THE PERCEPTION OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS

ACADEMIC BREAKS

Maria Theresa R. Antonio

Deparo Elementary School

Dessa P. Aranas
Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Dasmariñas

Eden May L. Belleza

Manuel G. Araullo High School

Angela E. Clemente
Adamson University

April M. Dela Cruz

Parulog Elementary School

Bernadette V. Evalle
Juan Sumulong High School

Jenny P. Ednalino
Pulo Elementary School

Rose Emmanuelle D. Garcia

San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite

Pauline Juliane M. Morenos

Marilao, Bulacan

Jennifer C. Paz
New Jerusalem School

Heidy Cecile O. Taguiam

Bagong Barangay Elementary School

Josue Aguilar Yambao

Emilio Aguinaldo College – Cavite
Abstract
High school students are experiencing rising stress levels and lower engagement
with learning since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Study breaks or academic breaks
are great ways for students to get some repose, by enabling them to hang out with friends
for a bit while munching on some delicious snacks. This study aimed the following: (1)
To determine the perceived advantages of the implementation of academic breaks. (2) To
determine the perceived disadvantages of the implementation of academic breaks. (3) To
identify the possible interventions to be made in the implementation of academic breaks.
The study utilized the qualitative-descriptive research design and conducted an interview
through an interview sheet to the respondents. Eventually, the findings of the study were
as follows: the respondents can have rest and have time and their mental health will
improve; However, the repercussions are extended academic calendar, laziness and loss of
student’s interest, and no specific negative perceived impacts; and for actions to be taken:
rest, no added task and completion of unfinished task, monitoring, and continuance of
academic break.

Keywords: Academic Break, Stress, School Work, Senior High School

Students Introduction

High school students are experiencing rising stress levels and lower engagement
with learning since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Pope, Denise
(2021) in her lecture in Stanford GSE, students feel that “they are more stressed than they
were before the pandemic, they have more work, they are less engaged in school, and
their relationships with teachers and [other] students are strained.” The COVID-19 global
health emergency has greatly impacted the educational field. Faced with unprecedented
stress situations, professors, students, and families have employed various coping and
resilience strategies throughout the confinement period. High and persistent stress levels
are associated with other pathologies; hence, their detection and prevention are needed
(Morales-Rodríguez, F.M et.al, 2021).

On the other hand, researchers have found that taking a break can be very
beneficial. Study breaks or academic breaks are great ways for students to get some
repose, by enabling them to hang out with friends for a bit while munching on some
delicious snacks. This rest period is extremely important for everyone because it
empowers them to eventually return to their work, reinvigorated and ready to accomplish
all the incoming tasks. Many studies have found that pausing for a moment to relax and
reboot is essential for achieving productivity, success, and a positive outlook on the
future. This is especially
true for students who spend hours huddled in front of a computer. While many believe
cram sessions and all-night study groups will ultimately help them earn their degree, the
fact is that not taking regular breaks can lead to a significant decrease in academic
performance and, in some cases, serious health concerns like anxiety, insomnia, and
depression.

Regular breaks throughout the school day, from short brain breaks in the
classroom to the longer break of recess are not simply downtime for students. Such
breaks increase their productivity and provide them with opportunities to develop
creativity and social skills. Although taking short breaks throughout the working day may
not have as obvious an impact as taking a holiday, research has found significant benefits
(Terada, 2018). According to the study of Altenburg T.M et.al, (2016) the duration of
study breaks varied from five minutes to one month. The length of the break directly
correlated to how long the information was retained. In addition, the study of Korpela,
Kinnunen & et.al. (2016) found that taking lunchtime breaks and detaching from work,
increases levels of energy at work and decreases exhaustion. Taking breaks has been
shown to be important in recovering from stress, which can, in turn, improve your
performance. Recovering from work stress can restore energy and mental resources and
decrease the development of fatigue, sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease.

However, Douthitt, Tyler (2019) explained longer summer break affords students
a little too much slack for too long of a time period. When students no longer have to get
up early every day and maintain a structured schedule, they fall out of practice and often
have significant difficulty re-acclimating once the school year resumes. Thus, many
people argue that students’ grades and learning retention would fare better if summer
breaks were shortened, since longer breaks allow greater opportunity for learning loss.

