Abstract:

Children and youth spend their time primarily in the educational and family setting, and yet a segment of free time remains available to them. Since the period of preadolescence and adolescence implies a decrease in the influence of family and school, as well as the intensification of social contacts amongst peers, young people tend to choose leisure activities such as socializing and partying, whilst setting aside interests in cultural and educational activities (Ilišin, 2002; Fitzgerald et al., 1995). In this context, their free time grants an opportunity to realize various extracurricular activities, which become an important means of empowering children and youth, as well as an area for each individual’s self-realization.

The paper presents the results of the research that, among other things, aimed to determine differences between the research participants regarding gender, age (grade) and the type of extracurricular activities that pupils engage in during their free time. The sample consisted of upper primary school students from two counties in Croatia. Statistically significant differences were found among participants with regard to gender, age (grade) and participation in some types of extracurricular activities.

Keywords:

Extracurricular activities, pupils, gender, age, activity types.