Co-curricular Activities: Meaning, Definition, Examples, Importance, Benefits

Co-curricular activities facilitate the development of various domains of mind and personality, such as intellectual, emotional, social, moral, and aesthetic. Creativity, Enthusiasm, and Energetic, Positive thinking are some facets of personality development and the outcomes of Extracurricular activities.

 

Meaning of Co-curricular Activities

Co-curricular activities (CCAs), earlier known as Extracurricular Activities (ECA), are the components of the non-academic curriculum that helps to develop various facets of the child’s and student’s personality development. For the child’s all-round development, there is a need for emotional, physical, spiritual, and moral development that is complemented and supplemented by Co-curricular Activities.

 

Definition of Co-curricular Activities

Co-curricular Activities are defined as the activities that enable to supplement and complement the curricular or main syllabi activities. These are essential for educational institutions to develop the student’s personality and strengthen classroom learning.

These activities are organised after school hours, known as extra-curricular activities. Co-curricular Activities have a broad horizon to cater to the child’s cultural, social, and aesthetic development.

 

Examples and Types of Co-curricular Activities

  • Sports
  • Musical activities
  • Debate
  • Model
  • Art
  • Music
  • Drama
  • Debate and discussion
  • Declamation contest
  • Story writing competition
  • Essay writing competition
  • Art craft
  • Recitation competition
  • Wall magazine decoration
  • Writes ups for school magazine
  • Folk songs
  • Folk dance
  • Flower show
  •  School decoration
  • Sculpture making
  • Fancy dress competition
  • Preparation of chart & models
  • Album making
  • Photography
  • Clay modeling
  • Toymaking
  • Soap making
  • Basket making
  • Organization exhibitions.
  • Celebration of festival

 

Role of co-curricular activities in a student’s life

Co-curricular activities are the authentic and practical experiences received by students.  It helps students make careers in Economics, Commerce, Mathematics, Accountancy, Nutrition, etc. To a greater extent, theoretical knowledge gets strengthened when a relevant co-curricular activity related to the content taught in the classroom is organised. The Classroom solely accomplishes intellectual aspects of personality, while aesthetic development, character building, spiritual growth, physical growth, moral values, creativity,  etc., are supported by co-curricular activities. It helps to develop coordination, adjustment, speech fluency, extempore expressions,  etc., among students at the school and college levels. If you are good in Co-curricular activities, the subjects like Commerce and Economics can be handled easily.  Also Read: Career in Commerce

 

Importance and Benefits of Co-curricular Activities

  1. Co-curricular activities stimulate playing, acting, singing, recitation, speaking, and narrating in students.
  2. Activities like participation in game debates, music, drama, etc., help achieve the overall functioning of education.
  3. It enables the students to express themselves freely through debates.
  4. Games and Sports help the child be fit and energetic.
  5. It helps to develop the spirit of healthy competition.
  6.  These activities guide students on how to organise and present an activity, develop skills, and co-operate and coordinate in different situations- all these help in leadership qualities.
  7. It provides avenues of socialisation, self-identification, and self-assessment when the child comes in contact with organisers, fellow participants, teachers, and people outside the school during cultural activity.
  8. Inculcate the values to respect other’s views and feelings.
  9. It makes you perfect in decision-making.
  10. It develops a sense of belongingness.
  11. CCA motivates learning.
  12. CCA develop values like physical, psychological, Ethical, academic, civic, social, aesthetic, cultural  recreational, and disciplinary values

Also Read: Career in Modeling

 

Role of a Teacher in Organising curricular Activities

  1. The teacher must be a good planner so that the different activities can be carried out systematically throughout the year.
  2. It should be the teacher’s duty to give the child more opportunities while performing co-curricular activities.
  3. The Teacher should act as an Innovator by introducing innovative programs.
  4. The teacher must be a good organiser so that the students experience a maximum of it.
  5. He should act like a director, recorder, evaluator,   manager, decision-maker, advisor, motivator, communicator, and coordinator so that the student and child can gain a maximum of finer aspects of Co-curricular activities.

