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Participation in extracurricular activities has been associated with both short- and long-term positive outcomes in children and youth, including academic achievement and prosocial behaviours. It can also alleviate negative outcomes such as dropping out of school and emotional and behavioural problems.
The majority of youth participate in extracurricular activities – research conducted with the 1994–1995 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) found that 63 to 67% of 6- to 11-year-olds participated in supervised sports, yet fewer (31 to 37%) 6- to 11-year-olds participated in the arts or community programs.
However, children and youth’s extracurricular activity participation rates vary by child and family socio-demographic characteristics such as child age and gender, family income, and whether or not the child lives in a single parent family. Older children, children from families with higher incomes, and children who live with two parents have been shown to participate in extracurricular activities at higher rates. The majority of this research has been conducted in the United States. The most recent study conducted on rates of participation in Canada used data from 1994–1995 and included only 6- to 11-year-olds.
This article updates and adds to previously reported findings for Canadian children’s extracurricular activities by presenting more recent data for children of a larger age range and comparing participation rates by a more comprehensive set of socio-demographic characteristics. We examined rates of extracurricular activity participation for a variety of activities (including sports, non-sport lessons, and clubs/community group) for Canadian children and youth aged 6 to 17 years, and look at how these rates vary by child and family socio-demographic characteristics such as gender and family income.
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