In Britain, pupils attend secondary school for an average of six to seven hours a day. During school, little time is spent outside the classroom for physical or recreational activities, while the majority is spent inside.
For many years, this system has worked. However, could extending or shortening the school day be the best way forward in order to boost the learning of young people?
This article is a student’s view of the structure of a school day and will outline the advantages and disadvantages of both the current structure and proposed shorter hours, notwithstanding the current pandemic.
Longer is Stronger
A common conception is longer school hours equate to better academic performances. However, it is not so simple. A briefing paper published by the House of Commons in March 2021 discussed the different attitudes towards longer school days. Regarding the academic benefits it related:
“Extending time isn’t automatically going to lead to better outcomes. In fact, international evidence shows no necessary correlation between length of the day, and performance on international league tables.”
Despite this, there is evidence that students performing at a lower level are helped by more time learning in the classroom. A Channel 4 News ‘FactCheck’ article stated that:
“Meta-analyses of the data tend to show a small positive correlation between increasing school hours and achievement, particularly for pupils at risk of failing.”
In regards to the ‘international league tables’, a failing student bumping up their grade doesn’t make much of a difference, but for many this can be the deciding factor as to what their future holds.
Another discussion in this report was whether these hours should be compulsory for students, or whether a more voluntary approach would be beneficial. The unanimous decision seemed to be that after-school voluntary clubs were the best option, however, this raises issues for those who do not want to remain in school.
Decreased homework was one of the positives, as all the learning could be done during school hours, freeing time for extra curricular and family pursuits. I know many peers who would relish the added relaxation that they could spend at home.
Increasing school hours also allows for longer meal and break times – elements that have become vital in the current climate. Mental health is a common issue amongst teenagers and with the addition of social media and technological influence, it can become difficult to deal with. Social interaction during break times allow cool-off periods for students to release the strains of studies and exams.
Conversely, the costs of keeping schools open may not be feasible. After the government allowed schools to fix their own timings, only 29% of schools that altered their timings extended the day and 71% opted to shorten according to a BBC report in 2015. This was mostly due to financial constraints. Increasing the day for students nationwide could cost “anywhere from £500m up to several billion”, a costly consideration.
Parents also expressed their concerns about the enforcement of longer school hours. A Department of Education report in 2017 stated:
“Any compulsory engagement with activities was also seen as removing the element of fun as it was more like regular class time. Parents were concerned that their children would be overworked if the extension focused on academic support”
In short, it is yet unclear how an extended day helps students. Allotting additional time for breaks and relaxation at home may help towards their wellbeing, but ultimately a longer is day is also draining.
Short and snappy
As aforementioned, the majority of schools in 2015 believed shortening the day was the way forward. The question is whether there are advantages of this approach unrelated to financial savings.
One reason that the schools gave for shortening the day was that it was safer for students who walked to school – allowing them to return home before dark. As a student walking back I feel a sense of danger too when walking home in the winter months and understand the concern that these schools have.
Other benefits schools highlighted were that traffic congestion would be reduced – an important factor when considering our carbon impact. Furthermore, students would have time to pursue recreational pursuits: encouraging students to gain a head start on passions they have outside of school would be a productive use of time.
In response, according to many professionals, shorter days are not the way forward. It is usually seen as a cost-cutting initiative, an approach which is less concerned about student welfare. One primary school in Scotland admitted they had to shorten the day due to cost, leaving parents outraged. One remarked “our children’s education shouldn’t be a number-crunching game [BBC report].” This raises concerns over whether there should be a price on the education of our children and future workforce of the country.
Working adults sit for hours on end in offices, but young children and teenagers shouldn’t be exposed to the same. Less hours makes sense as students cannot keep their attention span for 6-7 hours everyday for 190 days and their wellbeing needs to be considered.
In some cases, schools that have shortened their school days have done so by reducing playtime, however this is not beneficial for children. Play is extremely important not only for physical health but for social development too. An NUT (National Union of Teachers) representative stated it was terrible some schools had done so, adding that the school day needed to be balanced.
Shortening school days would also have an adverse effect on working parents. They would have to shorten working hours to pick up young children from school, which may lead to a reduction in income. Some parents may have to arrange childcare instead which increases costs even more. All this would affect a student’s quality of life.
Although currently, it would not be the best time to introduce changes to the structure of schools – given the whirlwind that students have already gone through with school closures, lockdown learning and self-motivated study, perhaps in the long term a change could be made. An approach that puts emphasis on recreation and cultivation of interests, rather than adherence to a curriculum, may allow students to flourish in results as well as in their wellbeing.
In summary, longer school hours would give students longer break times and more time for study, conversely it would become tiresome for them. Shorter school hours would cut costs and allow students additional family time and time to pursue extra curricular activities, but the impact on staff and parents needs to be considered.
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