Bulletin of Education and Research

April 2018, Vol. 40, No. 1 pp. 183-196

Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and Exam

Performance: Mediating Role of Attendance

Kashif Rathore *, Abdul Qayyum Chaudhry** and Muhammad Azad***

__________________________________________________________________

Abstract
Benefits of co-curricular activities (CA) are numerous, including self-confidence, communication
skills and good physical health. So far, little importance has been given to study the relationship of
co-curricular activities and exam performance in Pakistan. Consequently students are living in an
environment where they have little idea of how co-curricular activities affect their exam performance
or grades. They only give importance to their studies in order to achieve higher grades in exam. This
research study examined the role of co-curricular activities and exam performance of students at
different levels of class attendance. Secondary data (co-curricular participation data, attendance of
10th class and grades in 10th class board exams) of 636 students through multistage purposive
sampling was collected from thirty high schools of Lahore. Multiple regression analysis
demonstrated that co-curricular activities have positive impact on student’s exam performance. Sobel
test of mediation showed that attendance partially mediated the association of involvement in co-
curricular or non-classroom activities with exam performance. Participation in co-curricular activities
improves class attendance of students which then play an important role in achieving high grades in
exams. “Independent sample t-test” showed that students who were involved in co-curricular or non-
class room activities had better grades or exam performance from those students who were not part of
these activities. When both male and female students participated in non-classroom activities then
female students had higher average exam grades.

Keywords: Co-curricular activities, class attendance, exam performance, schools, Pakistan.

* Assistant Professor, Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Email: [email protected].
**Assistant Professor, Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Email: [email protected]
*** M. Phil Scholar, Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Email: [email protected]
Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and EP: Mediating Role of Attendance 184

Introduction

Knowledge nourishes the human mind and physical exercise helps body to be in good
shape. Knowledge and physical health both are necessary for young ones to prosper in
their lives. With the passage of time youth may face different problems like substance
abuse, indecent behavior, absenteeism from school and violence. All these problems may
disturb parents, teachers and learning environment. To overcome these problems, schools,
community and parents should work together (Dryfoos, 1990; Werner & Smith, 1992).
Young ones need an environment which offers them opportunities to participate in
different activities as they grow up. Schools and community can provide them with
opportunities for different activities in the school and outside the school which may help
them to shape their behavior and personality. Participation in different activities by
students may be an easy way to change the lives of young ones (Holland & Andre, 1987).
In Pakistan little importance has been given to study the relationship of co-curricular
activities and exam performance. No attempt has been made to investigate whether there
is any positive or negative impact of co-curricular activities on academics. Small schools
without playgrounds in community have completely neglected the importance of co-
curricular activities in students’ behavior and lives. Students face huge burden of studies
as schools only focus on tough schedule of studies to improve students’ exam
performance. This routine may affect physical health of students which may lead towards
bad performance in exam grades. A large number of private schools in Pakistan are
charging heavy fees but are not able to provide a good quality environment for co-
curricular activities. Although government schools are offering somewhat better co-
curricular activities to their students, yet most government or private schools in Pakistan
don’t have a proper system for co-curricular activities.

This research study intends to explore the relationship of co-curricular activities

and exam performance of students at different levels of class attendance. This research
study focuses on the role of co-curricular activities and exam performance of the students
in the presence of class attendance and does not take into scope other factors e.g.
engagement in different work related activities to meet study expense, which might affect
student performance.

Co-curricular Activities (CA)

There are different views about extra-curricular activities. Education system in schools
offers co-curricular activities at all levels (Foster, 2008). The activities e.g. “co-curricular
activities, non-classroom activities and extracurricular activities” all have the same
meaning referring to participation in music, drama and debates, etc(Emmer, 2010).
Kashif, Qayyum & Azad 185

Activities on voluntary basis which are being offered by the school and are officially
approved and have no extra marks or grades in exam are considered co-curricular
activities (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2008). Student participation in such activities depends
on the opportunities which are being offered by school at different levels. Experience
from these activities shape an alternative curriculum—one that helps to shape the
behavior of the students and is well incorporated into the daily program of the school
(Barbieri, 2009). Both opportunities for extra-curricular activity and the extent of
involvement in these activities may affect the holistic development of individuals (Eccles,
2003). Involvement in these activities may be beneficial in various ways e.g. it can
encourage healthy lifestyle or personality development at an early stage. Extracurricular
activities provide such learning which cannot be taught from subjects in class room and it
helps young ones to apply their classroom learning (Lunnenburg, 2010).

