THE EFFECT OF CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ON THE SELF-ESTEEM AND SOCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STEM STUDENTS
Keywords:
co-curricular activities, self-esteem, social skills, senior high school, STEM studentsAbstract
This study examined the effect of co-curricular activities on the self-esteem and social skills of Grade 11 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students of St. Vincent's College Incorporated (SVCI), Dipolog City, Philippines, during School Year 2018–2019. Using a descriptive-correlational design, data were gathered from 115 randomly selected respondents through a researcher-administered questionnaire combining a co-curricular activities checklist, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Results showed that most respondents were female (62.6%) and that participation in co-curricular activities was generally poor to moderate, with sports (M = 1.68), organizations (M = 1.78), and contests or competitions (M = 1.65) all rated poor to moderate. Self-esteem was rated average (M = 2.48), while social skills were rated high (M = 2.62). Independent-samples t-tests revealed a significant sex difference only in sports participation (t = 3.580, p < .05), favoring male students; no significant sex differences emerged for self-esteem or social skills. Pearson correlation analysis found no significant relationship between co-curricular participation and self-esteem, but a significant, low positive correlation between participation in contests/competitions and social skills (r = .188, p = .045). Findings suggest that co-curricular involvement alone may not directly influence self-esteem, but competitive activities such as contests may modestly enhance students' social skills. Recommendations are offered for schools to diversify co-curricular offerings and strengthen support structures for student engagement.
References
Ali, F., & Qazi, A. (2018). Are social networking sites suitable for formal learning among business research students? A mixed method experimental approach. Journal of Business Research, 282.
Arroyo, A., & Harwood, J. T. (2011). Communication competence mediates the link between shyness and relational quality. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 264–267.
Asendorpf, J. B. (2000). A person-centered approach to personality and social relationships: Findings from the Berlin Relationship Study. In L. R. Bergman, R. B. Cairns, L.-G. Nilsson, & L. Nystedt (Eds.), Developmental science and the holistic approach (pp. 281–298). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Badariah, A. R. (2011). Employee participation in the public sector in Malaysia: A general overview. Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, 2(1), 55–69.
Briggs, S. R., & Cheek, J. M. (1988). On the nature of self-monitoring: Problems with assessment, problems with validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(4), 663–678. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.4.663
Cheek, J. M., & Buss, A. H. (1981). Shyness and sociability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(2), 330–339. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.41.2.330
Cosden, M., Morrison, G., Gutierrez, L., & Brown, M. (2004). The effects of homework programs and after-school activities on school success. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 220–226. https://doi.org/10.1353/tip.2004.0033
Emamzadeh, Z., & Shahghasemi, E. (2019). Factors influencing social media usage in the US. Journal of Cyberspace Studies, 3(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.22059/jcss.2019.270606.1029
Feldman, A. F., & Matjasko, J. L. (2005). The role of school-based extracurricular activities in adolescent development: A comprehensive review and future directions. Review of Educational Research, 75(2), 159–210. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075002159
Fouzia, T., & Ali, M. A. (2012). Professional self-esteem of secondary school teachers. Asian Social Science, 8(2), 206–210.
Ismat, H., & Saleem, M. (2007). Role of co-curricular activities: Survey of the perceptions of stakeholders (Case study of Peshawar District). Journal of Managerial Sciences, 2(2), 219–230.
James, O. (2011). Effect of school environment on student achievement and self-esteem: A case study in Kenya. The Special Issue on Behavioral and Social Science, 1(7), 84–88.
Koydemir, S., Şimşek, Ö. F., Schütz, A., & Tipandjan, A. (2013). Differences in how trait emotional intelligence predicts life satisfaction: The role of affect balance versus social support in India and Germany. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 51–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9315-1
Maribeth, R. (1990). Athletics. Department of Education.
Marsh, H. W., & Kleitman, S. (2005). Consequences of employment during high school: Character building, subversion of academic goals, or a threshold? American Educational Research Journal, 42(2), 331–369. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312042002331
Miller, D. (1995). On nationality. Oxford University Press.
Miyagawa, L. (2010). What is the difference between self-esteem and self-confidence?
Nesan, D. (2009). Co-curricular activities in schools. IDEA.
Noriah, M. I., Ramlee, M., Zuria, M., & Siti Rahayah, A. (2006). Emotional intelligence of Malaysian teachers: Implications on workplace productivity. International Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 14, 7–24.
Noriah, M. I., Sarina, Y., Fatimah, O., & Suhaida, S. (2011). Emotional intelligence of Malaysian teachers: A comparative study on teachers in daily and residential schools. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 604–612.
Nurul, H. N., & Ma’rof, R. (2011). Emotional intelligence, personality and self-esteem: A comparison of the characteristics among two categories of subjects. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(8), 238–247.
Olson, C. A. (2008). Can music education help at-risk students? Teaching Music, 16(3).
Phillips, K. A., Pinto, A., & Jain, S. (2005). Self-esteem in body dysmorphic disorder. Body Image, 1(4), 385–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.07.001
Rashid, A., & Sitra, A. (2005). Teachers’ perception on the effectiveness of co-curricular activities: A case study of Malaysian schools. Unitar E-Journal, 1(1).
Scarborough, J. L., & Logan, W. (2008). Connections through clubs: Collaboration and coordination of a schoolwide program. Professional School Counseling, 12(2), 157–161.
Thomas, R. M., & Morrison, T. (1995). Characteristics of leadership.
Zhao, J., Kong, F., & Wang, Y. (2013). The role of social support and self-esteem in the relationship between shyness and loneliness. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(5), 577–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.003
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal for the Advancement of Sustainable Development Goals
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
License Statement
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
All articles published in the Journal for the Advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (JASDG) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Under this license, users are free to:
-
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
-
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use;
provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.
Authors retain copyright of their work while granting JASDG the right of first publication. The published work remains freely available to readers and may be used, distributed, reproduced, and adapted by others in accordance with the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
For more information about this license, please visit:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2026 The Author(s).
Articles published in the Journal for the Advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (JASDG) are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, and adaptation in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.
