Importance of Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities aid in the development of various skills and hobbies. Be it sports, art or dance, they're all now considered a part of the college application. Let's look at the importance of these in some countries across the world.

Taiwan

Education institutions offer students an organized system to get prepared for career paths, and the implementation of extracurricular activities allows students to take the initiative and explore interests in future work settings. In Taiwan, a social movement regarding the administrative procedure and the modification of curriculum guidelines called the “Anti-Black-Box Curriculum Movement” pushed forward the inclusion of extracurricular activities. A few years later, the amended policy “Master Framework for the 12-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines” then adopted holistic education, encouraging students to create an e-portfolio for extracurricular activities. The record will be used in future college admission processes to examine students’ ability in self-directed learning in various settings. Those students who have experienced this shift, however, hold opinions on these revolutionary changes.

The growing expectations on students’ development in extracurricular activities have raised as the policy optimized. The so-called “literacy-based” education equips students with the knowledge, ability, and attitude needed for an individual to adapt and adjust to their life while facing challenges. Meanwhile, this offers students the freedom to manage flexible time schedules, and select and design their customized courses for themselves. The effectiveness is seen to push students to the forefront of real-life settings, and help students to realize the importance of group work, independence, and their responsibility to their personal learning experiences. As reports and research regarding education have indicated that civic literacy is the most important prerequisite for a nation’s competitiveness, the record shows that Taiwanese students have been inspired to get internships, attend organizations and volunteer work to explore passions.

However, critics claim that students’ intentions in extracurricular activities might be distorted due to the inclusion of these records in the college admission process. Some also mentioned that policies should be adopted in the early stages for students and parents to follow and adapt to the new learning model. Although it is widely agreed that the Master Framework for the 12-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines still requires continuous amendments and revisions on various barriers, the benefits of extracurricular activities are positively accepted by student communities. The impact of the transformation and those distinctive course arrangements allow us to expect future generations to grow up under the new curriculum guidelines.

Sweden

Extracurricular activities are prioritized in a lot of countries as a way for students to have a break from their academic studies.

In Sweden, extracurricular activities are important as the schools think that students have to have a healthy balance between academic and their extra activities. Schools have timetables with longer breaks and lots of different varieties of activities that students can choose from. Lots of these extra subjects are graded but are still a way for students to

unwind. The teachers also make these classes fun and exciting hence the children look forward to the classes.

Students can also choose to take extra classes in one type of sport or activity (ie; dance classes, football lessons etc) which is encouraged by parents and teachers as this helps them have another hobby outside of school. Schools also regularly take the students to field trips to museums for educational purposes. This makes the learning for students fun and stress-free.

A few extracurricular activities that students in Sweden have are physical education, cooking, music, sewing and carpentry. Few schools may have more activities depending on the number of students in each class. The mental and physical well beings of students is a top priority of schools in Sweden which is why there are a lot of fun activities from school planned by the school so students can learn and have extra time to pursue their interests.

USA

It is nearly impossible to get into any university in the United States without taking part in extracurriculars. Colleges like to see what you have done with your passions outside of your academic area of interest. They like to see that you’re well-rounded and capable of taking on a high workload. You are more likely to get accepted into a college to major in computer science if you were president of your computer science club in high school, took extra classes outside of school, or volunteered involving it. Unsurprisingly, extracurriculars and leadership make up about 30% of a person’s application. However, extracurriculars aren’t just helpful for college applications. These activities allow you to gain new skills, connect with other people, improve time management, and even boost your academic performance.

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Authors

• Nicole (Wei-Tung), Ling: Taiwan

• Shivika Varshney: USA

• Adithi Natarajan: Sweden