Rigor Versus Load: Is More Better? Understanding Students' Workload and Impact on Well-Being

• In Event: 16.058 - The Impact of Academic Workload on Students' Stress and Well-Being in Rigorous College Prep Programs

Abstract

Educators may be confusing “rigor” – a focus on deep learning and mastery of skills – with “load” – how much work is assigned. This “more is better” mindset is associated with higher rates of student stress and other adverse health effects, particularly in high-performing schools (Galloway, Conner & Pope, 2013). Research confirms that students in these schools have higher homework loads, and that homework load is a primary source of stress associated with higher internalizing symptoms including depression, sleep deprivation, and other physical health problems (Kouzma & Kennedy, 2004; Luthar, Barkin & Crossman, 2013).

In a review of the literature on protective factors for students and ways to mitigate stress, we found some promising results: Li et al. (2008) and Conner & Pope (2013) found that students who experienced “full” engagement in school were less likely to experience symptoms of stress. Similarly, researchers found positive results for students who believed more of their teachers supported them (Modin et al., 2011), and others found positive health results when students believed their homework assignments were meaningful (Galloway and Pope, 2007).

This presentation explores the relationship between these “protective factors” and student workload and well-being. The sample included approximately 17,000 students from 29 high-performing U. S. high schools. Participants completed the Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences online (see Table 5 for scale descriptions). Using hierarchical linear regression, we tested the theory that homework load would be significantly associated with high school stress even when students were more likely to be engaged in schoolwork and feel supported by their teachers.

On average, students reported doing approximately 3 hours of homework per night. Bivariate correlations (see Table 6) indicated that time spent on homework was significantly and positively correlated with high school stress, and high school stress was significantly and negatively correlated with teacher support, homework meaningfulness, and affective and cognitive engagement, confirming earlier research.

Four separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted with high school stress as the dependent variable in each model. We entered gender in each model (step 1) because we found that females were significantly more likely to report school stress (M=3.53, SD=.70) than males (M=3.14, SD=.83); t (14,555) = 30.69, p < 0.001. In the second step in all four models, time spent doing homework was entered and, in the final step, these independent variables were added: Model 1: meaningful homework; Model 2: teacher support; Model 3: cognitive engagement; Model 4: affective engagement.

Results indicated that, although the effects were small, homework load had the biggest effect on high school stress and was significantly associated with stress even when the four other variables were introduced (see Tables 7 – 10). Homework load accounted for 37% of the variance in high school stress, and the effects of homework load on stress did not change in three of the four models. In our discussion, we highlight the implications of our findings on the relationship between load and well-being and encourage educators to consider decreasing homework in addition to incorporating protective factors.

Authors

• Denise C. Pope, Stanford University

• Sarah B. Miles, Stanford University