Co-Curricular Activities – Their Meaning, Types and Importance

What is the meaning and concept of co-curricular activities? What are the different types of co-curricular activities? What is their importance? What kinds of activities can be organized in a school? In this article, we will discuss in detail on the topic of co-curricular activities, their meaning, concept, types, and their importance.

What is the concept of co-curricular activities? Meaning of Co-curricular Activities

The curriculum consisted of academic subjects that the teacher taught in the classroom. In addition to classwork, certain other activities like games and sports were also there, but those were considered extra and did not form part of the educational curriculum. That is why those were called Extra-Curricular Activities.

What are Co-Curricular Activities?

Co-curricular activities are those educational activities generally pursued outside the classroom but considered an inseparable, essential, and integral part of the school curriculum.

There was a time when the activities grouped under the heading ‘co-curricular’ were called extra-curricular activities. They were looked upon as extra and a mere waste of time. It was believed that they encroached upon the real work of the school and interfered with its true functioning.

It is only recently that the concept of these activities has undergone a big change. Today, the whole personality of the individual has become a serious concern of the educative process. Along with this change, the one-time extra-activities have become co-curricular activities or intra-mural activities. In fact, curricular and co-curricular activities are now considered complementary to each other.

Also Read: Principles of Organizing Co-Curricular Activities in a School.

10 Need and Importance of Co-Curricular Activities

There is no denying the fact that co-curricular activities are significant for the development of student abilities and powers. The need for and importance of co-curricular activities may be discussed as follows:

(i) Physical Development:

co-curricular activities, especially physical activities, help the normal growth and development of the body. Activities like sports, athletics, and games lead to the muscular development of students. These develop healthful habits and keep the students physically fit.

(ii) Emotional Development:

These activities meet the psychological needs of pupils and lead to their emotional development. Their instincts are sublimated. Instincts like gregariousness and self-assertion which are so dominant in adolescents, find expression in one activity or the other. The activities also lead to emotional training. The pent-up emotions find an effective outlet through the activities.

(iii) Social Development:

The co-curricular activities are carried out in a Social environment. The pupils work together, act together, and live together. This helps in socializing the child. They develop social qualities like team spirit, fellow feeling, cooperation, tolerance, etc. Activities like scouting, first-aid, Red Cross, community living, Shramdan, etc. provide complete social training to children.

(iv) Moral Development:

Co-curricular activities have great moral value. These activities provide opportunities for moral experience and moral conduct. Through sports, the pupils develop sportsmanship. He believes in fair play. While discharging some responsibility, he has to be highest, just, and impartial when he has to organize an activity, he develops quality of leadership.

(v) The Academic Value:

Co-curricular activities supplement class work. These enrich and widen the bookish knowledge of students. They get opportunities for observation and experience. For example, a trip or excursion to some important places can add to the knowledge of geography and history. Literary activities can enrich the knowledge of language.

(vi) Cultural Value:

There are co-curricular activities which have great cultural value. Activities like dramatics, folk dance, folk music, pageants, variety shows, the celebration of social and religious functions, etc. provide glimpses of our culture. These activities help in the preservation, transmission, and development of our cultural heritage.

(vii) Aesthetic and Recreational Value:

Co-curricular activities bring a healthy change in the otherwise dull classroom routine. The pupils feel relaxed and free when they perform activities like sports, cultural programs, dance, dramas, etc. Activities like drawing, painting, fancy dress shows, modeling, flower shows, etc. develop aesthetic sensibility.

(viii) Proper use of Leisure Time:

Some co-curricular activities help in the proper use of leisure time. For example, crafts, hobbies, and other creative activities can be pursued by the students. In the absence of such constructive work, they may pick up some bad habits. An idle brain is a devil’s workshop, and so goes the maxim.

(ix) Training for Leadership:

Co-curricular activities demand the total involvement of pupils. They discharge various responsibilities and therefore, get opportunities to come forward and lead. They get training for leadership. Their talents are recognized and developed.

(x) Disciplinary Value:

Students get a number of opportunities to frame certain rules and regulations concerning the organization of various activities. They also act according to the rules. They themselves impose restrictions on their freedom. Thus, they learn the mode of discipline which is self-imposed. They learn to behave with a sense of responsibility. Thus activities make them disciplined.

7 Types of Co-Curricular Activities – Different Types of Co-Curricular Activities Which May be Organized in a School

Co-curricular activities can be classified into various types. Some of the more important types along with examples of each type are given below:

(i) Physical Activities:

These include games and sports. Examples are hockey, football, volleyball, badminton, various types of indoor and outdoor games; and athletics like the long jump, various types of races, etc. These are essential for the physical development of the pupils.

(ii) Academic and Literary Activities:

These include debates, declamations, discussions, symposia, dramatics, school magazines, essay-writing and story-writing competitions, etc. These activities are meant for the intellectual development of the pupils.

(iii) Cultural and Aesthetic Activities:

These include dramatics, pageants, variety shows, music, art and painting, folk dances, and celebrations of various types of cultural and religious festivals. These activities are meant for the cultural, aesthetic, and artistic development of the pupils.

(iv) Social Activities:

Scouting and guiding, social service in the neighborhood, Red Cross, first aid, community cooking and serving, and voluntary social service are included in the social activities. These activities are meant for socializing the individual.

(v) Civic Development Activities:

These include visits to civil institutions like the Gram Panchayat, Zila Parishad, Municipal office, Town Hall, Legislative Assembly, etc.

(vi) Craft-Activities:

These include various types of crafts, like spinning. weaving, tailoring, knitting, embroidery, clay-modeling, leather work, book-binding, etc. There has been a great emphasis on craft activities, as this can make education job-oriented.

(vii) Hobbies or Activities for Leisure:

These include various types of hobbies and leisure-time activities, like stamp collection, collection of coins, and photography. collection of photos and pictures, hikes, visits to places of historical, cultural, and religious importance, trips and excursions, etc. In addition to providing entertainment and recreation, these activities are very significant and useful from an educational point of view as well.

FAQs on Co-Curricular Activities