A Correlational Study on Co-Curricular Activities and Academic Success at the University Level

Abstract

Students learn many skills from participation in co-curricular activities at the university level. Educational institutions aim to play an important role in enhancing students' mental and physical development. This research study investigates the relationship of co-curricular activities with students' academic achievement at the university level. A convenient sampling technique was used. The design of the research was quantitative. This research study has 540 BS students/prospective teachers from four public universities in Lahore. The researcher administered the instrument by herself. This research instrument was survey questionnaire developed by the researcher and name of research instrument was  University Academic and Co-Curricular Activities Relationship Scale (UACRS). The questionnaire validity were evaluated by six experts of Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab. Researcher was selected 50 BS students for pilot testing of questionnaire. The reliability of overall questionnaire was calculated by Cronbach Alpha reliability method and it was found that α = 0.887. The research methodology was correlation. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) used for data analysis. Data analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. In descriptive statistics mean, standard deviation and frequency was used while in inferential statistics independent sample t-test and correlation coefficient. The finding of the present study was average students‘ participation in co-curricular activities, negative and insignificant correlation between co-curricular activities and students‘ academic achievement at university level.  The outcomes of the study suggested that it is basic to ensure that students are well-informed about the co-curricular activities: academic/literary activities and sports/games activities accessible and the benefits they can determine from active participation.