in gathering information, all interviews and the focus group were audio recorded and transcribed so they would be available for review. In addition, all participants experienced similar lines of questioning during each individual interview and the focus group, and ongoing member checking ensured that the researchers’ interpretation of the information was consistent with that of the participant. Along with two outside consultants, a vetting process was employed to arrive at reliable findings.

Findings

The researchers and the two consultants identified and agreed upon five themes, which were refined to ensure they provided a valid description of the students’ experiences: (a) experiencing supportive social connections, (b) accessing the extra-curriculum: athletics and fine arts, (c) perceiving the extracurricular experience, (d) recognizing and accepting personal accountability for participation, and (e) internalizing and valuing life lessons learned in extracurricular activities. Further work to identify subcategories from the responses was completed and the subcategories were folded in under the corresponding themes. While affective learning seldom occurs without simultaneous engagement of cognition and psychomotor development (Pierre & Oughton, 2007), findings of this study indicated that participation in the extra curriculum engaged all three domains of human learning and may well be some of the few offerings that do so in a public high school. These high-risk students’ experiences were similar regardless of whether they were involved in athletics or fine arts. In other words, athletics and fine arts were two sides of the same coin, and all students experienced a similar phenomenon according to the findings of this research.

Theme 1: Experiencing Supportive Social Connections

All students indicated that other people had played a role in supporting and encouraging their initial or continued participation in the activity at the high school level. Supportive social connections fell into one or more of these groupings: friends/peers, family, in-school adults, and out-of-school adults. The students’ participation typically began with their being made aware of the extra-curricular offering through supportive social connections, which exemplified the theory of social capital. Initially, people directly involved in a student’s social network took action on

the students’ behalf by making them aware of, or helping them to receive, information about these areas of the extra-curriculum.

In some cases, bridging occurred, linking students with others in new social connections and sharing information that supported students to initiate action. Baker (2000) explained that bridging over “structural holes” (p. 11) means a person becomes linked to people not in their immediate network who may not otherwise be accessible to them. These social connections opened opportunities for students and represented social capital. Baker (2000) discussed social capital as a useful and valuable resource and explained that it springs from relationships with others in social networks.

Theme 2: Accessing the Extra-Curriculum: Athletics and Fine Arts

How these at-risk students could access extra-curricular activities was a central issue in

their stories. Subcategories that made up this theme related to prior participation, prerequisites for participation, and costs associated with participation. Responding (the second category of the affective domain), according to Krathwohl et al. (1964), in the context of this study was associated with students’ complying with the prerequisites for high school participation, which included meeting minimum thresholds for school performance and being able to pay the costs associated with participation. Further, most students in this study referred to past experiences that cultivated their initial interest and motivated them to pursue the activity. Even those students with no prior experience in their activities expressed an early level of commitment to the experience by expending their own resources to join the activity; for example, getting a physical examination or purchasing shoes. All of the students made personal sacrifices or commitments to prepare, even as they acknowledged that the activity may have been under-supported by the school.

Theme 3: Perceptions of the Extra-Curricular Experience

Students revealed their perceptions of the extracurricular experience in their descriptions of a wide variety of experiences that came to represent subcategories. Students’ responses revealed how they developed strong attachments to the activity of their choice. Krathwohl et al. (1964) characterized this step in the affective learning hierarchy as valuing, when the student is

so “sufficiently committed to the value to pursue it” (p. 145), and in this case, to seek out the experience and want to partake in it. Also during this phase, the students’ interest in the activity, combined with perseverance, led to them to develop higher level of skills and to the understanding that their participation “satisfies a deep need” (Krathwohl et al., 1964, p. 150), ultimately crystallizing their commitment to the activity. Also, the concept of resilience emerged in the students’ stories. Findings of this study aligned with Duckworth’s (2016) assertion that grit, a combination of passion and perseverance, empowered these students to “stick to their commitments” (p. 117) to participate in athletics or fine arts, to meet the goals of the educational program, and therefore, not to drop out of school.

Theme 4: Recognizing and Accepting Personal Accountability for Participation

Evidence from the interviews also indicated that students’ commitment led them to

maintain acceptable behavior in school, sometimes influenced by whether their activity was in season. This dynamic reflected Krathwohl et al.’s (1964) description of the level of the affective learning domain hierarchy wherein the learner, in a sense, establishes an integrated value system from its parts. Some students’ deep commitments to their activities led them to change their behavior, act responsibly, keep their grades up, manage their time, and demonstrate maturity. No findings like these appeared in the previous literature pertaining to this topic.

Theme 5: Internalizing and Valuing Life Lessons Learned in Extracurricular Activities

Krathwohl et al. (1964) indicted that at the highest level of affective learning, people internalize the values they have been developing, and these values guide their behavior. These beliefs, ideas, and attitudes form a philosophy that motivates students to prosocial behavior and choices consistent with their own positive personal development. Also, during the final stage of affective learning, students may develop the maturity to know who to ask for support or how to access an outlet for stress. According to Eiss and Harbeck (1969), these skills are important not only because they indicate a person has achieved affective learning, but also because young learners “develop a value system that often remains unchanged even when they become adults” (p. 9). Adoption of a positive philosophy, therefore, mitigates the risk that young people will

adopt and carry into adulthood values that are not conducive to their becoming productive citizens and workers.

Responses from the students in this study indicated that participation in extra-curricular activities resulted in their internalizing positive values. Findings such as these began to fill gaps in the literature regarding the impact of extracurricular participation as a mitigating factor for atrisk students. Taken together, these students portrayed a transformation that resulted from their committed immersion in their extra-curricular activity.