Exam or grade performance of students is also linked with the level of

involvement in such activities. Students who participate in various non-class room
activities are also more engaged in school time, have better exam grades and motivation
towards education (Fredricks & Eccles, 2006). But students who take part in at least some
co-curricular activities perform better in exams than those students who don’t participate
at all (Reeves, 2008). Youth development includes improvement in academics, social life,
association with family, confidence, caring and compassion and character building
(Morrissey, 2005). There are multiple activities for students to participate, but it is
important for students to know which activities benefit them the most. Extracurricular
activities may have negative consequences such as facing bad behavior of a coach to
degrade team members or to spare every free minute in multiple activities, but the
positive consequences widely outnumber those and are instrumental in individual’s
development (Eccles & Barber, 1999). Research on co-curricular activities has linked a
number of outcomes with students’ participation in co-curricular activities as shown in
Table 1 below:

Table 1
Education statistics of students
Indicator Participants Non-Participants
No unexcused absences 50.4 36.2
Never skipped class 50.7 42.3
Expect to earn bachelor’s degree or higher 68.2 48.2
Have CGPA of 3.0 or higher 30.6 10.8
Highest quartile on math & reading assessment 29.8 14.2
Source:(The condition of education, 1999)
Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and EP: Mediating Role of Attendance 186

National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) also stated that there is high
awareness about co-curricular activities among children but unfortunately the
participation remains low for minority and poor students. Participation in such activities
is perhaps the best investment that a school can offer to his poor students to improve their
performance (Everson & Millsap, 2005). Level of involvement in any activity and its
intensity is also important (Gardner, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2008). How students are
involved in co-curricular activities may also produce difference results in terms of impact
on individuals. It is therefore important for students and school to know why students and
individuals need to involve in co-curricular activities and what steps should be taken to
reduce some negative consequences of participation in such activities.

Benefits of being involved in co-curricular activities are numerous and it leads to

positive youth development. But what exactly does this means? According to Eccles
(2003) involvement in voluntary activities in school may increase achievement and
participation. This is so because student’s interpersonal skills and social norms are
developed and consequently they get more involved in pro social programs which then
help to improve their emotional wellbeing and social networks. The involvement in such
activities is then expected to contribute towards the improvement in grades and it may
also help to reduce behavioral issues. Daley and Leahy (2003) found that mental health of
the young ones can be improved by being involved in physical activities and, as a result,
their self-perceptions will be higher than non-participating students.

Darling, Caldwell, and Smith (2005) stated that involvement in co-curricular

activities result in better exam grades, less disciplinary issues, increased attendance and
less dropout rate from school. The positive outcomes of co-curricular activities are not
specific to athletic activities but these are also linked to other types of co-curricular
activities. Olson (2008) found that those individuals who were engaged in fine arts
activities had significantly improved attendance compared to those students who
preferred to limit only to studies at school. Being involved in co-curricular activities is
significantly related with class attendance and higher class attendance is linked with
higher exam grades (Olson, 2008). The benefits of the participation in non-class room
activities include better grades in class (Marsh, 1992); improved exam or test
performance (Gerber, 1996); high education achievement (Hanks & Eckland, 1976);
improvement in self confidence level (Marsh, 1992); higher attendance record (Mahoney
& Cairns, 1997); no or little use of drugs (Cooley, Henriksen, Nelson, & Thompson,
1995); less withdrawal rate from class (Mahoney & Cairns, 1997); improved behavior
(Marsh, 1992) and decreased rate of involvement in criminal activities (Landers
&Landers, 1978). Yet no study has been conducted to measure whether attendance
mediates the relationship of co-curricular or non-class room activities with exam
Kashif, Qayyum & Azad 187

performance of students. Furthermore, there is no study as yet in Pakistan which

separately and as a whole explores the relationship between participation in co-curricular
activities and exam performance for male and female school students. Such a study
becomes even more important in a country where women are traditionally disempowered
and where emphasis on female educational development is fairly recent. Following
hypotheses are developed for this study:

H1: Attendance significantly mediates the relationship of co-curricular activities with

exam performance of students.

