AT- R I S K H I G H S C H O O L S T U D E N T S A N D H I G H

P R E S T I G E

E X T R AC U R R I C U L A R AC T I V I T I E S : A

P H E N O M E N O L O G I C A L I N Q U I RY

Todd Redalen

ABSTRACT

American politicians, policy makers, and educationalists continue to grapple with ways to improve academic

achievement for all student groups. In spite of recent reform efforts such as the No Child Left Behind Act, as evidence

suggests that America still has yet to adopt reform efforts that not only improve achievement for all student groups but

also reduce the high school dropout rate for its highest risk students. When students are involved in the extra-curricular

areas of athletics and on a more individual basis, fine arts, they tend to stay in school and not drop out. This

phenomenological study involved gathering information through one-on-one interviews and from a focus group with

high-risk students who participated in extracurricular activities, progressed to a trajectory for success in conventional

terms and move toward realizing the American Dream. Findings of this research may be helpful in revealing the meaning

that students attach to their involvement, and which may provide guidance to policy makers, educators, communities, and

families and students themselves. To not only encourage greater pupil participation in the full curriculum but also sustain

and possibly increase funding for the extra curriculum that could be increasingly vulnerable to cuts during fiscal

challenges. As student share these things…. about their experiences.

D E L I N E AT I O N O F T H E P RO B L E M

After decades of well-intentioned educational reform efforts aimed at

improving the effectiveness of educational institutions, Muhammad (2009)

suggested that this system that we call education is absolutely broken. In fact, some

specific groups of students, bound by demographics such as race and poverty have

long been underserved by the U.S. educational system (Muhammad, 2009). Access

to the entire curriculum, including the perceived high prestige arenas of high school

athletics and fine arts, is elusive for certain student groups, those typically identified

as at risk of school failure. Which are students that the probability of dropping out

is greater when compared to other student groups.

OUTCOME ASSOCIATED

WITH INVOLVEMENT

McNeal (1995) found, using a large sample of over 14,000 students,

that when high school students were involved in athletics (including

cheerleading, in this case), and to a lesser degree, fine arts, as part of

their overall school curriculum, students were less likely to drop out

of high school

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is it like for high-risk students to participate in high school

level fine arts and athletics?