Search

Prior research has indicated an association between extracurricular activity participation and positive academic and social outcomes for teens. However, much of this has focused on sports clubs and not emphasized the school and student characteristics that influence students to join different activities,such as arts, academic, or service clubs. Research examining gender in relation to participation in extracurricular activities has consistently found that, except for sports, girls participate more often in more activities than boys do (Coleman, 1961; Jacobs & Chase, 1989; McNeal, 1998; Davalos, Chavez, & Guardiola, 1999). Given the greater variation in girls' participation, we focus this multi-level analysis on the individual and school factors that influence girls' participation in different types of clubs. The dominant status model predicts that more advantaged students are more likely to participate,and we find support for this model. The social capital model predicts that participation is facilitated in communities with closure and multiplex relations. We find some support for this theory. However,student ethnicity, both at the individual and the school level of analysis, influence participation rates in various types of activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of ongoing debate and inconsistent findings about the existence of an oppositional culture among black students, this paper reexamines the ?burden of acting white? hypothesis. Using interview and enrollment data generated from a study undertaken for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, we find that school placement patterns figure significantly in the development of a burden acting white, but only among adolescents. We encountered the term ?acting white? only in middle and high schools with disproportionate underrepresentation of minority and lower income students in rigorous courses and programs. In those schools we find considerable animosity toward the ?rich white? students enrolled in upper-level classes and it served as a barrier to enrollment for some students, both black and white. At other schools, we find no animosity toward black students enrolled in these courses, whether under- or overrepresented. In general, students? perceived lack of ability explained their reluctance to enroll in AP and honors courses. Given our findings, we suspect that the evidence of an oppositional culture found in other studies may be explained by the extent to which the minority students were underrepresented in the advanced courses, a situation that breeds animosity and resentment toward the privileged few. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]