Summary of Findings

These students achieved in-depth engagement and learning when they participated in their chosen activities because the experience engaged cognitive and psychomotor activity and served as a catalyst for igniting the passions and engaging the hearts of these participants. The programs offered specific benefits to these students that the standard school curriculum simply could not provide. The essence of the experience was that participating in athletics and fine arts was life changing for these students. As these student participants emerge into adulthood, they will carry with them the values and beliefs they acquired during adolescence. Evidence from the interviews and focus groups suggested that as a result of their participation, these learners became what Mezirow (1997) described as “more autonomous thinker[s] by learning to negotiate his or her own values, meanings, and purposes rather than to uncritically act on those of others” (p. 11). Their newfound perspective and maturity supported positive decision making, as well. As students cultivated interest and committed effort to the activity, they found passion and built strength that empowered them to find resiliency and transcend challenges, circumstances, and background characteristics that placed them at risk. For these students, participating in athletics or fine arts was a quality learning experience and offered what education should provide, an actual life experience. Participation offered hope, as Dewey (1938) described it, to accomplish goals not only for the individual learner but also for the larger society. Bell (2016) concurred that the desired results of learning are that the student acquires competencies and beliefs as a result of developing personally for conscious citizenship as they advance into adulthood.

Recommendations for Practice and Further Research

Policy makers, educational reformers, and educators should continue utilizing the high prestige areas of athletics and fine arts as supportive of the goals of improving student achievement and may consider adding these as possible outcomes for their ESSA reviews. Encouraging students to participate in the extra-curriculum should be incorporated into educational reform efforts, especially for high-risk student groups, who are underrepresented as participants in these areas of the curriculum. All of these at-risk students continued to attend school and progressed toward high school graduation; therefore, early exposure to the extra-curricular offerings of athletics and fine arts may serve to mitigate risk factors and influence students’ subsequent success in school and life. Educators should strive to provide experience, exposure, and education about available extracurricular offerings to all youth, especially those at risk. Schools should periodically examine inequalities in their patterns of support for extracurricular programs. Evaluation of the allocation of human and capital resources to these areas of the curriculum could ensure that they are affordable to low income students and that adequate support exists to sustain them.

Limitations

This qualitative study focused on a small group of students who were purposefully selected to meet a set of criteria. The students’ viewpoints may not be representative of the viewpoints of the entire population of high-risk students who participate in athletics and fine arts at this high school. It is not possible to make generalizations from this small sample of participants. Although the students who participated in the study were racially representative of the larger school population, fewer girls than boys participated in the study. The intent was to have equal or near-equal numbers of boys and girls participate, but two female students recommended to the researcher as candidates for the study by school personnel did not join the study, and therefore, the sample was not balanced, in terms of gender. The Risk Assessment Scale (Veale & Morely, 2005) demonstrated both reliability and validity in testing. However, while we provided discussion and training about how to administer the assessment, no inter-rater reliability was established among the school officials who used the

instrument to select students. Therefore, students may have had a larger or smaller number of risk factors than were identified.

Conclusions

While this study did not specifically look at the correlation, it was these students’ perceptions that their participation in athletics and fine arts at this high school made it less likely that they would drop out of school. Furthermore, findings included some previously unknown information about how high-risk students experience these activities. This study’s criteria for participation—be high risk, be on a trajectory for success, be willing to share experiences in an interview and focus group, and be a current participant in athletics and/or fine arts—had not appeared before in research, including the use of the Risk Assessment Scale by Morley and Veale (2005). A greater understanding of what occurs in these curricular areas and of how students appear to develop and change as a result of participation in both athletics and fine arts began to emerge from this study. Because their experience in both athletics and fine arts engaged not only their minds and bodies, but also their emotions, these offerings cultivated students’ interests and passions, resulting in their commitment to something larger than themselves and their being transformed by the experience. Students attributed benefits such as improvement in grades, plans to stay in school and graduate, and a desire to go on for a post-secondary education to their involvement in athletics and fine arts.

Findings illustrated that these at-risk student participants demonstrated resilience, in spite of background characteristics that made them vulnerable to negative outcomes, and they achieved a trajectory for success in conventional terms. From these findings, we can outline an opportunity for all stakeholders of the country’s K-12 education system to reconsider education reform efforts henceforth, especially as they pertain to high-risk students. Ensuring that extracurricular activities of both athletics and fine arts are available to high-risk students may help curb the dropout rate and increase the probability that these students will go on to be productive members of society. These areas of the school curriculum should be available not only to a privileged few students, nor overlooked as an unnecessary part of the curriculum; rather, they

should be presented as prosocial offerings, readily accessible by all students, regardless of their background characteristics and past experience in the activity.

Author Biographies

Dr. McClure is a Professor and Program Director for the Doctor of Education in Leadership Program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He has worked in the fine arts, hospitality and healthcare fields, as well as in higher education. Dr. McClure taught for the University of Minnesota and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dr. McClure has owned a business and managed several others. His research and teaching interests include exploration of work experience, qualitative research methods, communication and power, adult and adolescent development, organizational learning and effectiveness. Todd Redalen is a Education Director at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. He is an engaging person who works well with diverse populations of people of all age groups and background characteristics. He has functioned in a number of capacities, including in the role of teacher, trainer, instructor, facilitator, grant writer, program evaluator, consultant, supervisor, and director. While he was the Director of the K12 School-Aged At-Risk Program (Caring Connection) for the Marshalltown, Iowa Community School District. The Caring Connection was recognized in the (1998) Joy G. Dryfoos book Safe Passage: Making It Through Adolescence in A Risky Society. As one five exemplary programs in the nation serving at-risk students. Todd has worked in several public K12 settings, at the post-secondary level, within private community-based organizations, within public agencies and public institutional settings. He is passionate about working collaboratively with others for the purpose of not only solving problems but in creating new opportunities for the purpose of realizing improved outcomes for people.

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