H2: There is significant difference in grades or exam performance of female students who
participate in co-curricular activities and those who do not participate in co-curricular
activities.

H3: There is significant difference in grades or exam performance of male students who
participate in co-curricular activities and those who do not participate in co-curricular
activities.

H4: There is significant difference in grades or exam performance of male and female
students who do not participate in co-curricular activities.

H5:There is significant difference in grades or exam performance of male and female

students who participate in co-curricular activities.

The conceptual framework of this study is given below:

Co-curricular Attendance
Activities

Exam Performance

Figure 1: Conceptual framework

Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and EP: Mediating Role of Attendance 188

Research Methodology

Lahore city has 107 high schools owned by government of Punjab. The students who are
studying at matriculation level in high schools of Lahore owned by government of Punjab
constituted the population for this research. It was not possible to collect data of all
students studying in high schools of Lahore city due to time and financial constraints. So,
multistage purposive sampling was used to collect data from schools. Secondary data was
collected from thirty schools of Lahore. The chosen thirty schools were then divided into
male and female high schools (15 male and 15 female high schools). From amongst the
students chosen from each school, half of the students participated in co-curricular
activities and half of the students did not participate in co-curricular activities. Each
school was requested to provide a list of 10th year students who matriculated last year and
who participated in co-curricular activities. Then an equal number of other or non-
participating students were randomly selected from the roll-call registers of the same class
in each school. In this way a sample of 636 students was generated. Data on average class
attendance for the 10th year at school was calculated from the roll-call registers. Data on
10th year board exam performance for each of the selected students was also obtained
from the schools.

Data Analysis

The following table is a matrix of correlation coefficients between three variables

i.e. exam performance, attendance and participation in co-curricular activities.

Table: 2
Correlation matrix
Exam
Attendance Co-curricular Activities
Performance
Exam Performance 1 --- ---
Attendance .582** 1 ---
Participation Co-curricular
.785** .224** 1
Activities
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Attendance and exam performance are positive correlated as Pearson correlation

coefficient (r = .582) with significant value p < .001. Participation in co-curricular
activities and exam performance are positively correlated with each other as Pearson
correlation coefficient (r = .785) and significant value p < .001. Attendance and
participation in co-curricular activities are positively correlated with each other as
Pearson correlation coefficient (r = .224) with significant value p < .001.
Kashif, Qayyum & Azad 189

Predicting exam performance

“Multiple linear regression” is used to analyze the effect of participation in co-curricular

activities and exam performance. The following table summarized the multiple regression
analysis results. Participation in co-curricular activities has statistically significantly
related with exam performance of the students. Overall model explains 63.6% (F=552, p
< .0001) of variance in exam performance.

Table: 3
Regression analysis of participation in co-curricular activities and exam performance
Independent Variables B (SE) β
Gender -2.019 0.342 -0.142
Participation in co-curricular activities 11.192 0.342 0.785
R2 0.636
2
Adjusted R 0.635
F (Significance) 552 (.000)
Note: Gender is statistically controlled variable

