The Impact and Challenges of Extracurricular Activities on Students’ in Public Universities of Ghana: The University for Development Studies Debate Society Experience

 

John Dadzie Thompson, Gilbert Ansoglenang, Eleanor Araba Antwi

 

Full Length Research Paper I Published July,2019

 

Research Journal of Educational Studies and Review Vol. 5 (2), pp. 12-21.

ABSTRACT

This paper looked at the impact and challenges of extracurricular activities on students in public universities of Ghana: The University for Development Studies (UDS) Debate Society experience. 110 respondents out of the total student population of 6,729 were interviewed. The Dean of Students, the President and some members of the UDS Debate Society were also interviewed. The findings of this research showed that a significant number of respondents have heard of the term “extracurricular activities and also engage in such activities after school. They also endorse the idea that students should be encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities because of the associated benefits, such as being able to reduce stress, feeling overall better and appear fairly fit. The results also showed that a substantial number of respondents hold the view that the choice of how students spend their time in school affect their academic performance positively. The results further showed that factors that affect the smooth operation of clubs and societies include lack of financial resources, mishandling of limited resources by the executives, and unfavorable academic calendar. The results also revealed that difficulty in collecting dues and subscriptions affect the finances of clubs. From the interviews, we gathered that the Debate Societies are not able to attend competitions because of the associated cost which requires substantial funding. In order for the Society to participate in major debates, we recommended that it should be given huge and massive support from Management.

Key Words: Extracurricular activities, Participation, Clubs, Debate society, Challenges and Benefits.

 

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