Extracurricular Activities of School Students: Functions, Parental Strategies, and Expected Outcomes

Abstract

A questionnaire survey (N= 6,648) and semi-structured interviews with parents of school students in a Russian megalopolis were carried out to analyze how families perceive the functions of extracurricular activities (ECAs), what choice strategies they follow, and what outcomes they expect. The study is premised on the assumption that ECAs for school students are not homogeneous in terms of their mission and expected outcomes. Empirical data is used to examine the compensatory and enriching functions of ECAs. The compensatory function is about closing gaps in school education through providing subject-specific classes. Enriching ECAs engage students beyond the school curriculum, contributing to diversity of the learning environment. Interview analysis allows identifying two major strategies followed by families when choosing enriching ECAs, depending on which type of skills they seek to cultivate in their children, soft (meta-subject competencies) or hard (specific knowledge shaped institutionally).