EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN AN OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: SIGNIFICANCE AND GAPS IDENTIFIED FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA

Abstract

Involvement in academic and extracurricular activities (ECA) has facilitated students to learn and thrive during their university period. The present study investigated the learner perceived impact of engagement of ECAs for academic success, skill development, and wellbeing in an open and distance learning environment. The study cohort was 435 BSc undergraduates of the Open University of Sri Lanka. A self-administered questionnaire was administered online to obtain demographic and learners' perceptions of ECAs. The responses were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results revealed that 72.9% of the respondents were female, 41.2% of the respondents aged 29–39 years, 63% were unemployed and 65% engaged in university clubs as their ECAs. Younger students believed ECA leads to a neglected personal life (p=0.01). In general, ECA has helped male students to reduce social isolation (p=0.01), improve future career prospect (p<0.05), improve intellectual capacity (p=0.01), and explore and nurture talents overall (p=0.03). The study level and the time they spent on ECA had no significant impact on their academic performances (p>0.05). However, students utilizing more study hours considered ECA has reduced their time for academic and career activities (p=0.01). The present study highlights the importance of student engagement in ECAs for their personal development and student retention in an ODL system.