This study is anchored o

Education definition
(George Dewey, 1916)
(Parankimalil, 2012)

Effects of Stress RA No 9155 otherwise known

(McEwen, 2008) as “Governance of
(The American Institute Basic Education Act”
of Stress)

Mental Health and Wellness

(Naci and Ioannidis,
2012) DepEd Memorandum No. 392,
otherwise known as “No
Emotional Stress Homework Policy on
(Wilkinson and Brunner, Weekends”
2010)

Sustainability of SMEs

Proposed Effective Sustainability Strategy

Fig. 1 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

 In a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) it
was found that “after around four hours of homework per week, the additional time invested in
homework has a negligible impact on performance.” That means that by asking our children to put in an
hour or more per day of dedicated homework time, we are not only not helping them, but according to
the aforementioned studies – we are hurting them, both physically and emotionally. What’s more is that
homework is, as the name implies, to be completed at home, after a full day of learning – which is
typically around seven to eight hours long with breaks and lunch included. As the study of the National
Center for Education Statistics found that high school students get an average of 6.8 hours homework
per week. A figure that is much too high according to OECD.

According to a study by Stanford University, 56 percent of students considered homework a

primary source of stress. Too much homework can result in lack of sleep, headaches, exhaustion, and
weight loss. Excessive homework can also result in poor eating habits, with families choosing fast food
as a faster alternative. Homework is an important part of being successful inside and outside of the
classroom, but too much of it can actually have the opposite effect. Students who spend too much time
on homework are not always able to meet other needs, like being physically and socially active.
Ultimately, the amoung of school work a student has can impact a lot more than his or her grades.

According to the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the highest homework loads
are associated with countries that have lower incomes and higher social inequality. Undoubtedly,
homework is a global phenomenon – students from all 59 countries that participated in the 2007 study
reported getting homework. Worldwide, only less than 7 percent of fourth graders said they did no
homework. In some nations like Algeria, Kuwait and Morocco, more than one in five fourth graders
reported high levels of homework. In Japan, less than 3 percent of students indicated they did more
than four hours of homework on a normal school night.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in a 2008 survey, said one-third of
parents polled rated the quality of their children’s homework assignments as fair or poor, and 4 in 10
said they believed that some or a great deal of homework was busywork. A new study, in the Economics
of Education Review, reports that homework in science, English and history has “little to no impact” on
student test scores. (The authors did note a positive effect for math homework.) To sum it up, enriching
children’s classroom learning requires making homework not shorter or longer, but smarter.
 DepEd Memorandum No. 392, signed by Education Secretary Armin Luistro last September 16,
advises teachers to limit the giving of homework/assignments "to a reasonable quantity to give their
pupils ample time to rest and relax at home for the rest of the day." "Therefore, no
homework/assignments shall be given during weekends for pupils to enjoy their childhood, and spend
quality time with their parents without being burdened by the thought of doing lots of homework," the
memo states. "We know our students' capacity and how long it would take them to finish their
homework. It's not to make their lives harder. Homework can be used to teach them self-discipline, time
management and how to become responsible students," he said in an ABS-CBN "Umagang kay Ganda"
interview. He said that teachers give more homework on Fridays because students have more time
during the weekends. He noted that homework can actually be used by parents to spend more quality
time with their kids. Yolanda Quijano, director of the DepEd Bureau of Elementary Education, said the
department passed the order after receiving complaints from some parents that teachers were giving
their kids too much homework. She said the memorandum is part of the DepEd's initiative to create a
child-friendly school system that also encourages play and leisure time for kids especially during
weekends. "All we want is that the kids should also enjoy their time during the weekends with their
parents without the problem of having too much homework. We are not limiting their time to study. It
should actually be a habit. They should study even without any homework," she added.