Mediating effect of attendance on exam performance

The mediating role of attendance in the presence of co-curricular activities and exam
performance of students is analyzed using four step method approach (Frazier, Tix, &
Barron, 2004; Baron & Kenny, 1986). Step: 1 is performed to analyze to effect of co-
curricular activities on exam performance in the absence of attendance. Step: 2 is
performed to analyze whether co-curricular activities is significantly linked with
mediating variable attendance. During step: 3 associations between attendance and exam
performance is measured. Step: 4 is performed to measure the strength of the relationship
of co-curricular activities and exam performance in the presence of attendance. The
following table shows results of the mediation analysis. Standardized betas have been
used for regression results since units of measurement for variables in the mediation
model are different from each other'. Attendance partially mediates the relationship of
participation in co-curricular activities and exam performance. In step 1,
(β = .785, p < 0.001), involvement in co-curricular activities is significantly linked with
exam performance. In step 2, (β = .224, p < 0.001), involvement in co-curricular activities
is significantly associated with attendance. In step 3, (β = .594, p < 0.001), exam
performance is significantly associated with attendance of the students. In step 4, there is
decrease in β value from .785 to .690 for the association of participation in co-curricular
activities and exam performance with the addition of attendance.
Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and EP: Mediating Role of Attendance 190

Table: 4
Mediation analysis
Independent Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Variables B (SE) Β B (SE) β B (SE) β B (SE) β
Gender -2.019 0.342 -0.142 -2.429 0.293 -0.305 0.568 0.484 0.04 -0.173 0.274 -0.012
Participation in
co-curricular 11.192 0.342 0.785 1.781 0.293 0.224 --- --- --- 9.838 0.268 0.69
activities
Attendance --- --- --- --- --- --- 1.065 0.061 0.594 0.76 0.035 0.424
R2 0.636 143 0.34 0.79
Adjusted R2 0.635 141 0.338 0.789
F (Significance) 552 (.000) 52.920 (.000) 163.192 (.000) 791.093 (.000)
Note: In step 2, dependent variable is attendance. In step 1, 3 & 4, the dependent variable is exam
performance. Gender is a controlled variable.

Significance of the mediating variable “attendance” is measured by Sobeltest

through Baron and Kenny approach (Baron & Kenny, 1986). The statistics of Sobeltest of
mediation z = 5.636, p = 0.00 shows that association of participation between co-
curricular activities and exam performance is reduced significantly by the addition of the
mediator (attendance). In other words, attendance significantly mediates the relationship
of participation in co-curricular activities and exam performance. 12.1% of the variation
in exam performance is explained by participation in co-curricular activities by means
(mediation) of attendance.

Comparison of Mean Values

The following table shows mean of student grades in terms of exam performance and
standard deviation between different groups of students. Data is divided in two categories
on the basis of participation and non-participation into co-curricular or co-curricular
activities. Then each group is further divided into male and female sub-groups. There is
slight difference of 1.2% in their exam performance between two groups male of female
students when both groups did not participate in co-curricular activities. But difference in
exam performance is increased from 1.2 % to 2.84% between male and female students
when both participated in participated in co-curricular activities.
Kashif, Qayyum & Azad 191

Table 5
Exam performance
Extracurricular Activities Gender Mean N Std. Deviation
Female 70.69 159 4.27
No Participation in co-curricular
Male 69.49 159 4.69
activities
Total 70.09 318 4.52
Female 82.70 159 3.78
Participation in co-curricular
Male 79.86 159 4.40
activities
Total 81.28 318 4.33
Female 76.70 318 7.24
Total
Male 74.68 318 6.90

Male students who were involved in co-curricular activities have 10.37% higher exam
grades than male students who were not part of co-curricular activities. But female
students have 12.01% higher exam grades than female students who were not part of co-
curricular activities. Now, there is need to test whether difference in exam performance
between different groups of students is statistically significance or not. For this purpose
“independent sample t test” is used. In Levene’s test of equality of variances P>.05,
equality of variances for all variables is assumed. The t-test table shows that female
students who were involved in co-curricular activities have statistically significant higher
exam performance (82.70 ± 3.78) than female students who were not part of co-curricular
activities (70.69 ± 4.27) as p < .05. Male students who were involved in co-curricular
activities have statistically significant higher exam performance (79.86 ± 4.39) than male
students who were not part of co-curricular activities (69.49 ± 4.69) as p < .05. Female
students who were not part of co-curricular activities have statistically significant higher
exam performance (70.69 ± 4.27) than male students who did not take part in
co-curricular activities (69.49 ± 4.69) as p < .05. Female students who were involved in
co-curricular activities have statistically significant higher exam performance (82.70 ±
3.78) than male students who took part in co-curricular activities (79.86 ± 4.39) as
p < .05.
Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and EP: Mediating Role of Attendance 192

