The school hours issue

Amid an unexpected controversial issue as to whether to touch the current number of school hours or extend them, with Labour MP Edward Zammit Lewis advocating for longer hours to align with modern work schedules and Education Minister Clifton Grima and the PN opposing the idea, the Times of Malta editorial (‘Balancing school and home’, January 18) could not have come at a better time and occasion.

To my mind, the advocacy of Zammit Lewis is for the wrong reason, as he gives priority to work schedules over critical educational issues.

The number-one reason for lengthening the school day, if at all, should be to provide teachers with more time for instruction. Over the last century, humans have acquired a staggering amount of knowledge and understanding.

Young students may not have the stamina to complete longer school days. Photo: Shutterstock.com

It makes sense that we now need to spend more time educating children, especially in the STEM fields, where knowledge is advancing rapidly and where job opportunities remain plentiful. If Malta is to stay competitive globally, we must produce an educated populace. Extending the school day could be an important step toward securing a strong future.

Still, while longer instruction time can improve achievement, the correlation is not exact and depends on other factors, such as classroom environment, quality of instruction and student ability. In short, it is likely that longer school days would not be an effective way to raise achievement without other factors already being in place.

Moreover, from sports to music to dance, many children participate in extracurricular activities designed to teach them new skills and enrich their lives. A longer school day could make participating in extracurriculars more difficult. It can also reduce the free quality time children need.

As it is, our young students are already stressed enough. They may not have the stamina to complete longer school days. Whether physical or mental, nine hours of focusing can be understandably difficult for children. Extending school hours can also lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

Whichever side of the argument you fall on, there is clearly no simple answer to the question of how long an ideal school day should be.

Clearly, more research is needed to find a definitive answer to this complicated question.

Mark Said – Msida