On the other hand, Zetlin, Minda (2019), reiterates that not all breaks are created equal.
To get the full benefit of a break, one must completely disconnect from work. Ideally,
stand up from their desk and walk away from the computer. In fact, going for a walk is
one of the most effective ways to take a break. A person taking a break should utilize the
time to really take a rest and wind down from all the work or study-related
activities. To maximize the benefits of this approach, the time for work must be utilized to
finish all tasks and in turn would allow the ease of mind whenever they are taking a break.

This study was designed to determine the perception of senior high school students
towards academic breaks. Since there were previous studies which revealed how regular
breaks improve the productivity and performance of the students and how it can restore
their energy and mental resources, it is also important to see how students perceive
academic breaks.

Specifically, this study aimed the following: (1) To determine the perceived
advantages of the implementation of academic breaks. (2) To determine the perceived
disadvantages of the implementation of academic breaks. (3) To identify the possible
interventions to be made in the implementation of academic breaks.
 It is expected that the result of this study would provide valuable information
about the perception of senior high school students towards academic breaks and to
provide suggestions and recommendations on the implementation of academic breaks.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to determine the perception of Senior High School students
toward Academic Breaks. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the perceived advantages of the implementation of academic break? 2.

What are the perceived disadvantages of the implementation of academic break? 3.
What are the possible interventions to be made in the implementation of academic
break?

Assumptions

The perception of the senior high school students varies in terms of the advantages and

disadvantages of academic breaks. The researchers also assume that there will be

different actions to be taken in implementing the academic break.

Theoretical Framework

The researcher used two theoretical frameworks. One of these is Maslow's

theory which was developed by Abraham Harold Maslow. In his 1943 paper "A Theory of

Human Motivation" and following book Motivation and Personality, Maslow originally

established the concept of a hierarchy of needs. People are motivated to meet basic wants

before moving on to more complex requirements, according to this hierarchy. The

hierarchy of needs is a motivation theory that states that an individual's conduct is dictated

by five categories of human needs. Physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and

self-actualization are some of these needs.

In this study, the Marslow's Hierarchy of needs was used to assess the importance

of addressing an individual's necessities in order to be motivated in life. Second, the

School Mental Health Theoretical Framework which was derived from the study of
Valeria Cavioni , Ilaria Grazzani and Veronica Ornaghi entitled “Mental health

promotion in schools: A comprehensive theoretical framework, Effective school mental

health programs” which mainly target the promotion and resilience as well as the

prevention of social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties, including risk behaviours

(Browne et al., 2004; Cefai et al., 2018a; O’Reilly et al., 2018; Weare, 2010). Therefore,

the proposed framework, which is based on existing research on mental health promotion

and prevention, represents school mental health as encompassing three major domains.

The first two concern the promotion of protective factors in mental health, specifically,

social and emotional learning (SEL) and resilience, while the third is the prevention of

social, emotional, and behavioural problems. Figure 1 provides a graphic summary of the

theoretical framework, representing the three domains of school mental health, the

associated developmental settings (family and community), and the overarching role of

policy-making. In the next sections of the paper, we more fully describe the framework by

discussing the three major domains in relation to mental health outcomes and the different

developmental systems. For each of the domains, a summarization of the main theoretical

constructs reviewed, together with a list of key target skills and behaviours for both

students and teachers shall be presented.

