Extracurricular Activities and Disadvantaged Youth: A Complicated—But Promising—Story
Open accessAbstract
Increased political and research interest in extracurricular activities stems, in part, from the claim that these programs especially benefit disadvantaged youth. However, little literature has synthesized studies across types of disadvantage to assess this claim. This article reviews research on disadvantaged youth in extracurricular programs, including differences by gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and immigrant status. Our review reveals a promising, if complicated, picture. Although disadvantaged youth are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities, they often experience greater benefits, depending on the risk status and activity type. Evidence clearly supports expanding access to extracurricular programs for disadvantaged youth.
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ECA appears more strongly associated with academic outcomes among students from disadvantaged backgrounds in some studies, suggesting a potential compensatory pattern.
“In some cases, ECA appears more strongly associated with academic outcomes among students from disadvantaged backgrounds, suggesting a potential compensatory pattern (Heath et al., 2018;Morris, 2015;O'Donnell et al., 2020).”
From Participation in extracurricular activities predicts academic growth and mediates socioeconomic inequalities in primary school (2026) · cites this paper as Heath et al., 2018
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Franklin, T. (2024) · 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings · doi:10.18260/1-2--48350
Brunet, L., Rémeau, M., Houdé, O., & Borst, G. (2026) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjep.70127
- Authors
- Heath, R. D., Anderson, C., Turner, A. C., & Payne, C. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
- Corresponding author
- Heath, Ryan D.
- Venue
- Urban Education
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-10-24
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1415-1449
- ISSN
- 0042-0859 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8340
- OpenAlex
- W2898184508
- Cited by
- 121
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 6.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- surface.syr.edu
- Locations
- Urban Education (publishedVersion)
- Syracuse University Libraries (Syracuse University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation
- Spencer Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
- Keywords
- extracurricular activities, disadvantaged youth, youth development programs, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, immigrant youth, gender differences, program access, program benefits
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