Extracurricular activities can help drive academic success: podcast

Extracurricular activities could help to close the educational gap between students in regional areas and their city counterparts, a new study shows. 

Lead researcher from the University of Tasmania lecturer in psychology Alexander O’Donnell says out of school activities can increase students’ expectations for academic success and study pursuit.

Students in regional areas are, on average, ranked 5% lower than metropolitan students under the ATAR classification system.

“Extracurricular activities help students to learn how to manage their time, interact with varied people, it develops skills in management, leadership that can be translated into school life,” O’Donnell told Education Review.

He believes out of school activities can also encourage regional students to continue their study at university, a trend that isn’t common as “students often go straight to work after school.” 

O’Donnell joined Education Review to discuss how extracurricular activities can drive academic success.