Motivation for Participation in Extracurricular School Clubs for Students with Severe Disabilities

Abstract

The participation of students with severe disabilities in school-based extracurricular activities provides students with opportunities to experience a full inclusive school event. Typically, however, students with severe disabilities remain underrepresented in extracurricular involvement as compared to their peers without disabilities (Agran et al., 2017; Cadwallader, et al., 2003). Understanding factors influencing students’ decisions to participate, or not to participate, in extracurricular activities is a concept frequently investigated in the existing literature for students without disabilities; however, participating in extracurricular school events is seldom explored for students with disabilities. Research highlights two factors when considering participation by students without disabilities in why these students select extracurricular school activities; these factors include individual and social-environmental motivational influences.