Characteristics of extracurricular activities of educational establishments in the Araucania, Chile

Extracurricular activities benefit the integral development of students by stimulating the development of various abilities, capacities and / or talents. In addition, they represent an opportunity to counteract the levels of sedentary lifestyle that young people present at the school level. Objective: To determine the characteristics of the extracurricular activities of the educational establishments of the Araucania, Chile. Methodology: The sample included 48 responsables of the extracurricular activities from 11 municipal or private subsidized schools in the Araucania region. For the evaluation of the characteristics of the extracurricular activities implemented in the different establishments, a questionnaire of three dimensions (general characteristics, material resources and experience of the responsable in charge) was applied. Results: The evaluated extracurricular activities are mostly of the sports category, of formative orientation and given by responsables in charge with more than three years of experience, mainly Physical Education teachers, men and with an age between 31 and 40 years. Regarding materials and spaces,the extracurricular activities have enough quantity of materials and the mainly good quality, but more than half of these activities take place in spaces such as the school court, schoolyard or hallway class. Conclusion: The study highlights the scarcity of recreational orientation activities, the lack of spaces suitable for sports, as well as the low representation of women both at the level of teachers and of participants.