Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools

Previous research has provided compelling evidence of a strong connection between extracurricular activities and positive youth development. While both school offerings and student participation affect the outcomes of extracurricular activities, earlier studies have primarily focused on student part...

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Main Authors: Tang Amy, Wang Yang, Tang Chunqiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2025-07-01
Series:Open Education Studies
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2025-0093
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author Tang Amy
Wang Yang
Tang Chunqiang
author_facet Tang Amy
Wang Yang
Tang Chunqiang
author_sort Tang Amy
collection DOAJ
description Previous research has provided compelling evidence of a strong connection between extracurricular activities and positive youth development. While both school offerings and student participation affect the outcomes of extracurricular activities, earlier studies have primarily focused on student participation. In contrast, this study shifts the focus to school offerings. We extensively collect lists of extracurricular clubs offered by hundreds of American high schools and analyze the relationship between schools’ club counts and various factors, such as school enrollment, household income, pupil-to-teacher ratio, and racial demographics. We find that, although the relationship exhibits complex higher-order effects and nonlinearity, it can still be effectively captured by our carefully constructed predictive model. Moreover, we find that, despite the significant influence of school demographics, schools still have ample opportunities to take the initiative to improve their club offerings.
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series Open Education Studies
spelling doaj-art-34afcf6dc3da4088b9945a52e14facec2025-08-20T03:28:19ZengDe GruyterOpen Education Studies2544-78312025-07-017115416010.1515/edu-2025-0093Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High SchoolsTang Amy0Wang Yang1Tang Chunqiang2Lynbrook High School, San Jose, United StatesDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Ohio, United StatesMeta platforms, San Jose, United StatesPrevious research has provided compelling evidence of a strong connection between extracurricular activities and positive youth development. While both school offerings and student participation affect the outcomes of extracurricular activities, earlier studies have primarily focused on student participation. In contrast, this study shifts the focus to school offerings. We extensively collect lists of extracurricular clubs offered by hundreds of American high schools and analyze the relationship between schools’ club counts and various factors, such as school enrollment, household income, pupil-to-teacher ratio, and racial demographics. We find that, although the relationship exhibits complex higher-order effects and nonlinearity, it can still be effectively captured by our carefully constructed predictive model. Moreover, we find that, despite the significant influence of school demographics, schools still have ample opportunities to take the initiative to improve their club offerings.https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2025-0093
spellingShingle Tang Amy
Wang Yang
Tang Chunqiang
Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools
Open Education Studies
title Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools
title_full Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools
title_fullStr Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools
title_short Understanding the Factors Influencing the Number of Extracurricular Clubs in American High Schools
title_sort understanding the factors influencing the number of extracurricular clubs in american high schools
url https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2025-0093
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AT tangchunqiang understandingthefactorsinfluencingthenumberofextracurricularclubsinamericanhighschools