The Connection between Pupils’ School Success and Their Inclusiveness in Extracurricular and Out-of-School Activities in Croatia

Abstract

The school, with its activities as an upbringing and educational institute, influences all segments of a pupil's effectivedevelopment. Besides teaching as its basic activity, the school should take over part of the care and responsibility forthe pupil's free time and “use” it for prolonged upbringing activity. Today children and young people spend their freetime on the Internet and little or almost no time in the development of social competences. Confronted withtechnology as an inevitable challenge of the present day, we are also confronted with new issues in our upbringingand education practice. Due to unpreparedness in participating in joint activities and the impossibility ofcommunication, pupils show numerous manifestations in behavioral disorder, which often determine school success.Participation in extracurricular activities reduces the action area of risk factor in children and youth in their free time,which effects school success in particular. Numerous researches have confirmed how the engagement of pupils inextracurricular activities is one of the factors that influences school success. In Croatia, extracurricular activities arequite neglected for numerous reasons. It is necessary to bring them back to the school and to modernize them andmake them challenging and attractive for pupils.Research results on 970 elementary school pupils of Zadar and Šibenik-Knin counties are elaborated in this work.Their participation in extracurricular and out-of-school activities and their conncetion to school succes was examined.The results confirm the presumption that children who participate in extracurricular and out-of-school activitiesachieve better school success.