Read: 10 facts about teachers.

 

List of Outdoor Co-curricular Activities

  1.  Mass parade
  2. Mass drill
  3. Yoga
  4. Athletics
  5. Bicycling
  6. Gardening
  7. Cricket
  8. Football
  9. Basketball
  10. Volleyball
  11. Kabaddi
  12. Kho kho
  13. Handball
  14. Trips to the place of geographical, historical, economic, or cultural interest
  15. Mass prayer
  16. Morning assembly
  17. Excursions
  18. Social service in the neighbourhood
  19. Village Survey

 

List of Indoor Co-curricular Activities

  1. Dramatics
  2. Music and dance
  3. Drawing and painting
  4. Decoration
  5. Weaving
  6. Clay modeling
  7. First Aid
  8. Tailoring
  9. Rangoli
  10. Bookbinding
  11. Cardboard work
  12. Leatherwork
  13. Organizing school panchayat
  14. Student self-government
  15. Art and craft

50 thoughts on “Co-curricular Activities: Meaning, Definition, Examples, Importance, Benefits”

    • In article definition is given as –
      “These activities are organized after the school hours, so known as extra-curricular activities.”

      Most of the schools in their class time table include subjects like physical education, art, work experience.
      Could we consider these subjects as Co curricular subjects?

      Reply
      • Yaa! According to me we cannot say Co-curricular activity are organised after the school hours … Because nowadays every schools are conducting different activities as their subjects . They consider an important part of their curriculum. Therefore we can define Co-curricular activities “All those extra activities which are other than academic education and helps in the overall development of a child”.

        Reply
  1. Role of a Teacher in Organising curricular Activities
    1.The teacher must be a good planner so that the different activities could be carried out systematically throughout the year.
    2.It should be the duty of the teacher to give more and more opportunity to the child while performing co-curricular activities.
    3.The Teacher should act as Innovator by introducing some innovative programmes.
    4.The teacher must be a good organiser so that the students experienced maximum of it.
    5.He should too act like as director, recorder, evaluator, manager, decision maker, advisor, motivator, communicator, coordinator, so that the student and child could gained maximum of finer aspects of Co-curricular activities

    Reply
  2. Students enjoy it; parents like it; schools promote it, however not all activities are equal or balanced in relation to a teacher’s workload. Many activities take place on a weekend where teaching staff are required to work some of or all of a Saturday. Travelling time varies but could be 2 – 3 or more hours. Consider travelling from Sydney to Orange. I would like to read a discussion surrounding the potential impact this form of activity could have/does have on the families of teachers.
    AJF

    Reply
  3. thanks you for the explanation now im on limelight about importance and benefits of co-curricula activities to students

    Reply
  4. As being a CCA Director in a renowned school, it has been a very useful article for me and has benefited for the students and the school itself.
    Thank you very much.

    Reply
  5. Sir it it is nice. I also follow cca curricular activities in our school jai Bharati public school grastanganj

    Reply
  6. Good work….. Though there should a difference between venues/avenues of co-curricular activities and the activities themselves

    Reply
  7. Really it cleared the concepts of curricular and co curricular activities, it is very useful article
    Thanks for the clarity in the article.

    Reply
  8. In article definition is given as –
    “These activities are organized after the school hours, so known as extra-curricular activities.”

    Most of the schools in their class time table include subjects like physical education, art, work experience.
    Could we consider these subjects as Co curricular subjects?

    Reply
  9. its most helpful for all student to think about what is co-curricular activities and on the other hand teachers,how to perform these activity for some ways

    Reply
  10. I have a question and i really don’t know how i solve it please help me to solve it….
    And question is
    How do different games assist in the sound development of an individual of an individual?

    Reply
  11. Nice article I must say but The definition of co-curricular seems to be suggesing that of extracurricular. Co curricular activities is supposed to complement curricular activities which is carried out within school hours while extra curricular activities are done outside the school hours and are not related to curricular .But they benefit the students individually even though it is not related to the curriculum.

    Reply

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