6th Junior High School of Mytilene
Comenius programme
- “A Choral Song”
Paraschos Kanlis
Teacher of Physical Education, MSc.
Pupils’ free time activities
Introduction
The present
research was carried out as part of the Comenius programme “A Choral Song” at
the 6th Junior High School
of Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece. One of the
activities included in the programme was
an investigation into how the pupils spent their free time. This time is divided
between scheduled activities and free activities.
Regarding the
scheduled activities, we examined the
time pupils needed in order to study and
do homework, to attend private lessons
to cover the needs of school , to attend private foreign language lessons, to participate in organized sport as members of an sports
club and to attend music lessons and ICD (Information
and Communications Technologies) lessons. Regarding the free activities, we
examined the time the pupils devoted to entertainment, to watching television, DVDs, listening to the radio or music, taking
part in sports with friends or alone, reading books or magazines, drawing or dancing. We also examined whether they went to the
theatre or the cinema and how many hours they spent in front of a
computer.
In this study,
we confined ourselves exclusively to researching the above activities without
trying to detect other activities such as possible deviant behaviour e.g. bad
company, smoking or other types of
problem behaviour. These activities could provide a subject for further research.
Aim of the research
The aim of the
research was to explore which afterschool activities pupils are involved in.
Methodology
Research tool
The tools of quantative research were used for collection and sorting of
information during the research. Semi-structured and free interviews were used
as is usual in quantative research.
Population – Research
Sample
The population
which constituted the field of research from which a sample was taken was the
pupils of the 6th Junior High School of Mytilene, namely a total of 116 boys and girls spanning
three academic years. A random sample of
volunteers was taken for the interviews.
We worked with 2
girls and 2 boys from each year (1st , 2nd , 3rd
), namely a total of 12 students.
Time Frame of
the Research.
The research was
carried out during the month of March
2013 as part of the Comenius program me.
Conclusion
Pupils’ free time
activities are divided into two categories – scheduled and free.
According to the
pupils’ answers, the scheduled activities have to do with studying for school,
which girls spend a lot more time on than do boys. No pupils from the 1st or 2nd
year do private lessons to cover school needs. However, three out of four pupils in the 3rd
year take private lessons in school subjects
such as Greek Language (Ancient and Modern) and Mathematics, which seems to indicate
that it is in the 3rd
year that pupils begin to feel the need to prepare for
their transition to Senior High School, where assessment is predominantly exam-based,
with an ultimate goal of getting into
higher education.
Private foreign
language lessons are another scheduled activity and 11 out of 12 do one or two foreign
languages. This shows that foreign languages constitute a necessary
qualification for a pupil’s future and they spend large sums of money on learning languages, as the teaching of foreign languages in
schools does not suffice for the pupils to gain a certificate in a foreign
language. Nine out of ten pupils said
that they took part in some form of organized sport as members of a club. None of the pupils took music lessons or ICT lessons.
Going out to
cafeterias and entertainment in general is limited to going out once at the weekend
and not at all on weekdays. Pastimes such as watching television , listening to the radio, watching DVDs and
listening to music take up fewer hours on weekdays with the time spent on these
activities increasing at the weekend.
The female
students did not show a great interest in sport with only three taking exercise alone and one of the six girls
interviewed exercising with friends. Sport as a pastime is more popular with boys
when they play with friends (especially team sports
such as basketball or football) or go cycling or play table tennis. Exercising
alone is not popular with boys. The answers to the question about whether the
pupils read books were, unfortunately, disappointing as only three girls out of
six read. The picture is worse with boys where only one said he reads while two
said they read a little. Four out of six girls and three out of six boys read
magazines. Drawing is not popular
amongst girls while half of the boys draw. Finally, four of the girls and three of the boys spend time dancing.
The theatre does
not feature among the interests of the female pupils, although the cinema does.
The boys do not show any interest in either the theatre or the cinema. From
these answers we can conclude that the pupils have not developed a particular culture
or taste for the theatre or quality cinema.
