Capitalizing on the Extra Curriculum

Educational policy makers and social researchers
often view the extra curriculum as superfluous or
even contradictory to the academic mission of
schools. However, schools are not merely clinical
factories of learning. The physical plant of each
school houses a living, breathing social system with
all of the requisite parts and functions. The
informal interaction of students with each other, as
reciprocal agents of socialization, has consequences
as tangible as teachers' purposive, didactic
interaction with students. Participation in
extracurricular activities plays an important role in
the emergence and functioning of these social systems a role that has important ramifications for
academic achievement. The findings of this study
should be of interest to students, teachers, coaches,
parents and policy makers, as well as sociologists of
education.

Autorentext

Alexander Buoye received his doctorate in sociology, withspecializations in the sociology of education and socialpsychology, from the University of Notre Dame.

Klappentext

Educational policy makers and social researchersoften view the extra curriculum as superfluous oreven contradictory to the academic mission ofschools. However, schools are not merely clinicalfactories of learning. The physical plant of eachschool houses a living, breathing social system withall of the requisite parts and functions. Theinformal interaction of students with each other, asreciprocal agents of socialization, has consequencesas tangible as teachers' purposive, didacticinteraction with students. Participation inextracurricular activities plays an important role inthe emergence and functioning of these social systems- a role that has important ramifications foracademic achievement. The findings of this studyshould be of interest to students, teachers, coaches,parents and policy makers, as well as sociologists ofeducation.