Table 6
t-test
Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of
Equality of Variances Means
Sig.
F Sig. t
(2-tailed)
Exam performance of female students who
participate in CA activities and those who do not
participate in CA activities
Equal variances assumed 1.821 0.178 26.552 0
Equal variances not assumed 26.552 0
Exam performance of male students who participate
in CA activities and those who do not participate in
CA activities
Equal variances assumed 1.073 0.301 20.335 0
Equal variances not assumed 20.335 0
Exam performance of male and female students who
do not participate in CA activities
Equal variances assumed 1.646 0.2 -2.381 0.018
Equal variances not assumed -2.381 0.018
Exam performance of male and female students who
participate in CA activities
Equal variances assumed 2.419 0.121 -6.174 0
Equal variances not assumed -6.174 0

Discussion and Conclusion

Co-curricular activities help students to achieve better grades in exam and to improve
their class attendance. If a student wants to participate in co-curricular activities he or she
must attend the school, so absenteeism will go down. Students who participate in co-
curricular activities may also enjoy different benefits other than improvement of grades
and class attendance. Participation in organized co-curricular activities leads towards
individual’s social development and individuals have better opportunities to improve their
societal attitudes and personalities. It can also provide them the opportunity to connect
themselves with a social and participative network of peers if school is connected to that
network (Darling, Caldwell, & Smith, 2005). Co-curricular activities have positive impact
on class attendance of the students. Co-curricular activities improve the class attendance
which further leads to higher performance of grades. Therefore, attendance mediates the
effect of co-curricular activities on exam performance positively.
Kashif, Qayyum & Azad 193

Both male and female students who were part of different co-curricular activities
have better grades in exam than their non-participating counterparts, but participating
female students have better grades than participating male students. It means that female
students may have more chances of academic improvement by participation in co-
curricular activities in comparison with male students. This may be because, although
females in Pakistan have limited activities outside of home as compared with males and
thus devote most of their time to studies, they experience a lower level of physical, social,
emotional and psychological wellbeing attributable to participation in co-curricular
activities. Thus once provided opportunities and once they participate in co-curricular
activities, they perform better in exams than male students.

Proper attention should be given to co-curricular activities in schools for the

betterment of all students. From a women development perspective, since female
participating students have better exam grades than male participating students, so more
co-curricular facilities and encouragement is required in girls’ schools than is currently
available. Students should be encouraged to take part in different kind of co-curricular
activities and they should discover achieve their full potential. Teachers and parents and
mentors should be engaged to motivate young ones to increase their involvement in co-
curricular activities and proper facilities should be given at school level, especially in
female schools. In-order to produce brilliant students, schools need to promote a culture
of co-curricular activities.

Recommendations of the study

As co-curricular activities play a vital role in the success of exam performance, these
activities must be aligned and scheduled with the daily routine of coursework of the
students in such a way that involvement in these activities does not interfere with their
classroom presence. Involvement in at least some co-curricular activities must be made a
part of the syllabus of the schools. Students should be encouraged to participate in co-
curricular activities in schools and different sessions should be arranged for the awareness
of parents and society. It should be mandatory for every school to arrange co-curricular
activities for students. Female participation in co-curricular activities should be made a
part of women development agenda at the national and provincial levels.

Directions for Future Research

The research study was only intended to explore the role of co-curricular activities and
exam score or grades in the presence of class attendance. There may be other factors
which may interfere with students’ participation in curricular or co-curricular activities.
Some students’ might have financial issues, so they may invest their free time to finance
Relationship between Co-curricular Activities and EP: Mediating Role of Attendance 194

themselves and to support their families and hence find little time for both curricular and
co-curricular activities. Some schools may have financial problems. Further research is
required to explore how these factors affect students’ participation in co-curricular
activities and what steps should be taken to remove these barriers.

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