School Workload and Sleep Deprivation in Adolescent Tardiness - Research Paper Example

? School Workload and Sleep Deprivation in Adolescent Tardiness [Your Literature Review This paper aims to determine the relationship of school workload and sleep deprivation with tardiness among the adolescent age group of school goers whether they positively, negatively, or no correlation at all. Three relevant literatures are selected to be discussed in this section as these articles provide greater comprehension to the variables used in this paper and might also provide a brief insight on the possible relationship of the variables being correlated. Student’s Study Time and Their Homework Problem (Zuzanek, 2008) explores the students’ workloads, its demographics, trends, and its personal implications for the student’s well-being. The study explores the relationship of the study time the students spend (both at school and at home) and the so-called “homework problem” raised by North Americans. It is interesting to know from the study the possible reasons behind tardiness related to the time spent by students at school, though no direct analysis was stated in this study between school workload and tardiness. This should provide a vague understanding on what might a student experiencing heavy school workload for them to consider being tardy in classes. Both independent (study time) and dependent (“homework problem”) variables used in this study are broadly defined, but may provide valuable information for this paper. The participants in this study used time diaries programmed with “beeper self-reports” wherein they log their activity, its importance and interest, their location, people around them, affect, feelings of time pressure, willingness to do anything else, and will take place when they were signaled by the “beep”. Both the study time and the sub-variables under the so-called “homework problem” (time pressure, perceived stress, desire to do something else) are obtained by the research method, as well as the problems experienced by students while in class. The study found out that students prefer to be doing something else when in class (r = .25). The study concluded that, by considering other factors, the problem is more on the use of time rather than the “homework problem”, and this study points out a greater emphasis on the “class time problem”, which was assumed to be contributing to the school workload of students. This research measured the student’s study time (also in comparison with other countries) and the determinants of what was called “homework problem”. However, the article did not further discuss the “class time problem” even if it mentions its greater urgency than “homework problem” in when students prefer to do anything else; perhaps it is already beyond the focus of the paper. Psychosocial Aspects of Truancy in Early Adolescence (Nielsen & Gerber, 1979) investigated the aspects of truancy among the selected 33 truants within those individuals, their families, their peers, and their school teachers and administrators. The independent variables are the psychosocial aspects while the dependent variable is truancy. This study presents an interesting concept of truancy, for even if it is a different concept from tardiness, it does have a common similarity: the former speaks of absence from school in terms of school days while the latter deals with the absence from school in terms of school minutes or hours. Caution must be exercised not to consider tardiness as a less harmful form of truancy, as these concepts are perceived to be completely different, as truancy is likely intentional while most cases of tardiness is not, though students disliked their habit of being truant. This study used different methods in extracting the psychosocial aspects of truancy, namely interview to the truants and school administrators, analysis of the school data of the incidences of truancy, grades, test scores and attendances of the truants under study. The sample truants were scheduled for interview using a 60-90 minute semi-structured interviews on truancy, activities, personal views, experiences and reactions to interventions against truancy. The study found out that school work is most disliked, greatly contributing to their truancy. This study performed a case study regarding the truant’s perceptions from themselves and the people around them, which provide some valuable information for this paper. It is school work which is the most disliked by the truants in this study, but however, may or may not be the same for tardiness. The school the perceived responsible why these students were truant, but it is uncertain if students also perceive the school responsible for tardiness. Other factors that are revealed in this study is the teachers’ inadequate attention and help in school workloads and non-responsiveness to the student’s learning needs, which may also a factor why students would be tardy. Differences in Reported Sleep Need Among Adolescents (Mercer, Merritt & Cowell, 1998) classifies adolescents into two groups, one needing more sleep and the other one getting sufficient sleep. The independent variable in this study is the perceived sleep needs while the dependent variables used were the sleep and activity patterns. This study picks interest as it reveals the causes and effects of sleep deprivation, including the student’s performance in school, which may aid in determination of the reasons behind tardiness in relation to sleep pattern, though the study gives no correlation between the two variables. The study would reveal interesting information, like the time for students to get up, which when delayed will likely be a ground for tardiness. This study conducted a survey to students attending their health education class, utilizing the self-report Sleep Patterns Questionnaire, choosing one answer describing their usual sleep habits. The study found out those adolescent participants who perceived themselves as sleep-deprived has irregularity in sleeping habits, and were feeling “dragged out” at school with daytime sleepiness and mood problems. The study mentioned neither tardiness nor truancy as a result to sleep deprivation. However, it was also found that the time of sleep and the time getting up from bed is almost similar among the two groups. The study determines the causative factors of sleep deprivation and its effects on the student’s school performance and assessed the sleep and activity patterns thoroughly based from the items of the questionnaire. However, as the study grouped the participants into sleep deprived and non-sleep deprived, the basis of the grouping is also on the subjective response of the participants to the questionnaire and not on the standards on how one must qualify to be sleep deprived, that is, who did not get sufficient sleep. Still, the study ……. Individually, these studies provide little background on the relationship between school workload and sleep deprivation to tardiness of adolescents. But when these studies are analyzed altogether, they will provide a conceptual understanding of how these independent variables might relate to tardiness. Since Nielsen & Gerber (1979) found out that school workload is most disliked by truants, chances are tardiness would also be influenced by school workload. Another idea supporting this theory is the findings of Zuzanek (2009) that students wish to do something else when in class. The few minutes of student’s absence from class might also suggest that they would like to do something first before they go to class, but it is still requiring proof by this paper. On the other hand, the findings of Mercer, Merritt & Cowell (1998) found out that those who perceive themselves as sleep deprived feels tired during the say than those who perceive themselves as getting sufficient sleep. The articles used in this literature do not have an experimental design as there is little or no experimental researches are available on the effects of both school workload and sleep deprivation to adolescent tardiness. It is almost impossible to convince the school administrators to modify the existing school workloads against the prescribed curriculum for the sake of an experimental research, neither to convince the students to be sleep deprived and see if it will make them tardy, which obviously have negative repercussions on their grades and performance. To perform an experimental research on these variables will violate the research ethical principles of non-malefiscence (principle of not doing harm) and justice. It should be understandable if no literature with experimental design will be available to be used by this paper, as the literatures provided are enough to shed light to the independent and dependent variables to be used for this paper. These available literatures are enough to explore possible relationships between school workload and sleep deprivation (independent variables) to tardiness (dependent variable) even if these studies did not generate a direct link between the variables to be studied. References Mercer, P., Merritt, S. & Cowell, J. (1998). Differences in reported sleep need among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 259-262. Nielsen, A. & Gerber, D. (1979). Psychosocial aspects of truancy in early adolescence. Adolescence, 14, 54, 313-326. Zuzanek, J. (2009). Students’ study time and their “homework problem”. Social Indicators Research, 93, 1, 111-115. Read More