Browsing by Author "Hutcherson, Andricus"

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    A Case Study of Extracurricular Activities in Central Indiana
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Bah, Aissata; Dennis, Sheila; Hester, Nicholas; Hutcherson, Andricus; Kessler, Alexandra; Khalid, Ariba; Khalid, Umara; Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn; Kim, Jangmin; Karikari, Isaac; House-Soremekun, Bessie; Dennis, Shelia; Hutcherson, Andricus; Veal, Brittany
    Although previous research noted that extracurricular activities are significantly associated with various students’ outcomes, little research to date has explored their current conditions. This case study examined the status and quality of extracurricular activities in 11 public schools around Central Indiana. Two sets of data were combined and matched by each school’s identification: the survey of extracurricular activities from schools and the schools’ characteristics from Indiana Department of Education. Of the sample, 67% were elementary schools and 42% were relatively low SES schools with a larger number of students receiving free meals. Our study showed that on average, schools provided 21 different extracurricular activities for their students. Academic activities were most prevalent (100%), followed by performing arts activities (83.3%), sports activities (83.3%), prosocial activities (75%), and school involvement activities (66.7%). For the quality of extracurricular activities, about 12% of students in each school participated in at least one activity and spent an average of 2.6 hours a week on extracurricular activities. The mean number of staff and volunteers who administered activities was 5. Approximately 39% of activities in each school were delivered by community partnerships. Our study also found that elementary schools had the lower mean scores in most measures of the quality of extracurricular activities, such as the frequency of the activities, hours spent per week, and the number of staff and volunteers. Furthermore, low SES schools tended to have lower levels of students’ participation in extracurricular activities, although they provided more frequent and diverse activities than high SES schools. These results may imply that more significant attention should be paid to elementary schools to improve the quality of activities as well as low SES schools to promote students’ active involvement.
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    Impacts of School Bonding on Problem Behaviors: Ethnic differences
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2014-04-11) Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn; Karikari, Isaac; Kim, Jangmin; Hutcherson, Andricus
    This study examined the different impacts of school bonding on problem behaviors between ethnic groups (minority students and white students). The study sample was a local Indiana Exemplar public school. A random number of fourth through eighth grade students (6-16 years of age) were asked to complete a survey. Teachers read to younger students to complete. Of the sample 48% were boys and 51% were girls. Of the six categories for ethnicity, 51% were white and 49% comprised the other ethnicity categories, accounting for a total of 192 students. The study specifically looked at the interaction effect of ethnicity on the relationship between school bonding (Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, and Belief) and misbehavior in school (delinquency). The variables were identified through a factor analysis from the copyrighted Gentle-Genitty Perception of School Social Bonding Instrument. The school bonding instrument is reliable and valid (Cronbach’s Alpha .85). The preliminary results show that… • Involvement and belief are significantly associated with reduced misbehaviors in school. • Minority students exhibit behavior that is perceived as delinquent more often than white students. • Older students in higher-grade levels are more likely to exhibit negative behavior than younger students in lower grade levels. • The impact of one of the social bonding variables (involvement-participation in activities) on problem behavior is significantly greater for minority students than white students, as seen in the graph below.