Assessment of Academic Workload and Related Fatigue in High School Graduates

Introduction: The number of chronic diseases among schoolchildren has demonstrated a 1.5-fold increase recently. The years of study in high school largely determine physical and mental health of adolescents. High intensity of the educational process combined with unfavorable learning conditions lead to overload, reduced working capacity, growth problems, and development of chronic diseases in teenagers.

Objective: To conduct a hygienic assessment of educational workload and associated fatigue in high school graduates in the city of Perm.

Materials and methods: In October–November 2022, we conducted an analytical cohort study comprising the review of sanitary and epidemiological requirements for school environment, content and organization of work in five schools, the analysis of compliance of lesson timetables with the requirements of Russian health regulations and standards and teachers’ recommendations, and an anonymous survey of 89 eleventh graders to detect signs of fatigue, self-rated psychological and emotional state during and after classes, and features of the latter. The data were analyzed using SPSS 12.0 with the calculation of extensive indicators.

Results: The necessary period of adaptation to a new school week was found to be neglected at all schools: 32 students (35.9 %) reported having tests on Mondays and 86.5 % of them complained of feeling very tired after classes on that day. We noted an excess of the maximum number of lessons a day and non-compliance with the recommended break time in two and four of five schools, respectively. Almost half of the respondents (44 students or 49.4 %) mentioned poor attention and a decrease of academic performance despite their knowledge and more than a third (32 students or 35.9 %) confessed that they had begun losing interest in core subjects.

Conclusion: Our findings showed that a heavy and unevenly distributed school workload causes fatigue, subsequent exhaustion, and worse academic achievement in final year students of Perm.

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