Individual factors and student involvement in extracurricular activities

Abstract

Universities are not only places of knowledge creation and dissemination but they have a broad mission: developing and molding a “whole student”. Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students, outside the realm of the normal curriculum of university education. A deep investigation using available sources of literature indicates that there is a knowledge gap especially in the Sri Lankan context, with respect to factors affecting student involvement in extracurricular activities within the university. Primary data for the study were collected through a self developed, personally administered structured questionnaire. Circumstances justified that this study should be conducted among the 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates when considering the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya. The sampling technique t used could be identified as Systematic Sampling, which is a Complex or Restricted Probability Sampling Method. A sample of 100 undergraduates was selected for the study. Based on the study, it was concluded that there is no association between the individual factors of gender, ethnicity, religion, school attended, location of home town and family income level, whereas there is an association between the relationship status of undergraduates and their involvement in extracurricular activities. Further this creates the need to investigate whether the extracurricular activities available for students at university will develop the employable undergraduate required by the world of work.