A Montana survey of 2,500 students' use of out-of-school time found that only 17% reported no involvement in out-of-school activities. 4-H participants were less likely to shoplift, steal, smoke cigarettes, ride with a drunk driver, or damage property. They were more likely to develop self-confidence and social competence, demonstrate leadership,…

Offers data on the fast-growing "non-traditional" student segment in higher education, including its diversity, and discusses alternative educational approaches, and interventions which should be considered by campus activities professionals. Presents examples of student activities at the University of Colorado at Denver and the Metropolitan State…

Presents viewpoints on the educational value of music competition for young children. Includes arguments for and against contests. Considerations include purpose of the competition, and experience and preparation of the students, as well as structure and environment of the competition. (LS)

Describes the Student Developmental Transcript, a formal written record that documents learning useful in employment gained beyond the classroom through involvement in the cocurricular life of the institution. Describes cocurricular life as consisting of clubs, organizations, part-time employment, and other experiences outside confines of academic…

Provides 10 tips for planning successful conferences for high school students who want to do it on their own. Tips are based on the experience of the author who coordinated the fourth annual Student Provincial Environment Conference in 1994. (LZ)

States that, because of budgeting problems, more high schools are having to run their yearbook publication as an extracurricular club and not as a class. Suggests approaches to dealing with this problem, including preplanning for running the yearbook as an extracurricular activity and being a vocal advocate for maintaining yearbook publication as…

Graduates of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri (n=293) perceived themselves to possess leadership skills. A number of high school and college activities were found to be related to the perceived skills of respondents. (JOW)

Australian technical and further education students (n=426) completed the Leisure Interests Inventory. Results showed considerable leisure involvement, often exceeding educational involvement. There were few differences between full- and part-time students, and some interactions with gender and age. (SK)

Investigated the reliability and validity of the Student Activities Interest Questionnaire, developed to relate student interests to available campus activities using Holland's (1997) vocational interest categories. Found the instrument to be sufficiently reliable and valid for use as an informal means of prioritizing campus activities. (EV)

Reports on efforts at several colleges (Ithaca College, New York; Princeton University, New Jersey; Luther College, Iowa; and Vassar College, New York) to end such school traditions as nude streaking or naked soccer, usually accompanied by heavy drinking. School officials see such activities as significant threats to students' health and safety.…

The goal of this study was to examine the relationships among self-determination, mental illness, and GPAs of university students. Participants were 375 undergraduate students at a large state university. Two instruments based on Self-determination theory were used in this study: the Basic Needs Scale (see Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2004) and the…

Overseas student-teaching is becoming increasingly popular among American college students. Unfortunately, relatively little is known empirically regarding how these students find their experiences-academically or outside of the teaching classroom. Consequently, the present research study used rigorous qualitative methods in order to appraise…

Extracurricular campus activities mirror the effects of associational life on political participation (Kuh 1995; Pascarella, Ethington, and Smart 1988; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady 1995). As encouraging student participation in such activities can be difficult (Kuh, Schuh, Whitt, Andreas, Lyons, Strange, Krehbiel, and MacKay 1991), this project…

The School Sport Partnership Programme (SSPP) is one strand of the national strategy for physical education and school sport in England, the physical education and social sport Club Links Strategy (PESSCL). The SSPP aims to make links between school physical education (PE) and out of school sports participation, and has a particular remit to raise…

This paper focuses on the effects of extra-curricular activity on graduates' transition from higher education to the labour market. The study is based on a survey of 119 graduates conducted in 2004 in the UK. The data gathered cover a large range of social and leisure activities that the graduates carried on while students at their universities.…