Figure 1. School Mental Health Theoretical Framework

 (Cavioni, Ornaghi, & Grazzani)

Promotion of social and emotional learning Numerous large-scale reviews and

meta-analyses on the impact of SEL programs carried out in United States and in Europe

and mainly delivered by trained teachers in partnership with mental health professionals

(Franklin et al., 2012) have pointed up the twofold benefits of intervention: students

participating in such programs display enhanced social and emotional competencies (e.g.,

social skills, positive attitudes towards self and others, positive social behaviours) and

reduced internalizing and externalizing problems compared to control groups of peers

(Cefai et al., 2018a; Corcoran et al., 2018; Durlak et al., 2011; Payton et al., 2008; Zins &

Elias, 2007). More specifically, research has documented a significant positive impact of

SEL programs on students’ behaviour from kindergarten up to high school including

improved social-emotional competences across the five SEL competencies (CASEL,

2013), enhanced self-esteem and connection to school, better classroom behaviour,

improved academic motivation and performance, as well reduced conduct problems,

bullying and aggression and less emotional distress such as stress, anxiety and depression,

(Catalano et al., 2002; Conley et al., 2015; Durlak & Wells, 1997; Sklad et al., 2012;

Taylor et al., 2017; Tobler et al., 2000; Wiglesworth et al., 2016; Ura et al., 2019). While

the impact of SEL programs on students has been well documented (Weare, 2004; 2010;

Weare & Nind; 2011), little attention has been paid to the impact of SEL on enhancing

teachers’ social and emotional skills. Research by Jennings & Greenberg (2009), who

applied the CASEL competencies model (Durlak et al., 2015), suggested that socially and

emotionally competent teachers are better at understanding and managing their own and

others’ emotions, display stronger relationship-building capability, and report higher self

efficacy in teaching. These competencies are in turn positively associated with greater

work satisfaction and reduced stress and burnout (Jennings et al., 2017; Jennings &
Greenberg; 2009). Promotion of resilience Research has identified resilience as a

complex construct resulting from a dynamic relationship between risk and protection

factors (Benard, 2004; Luthar & Cicchetti, 2000; Ungar, 2012; 2018). Studies conducted

in educational contexts have been focused on how personal and social protective factors

can help the mental health of both students and teachers (Cowen et al., 1997). Among

such factors, resilience is a key protective capacity that contributes to maintaining

positive mental health and preventing

and mitigating mental health problems during childhood and adolescence (Dray et al.,

2015; Kessler et al., 2008). Children with higher levels of resilience are less prone to

mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders (Hjemdal et al., 2007;

Hjemdal et al., 2011). Studies on the effectiveness of resilience-enhancing school-based

programs and interventions have reported various positive outcomes in children and

young people such as improved resilience outcomes, stress management, coping skills,

social and emotional competence and learning interest and decreased anxiety, depression

and risk taking behaviour (Cefai et al., 2018b; Fenwick-Smith et al., 2018; Meschke &

Patterson, 2003; Twum-Antwi et al., 2019, Ungar, 2018). Only in recent years have

researchers investigated teachers’ resilience with a view to identifying the factors that

enable them to achieve school goals and maintain well-being, despite environmental

stressors and recurring challenges and setbacks at work (Brunetti, 2006; Patterson et al.,

2004). This has led to the identification of a range of individual characteristics (such as

self-efficacy, strong intrinsic motivation to teach, and coping strategies) and contextual

protective factors (including receiving support from colleagues and school administrative

staff) that help teachers to deal with challenging situations and successfully maintain job

satisfaction and commitment to their profession (Beltman et al., 2011; Cefai & Cavioni,

2014). Prevention of behavioural, emotional, and social problems Social, emotional, and

behavioural difficulties comprise a broad spectrum of behaviours that school children can
develop to varying degrees, and that may be either internalizing (directed at the self), or

externalizing (directed at the external environment) (Achenbach et al., 2017; Cooper,

2017). In schools, interventions to prevent behavioural, emotional, and social problems

usually target such conditions as depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, substance use,

self-harm, rule-

breaking, delinquency and aggressive behaviour (Anderson et al., 2018; Cooper & Jacobs,

2011). Interventions may be implemented at the universal level, that is to say, with all

students, or at the targeted level, with students at particular risk of developing, or already

manifesting, mild mental health difficulties (Weare, 2010). Recent studies suggest that

universal preventive programs are perceived as less stigmatizing (Fisak et al., 2011).

