Broadly speaking, the central theme among Reis, Collins, & Berscheid (2000) and Juvonen (2006) seems to be that positive implications of social support and interpersonal relationships are associated with increased motivation, engagement, and persistence in academia. More specifically, Juvonen (2006) discusses the importance of belonging in academia for middle school children from disadvantaged groups. Honing in on this population, some studies discussed experiences that could further help students acclimate and feel a sense of belonging, such as academic tasks and extracurricular activities (Juvonen, 2006). Finn (1989) found that students in middle and high school decreased their chances of dropping out before 11th grade when they participated in extracurricular activities.
Middle school may be a strange time to be engaged in an extracurricular activity, as the high school climate seems to have more opportunities for joining a variety of clubs, sports, and academic TA’ships. Moreover, disadvantaged students from low income communities may face the challenge of low funding mechanisms for extracurricular activities. While Juvonen (2006) suggests that involvement in “any” activity could help risk of dropping out, I propose that educators in middle school incorporate social activities on campus to help students feel more connected to their school and to each other. For instance, by organizing a group that meets to watch films, engage in art activities, and social hours. While change at the systemic level is needed, I believe this may be a small intervention to help students feel a sense of relatedness and belonging to their institutions and other students.
As I was reading your response I started to think about the type and quality of friendships that might be built as a result of the activities you suggested. While facilitating social interaction with peers is important, especially in middle school, Juvonen also states that the quality of friendships and interactions help to determine the type of behavior a student exhibits. For example, students with positive and supportive friendships were found to increase school engagement, while students with negative and competitive friendships actually showed disengagement (Juvonen, Page 661). What are your thoughts on ways to encourage positive, instead of competitive, friendships?
Hi Krystal – I particularly appreciated your point that “disadvantaged students…may face the challenge of low funding mechanisms for extracurricular activities.” This seems especially important since Juvonen (2006) discussed empirical findings suggesting disadvantaged students have an even greater need for positive social relationships at school since they might not have as much support at home. Providing extracurricular for these students could help ameliorate these effects by affording students the opportunity to interact with peers outside of the classroom environment. In addition, many extracurricular by nature include opportunities for students to work together (e.g., sports, drama club), thereby teaching important social skills. It is unfortunate (understatement!) that these students are often the one’s who are denied these opportunities and it should be concern for educators and researchers.
Hi Kimberly – Thank you for this insightful response. I agree that any time of support is *especially* important since underrepresented students struggle to find academic support outside of whats offered in school. I appreciated that Juvogen (2006) explicitly mentioned the challenges that students face and their challenges are really what keeps me motivated to understand how mentoring could influence persistence among these groups of students. Also, considering your last comment about this population of students often being denied access, I think that schools in low-income communities are doing a much better job of integrating resources and programs to keep students in the academic pipeline. However, we still have a ways to go and these type of conversations are *essential* for greater change.
Krystal, I agree with you that providing spaces for social activity is generally beneficial for students. However, I recently read an insightful paper by Dodge, Dishion, & Lansford (2006)that addressed some of the issues with providing loosely-structured learning environments for socialization– loosely structured environments or community centers may lead to an increase in deviant/delinquent behaviors. I think that interest groups or extracurricular groups that are led by a trained teacher/adult/counselor and are well-structured will build a sense of community while promoting healthy forms of socialization, but the implementation is crucial to success. I do not agree with Juvonen’s assessment that any type of extracurricular activity will be beneficial to academic engagement.
Dodge, K. A., Dishion, T. J., & Lansford, J. E. (2006). Deviant Peer Influences in Programs for Youth Problems and Solutions. Guilford Publications.
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