According to poll of 428 primary pupils and 718 junior secondary pupils, students spend up to 40 minutes more on homework a day
SHIRLEY.ZHAO@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 March, 2016, 3:43pm
Patrick Ip, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, says schoolchildren should be in the happiest phase of life. Photo: Nora Tam
Hong Kong schoolchildren’s level of happiness dropped to a new low last year, while the time they spent doing their homework increased by up to 40 minutes a day, according to a new survey.
The Children’s Happiness Index, published on Wednesday, was based on research conducted by Lingnan University from October last year to January.
A total of 25 local primary and secondary schools participated, with 428 primary pupils and 718 junior secondary pupils asked to rate their happiness on a scale of 0 to 10.
Researchers also found that the ratings among children aged eight to nine and over 14 saw the sharpest drop, as the time they spent on their homework was found to be the longest. They also found that these children had less sleep than they should have at their age.
A paediatrics expert called the situation “alarming” and warned of increasing risks of child suicide and family abuse triggered by growing pressure to study.
“Schooling should be the happiest and most exploring phase in life,” said Patrick Ip, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine.
“The current situation is really not ideal,” he added.
The index dropped to 6.49, the lowest rating since it started in 2012, when the score was 6.91.
For children aged 14, the rating dropped the most, by 6 per cent to 6.15, while the rating among children aged eight to nine dropped by 5 per cent to 6.86.
Correspondingly, Primary 4 pupils, usually aged eight or nine, spent an average of almost three hours every day doing their homework – the longest hours among all primary school children. Secondary 3 student, usually aged 14, spent an average of two hours on homework – the highest at the junior secondary level.
The primary school respondents slept an average of less than nine hours every day, while the secondary school students slept for about seven hours on average, lower than the international standard of 10 hours for primary school children and nine hours for secondary school ones.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1931760/happiness-hong-kong-schoolchildren-drops-new-low