Furthermore, similar effect sizes have been observed for both universal and targeted

prevention programs, indicating that there is a need for both universal preventive

interventions complemented with targeted interventions (Ahlen et al., 2015; Waldron et

al., 2018; Weare & Nind, 2011). In particular, systematic reviews of universal programs

in children and adolescents demonstrated significant reductions in internalizing mental

health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression symptoms (Feiss et al., 2019;

Lowry Webster et al., 2001; Lowry-Webster et al., 2003; Waddell et al., 2007). Similarity,

studies on the effectiveness of prevention programs for externalizing problems

documented significant reductions in targeted behavioural issues, with effects lasting

through one-year follow-up (Durlak & Wells, 1997; Greenberg et al., 2001; Waddell et

al., 2007; Wilson, et al., 2003). Despite the increasing number of preventive programs for

students, few intervention studies have specifically targeted teachers’ mental health

difficulties. Most of those that did were designed to reduce stress and risk of burnout by

introducing cognitive behavioural techniques or relaxation strategies. For instance, Leung

and colleagues (2011) found that a brief cognitive-behavioural training program

significantly relieved stress and strain amongst the participating teachers. In another more
recent study, lower anxiety and stress and increased overall mental well-being were

observed in a group of teachers who practiced yoga, as compared to a control group

(Telles et al., 2018).

Developmental systems: family, community, policy This framework

acknowledges the importance of collaboration between the developmental systems

(Bronfenbrenner, 1979) – namely family and community – that play an active role in

fostering school mental health It also emphasizes the need for strong cooperation with a

wide range of policy-makers to guarantee the sustainability of mental health promotion

in schools. Research has documented the limited effects of intervention at follow-up

when no provision is made for long-term sustainability after initial investment and

rollout (Askell-Williams, 2017; Askell-Williams et al., 2013). Sustainability over the

longer term is best accomplished via strategic collaboration with policy-makers to

upscale mental health programs to wider contexts. Programs need to be linked to

existing mental health education policy and supported by local, national, or international

policymakers to have the best likelihood of producing lasting results.

Scope and Limitations

The focus of the research was on the perception of senior high school students

towards academic breaks. It was conducted in the months of October and November 2021

at Emilio Aguinaldo College - Cavite. The information was gathered from a group of

senior high school students who are currently enrolled in senior high school for the 2021-

2022 school year. They were limited to twenty senior high school students.

One of the limitations encountered by the researchers is the current situation right

now, which is the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas data collection has become challenging

since there are no face-to-face classes implemented yet on the setting of the study.

Communication among the researchers was also a part of the limitation that is brought by
the aforementioned situation.

Significance of the Study

This study aimed to explore the perception of senior high school students towards

academic breaks of the selected senior high school students. Benefiting the study are the

various stakeholders such as the:

Students. The purpose of this study is to determine how students feel about academic

breaks. The information gathered will assist students in making meaningful and

productive use of their academic breaks. This will also promote better collaboration

among students and other stakeholders in order to maximize the good effects of academic

breaks while minimizing the negative effects.

Teachers. The findings of the study will benefit teachers in assessing students'

perceptions toward academic breaks. The findings will also help teachers improve their

planning and teaching strategies for maximizing the positive effects of academic breaks

while minimizing the negative effects, which they can integrate into their classes,

practices, or programs to help students develop in a holistic manner.

Parents. The results of the study will help the parents evaluate the students' perceptions

toward academic breaks. The results would also aid in developing their parenting styles or

strategies in maximizing the positive perceived effects and minimizing the negative

perceived effects of academic breaks.

School Administrators. The results of the study will help the school administrators to

determine the students' perceptions toward academic breaks. The results would also

develop the administrator’s strategies in maximizing the positive effects and minimizing

the negative perceived effects of academic breaks.

Future Researchers. The results of this research may serve as reference for future

studies similar/related to this topic.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are hereby defined:

Academic Break- can be when no courses are offered for a student’s program within a

particular term, or there is a scheduled break within a program (e.g. summer term).

Mental health- this includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It

affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to

others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from

childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Stress - is the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional

pressure.

School work- work assigned students by their teachers in school

Methodology

Research Design

The researchers used the descriptive method to determine the perception of

students towards academic breaks. "Research method is the plan, structure, and strategy

of investigation devised to gain answers to research questions and to control variance,"

according to Kerlinger (2004).

