Participation in extracurricular activities predicts academic growth and mediates socioeconomic inequalities in primary school

BACKGROUND: Inequalities in achievement related to family socioeconomic status (SES) emerge early and often widen during out-of-school periods, partly due to disparities in access to educational resources such as extracurricular activities (ECA). Yet, the contribution of ECA to achievement trajectories and academic inequalities during primary school remains underexplored. AIMS: The aims of the study are to explore the role of participation in ECA in Grade 1 on (a) intra-individual change in academic achievement between Grade 1 and Grade 5 and, (b) in mediating the association between SES and Grade 5 academic achievement. SAMPLE: We use a nationally representative sample of 14,513 French children. METHODS: Data were collected on SES, academic achievement and participation in three types of ECA (music/dance, library and sports). We used latent change score and mediation analyses. RESULTS: We found that ECA participation in Grade 1 was associated with better academic trajectories, with the effects being strongest for sports and music/dance participation. Family SES predicted participation in music/dance, library and sports activities in Grade 1. Participation in library and music/dance mediated 3.1% of SES's total effect in Grade 5 achievement. Supplementary domain-specific analyses indicated that this mediation was stronger for literacy via library and music/dance participation, whereas sports participation was comparatively more related to numeracy. CONCLUSION: Extracurricular activities (ECA) not only contributes to the academic trajectories in primary school, it also mediates the association between SES and academic achievement. Promoting equitable ECA access may thus represent a lever for reducing educational inequalities.