School connectedness has been found to be highly related to both school success and decreased dropout rates. One way to promote school connectedness is through student participation in extracurricular activities. However, most studies on extracurricular participation have largely been conducted on European American youth. Since the prevailing values in our educational system reflect the dominant European American majority, minority students may feel isolated and not supported in the school setting. Therefore, inclusion in extracurricular activities may facilitate a positive school-related experience and a sense of belonging, leading to greater school connectivity and retention.

Using data from a diverse sample of 1,739 middle and high school-aged students, the authors examine the relationship between extracurricular involvement and school connectedness, as well as hourly participation rates. Extracurricular involvement could include sporting activities, fine art activities, in-school activities, and out-of-school activities.

Regarding hourly participation rates in extracurricular programming, significant differences were found between ethnic groups in each of the activity categories except sports. These differences appeared to be due to the higher participation rates of European American students.

Further analysis revealed that those students who reported higher levels of extracurricular activity also reported higher levels of school connectedness. This finding held even while controlling for ethnicity, as well as other background variables. The relationship between extracurricular participation and school connectedness appeared to be particularly strong for Hispanic American, African American, and European American students. This article concludes with examples of what can be done to encourage involvement and reduce barriers to participation among diverse students.