Meheux, Zeta;
(2025)
What do additional school activities offer to pupils in secondary schools? A research study examining the views of young people and school staff.
Doctoral thesis (D.Ed.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Additional school activities, including extra-curricular and enrichment activities are offered in many secondary schools in England. The study aimed to examine the value of additional school activities in English secondary schools, as less is known about activities in this context, as well as identifying perceived barriers to participation. Much of the existing literature base in England focuses on primary schools and university settings. The study also sought to understand the opportunities young people have to access such additional school activities and their motivations to participate. This single-case study involved conducting two student focus groups with a total of 9 students who were in Year 10 and a focus group with 4 members of school staff. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the focus group data. Findings highlighted that whilst students could engage in a range of activities, there could be more on offer to them; particularly for students in Key Stage 4. Furthermore, current participation levels appeared to be low. Motivators to engagement in activities included having passion and enjoyment of activities and having positive relationships with staff. There were a number of perceived benefits associated with additional school activities, including supporting academic achievement and social development. Barriers to participation related to the times that activities took place during the day as well as growing academic pressures limiting students’ availability to engage in activities. The study highlighted the value that schools may find in reviewing their current provision around additional school activities. Schools may benefit from considering how students can have more involvement and collaboration in how activities are organised and delivered, including the opportunity for some student-led activities. There are implications for EPs in how they can support schools to develop, evaluate and refine their provision in order to ensure that it is accessible, engaging and motivating for students to attend.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Ed.Psy |
| Title: | What do additional school activities offer to pupils in secondary schools? A research study examining the views of young people and school staff |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212090 |
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