In the descriptive method, Calmorin (1994) as cited by Bagayana (2016) wrote the

study which focuses on the present condition. The goal is to discover new truth, which can

take various forms, including expanded knowledge, new generalizations, or new insights

into elements at work, the discovery of a new causal relationship, a more precise

statement of the problem to be solved, and so on.

Sampling Technique

The respondents of this study were the selected senior high school students at

Emilio Aguinaldo College – Cavite during the school year 2021 – 2022 of the first

semester. The respondents were selected using the non-probability sampling, specifically

the convenience sampling is used in selection of the respondents.

According to Lavrakas,Paul J (2008) “Convenience sampling is a sort of non

probability sampling in which persons are randomly selected because they are

"convenient" data sources for researchers. Each element in the population has a known

nonzero chance of being selected using a random selection technique in probability

sampling”. Thus the researchers used the convenience sampling in this study.

Respondents

The respondents of this study were the selected senior high school students at

Emilio Aguinaldo College – Cavite during the school year 2021 – 2022 of the first

semester. The population of the study is composed of 20 students, 10 students per year

level in senior high school.

Research Instrument

The researchers utilized a researcher-made survey questionnaire and have been

validated by the head teachers of the school where the data gathering was conducted..

According to Taherdoost (2016) “questionnaires are one of the most extensively utilized

data collection instruments. The basic goal of a questionnaire in research is to collect

important data in the most accurate and valid way possible.” This researcher-made

questionnaire is composed of three (3) open-ended questions to know the perceptions of

the senior high school students towards academic break.

The questions were divided into the following: (1) the advantages of academic

break; (2) the disadvantages of academic break; and (3) the possible interventions to be
made in the implementation of academic break.

Validation of Instrument

The validity of a test refers to whether it measures what it promises to measure.

The questionnaire created by the researchers was utilized to collect the data in this

investigation. To ensure the validity of the instruments used, the researchers searched for

the related

literature that is possible to be used as a question for the interview and it was proofread by

an English teacher. After the construction of the questionnaire it was validated by the

three coordinators of the Emilio Aguinaldo College - Cavite which is composed of an

english coordinator, research coordinator and a grade-level coordinator.

The three validators confirmed the instrument's validity and were consulted to

perform the following tasks: content validation to align the terms used in order to meet the

study's objectives; face validation to determine the appropriate appearance or convenience

of the materials when answered or filled out by respondents; and expert validation to

determine whether the instrument used is congruent with the topic chosen and the

rationale of the materials developed. The validators finally accepted the survey

questionnaire to formally conduct the study after a series of validations.

Data Gathering Procedure

The study was conducted in the months of October and November 2021. This

research component included the following steps:

Researchers asked for the permission to conduct the study at Emilio Aguinaldo

College - Cavite through its Research and Development Department. A self-made

interview questionnaire was prepared by the researchers. The instrument consisted of

three (3) open-ended questions. This questionnaire was utilized as the study's instrument.

The researchers consulted three coordinators to assess the instrument and for checking

and approval of the researcher-made questionnaire. After the validators gave their

approval, a total of 20 senior high school students were chosen to undertake the data

gathering. For a faster response rate, the interview questionnaire was sent via Google

Forms. To determine

the conclusions and findings of the offered study difficulties, all replies were eventually

collected and treated with a non-numerical method of assessment.

Results and Discussion

This chapter presents the analysis and discussion of the findings of this study. The

presentations are done according to the specific objectives and hypotheses. Results are

presented using tables for ease of looking and text to explain the table for easier

comprehension.

Perceived Advantages of the Implementation of Academic Break

Table 1. The perceived advantages of the implementation of academic break

 Based on the emerging themes in problem number one (1), the majority of the

participants expressed “rest and time for self and family”, and “mental health

improvement” as their perceived positive effects of implementing academic breaks. One

of the respondents stated that:

“Students have the opportunity to rest, physically, mentally and even emotionally,

without the impending stress and pressure of academics and deadlines. Another

advantage is that Students can use the time as a way to catch up to any academic works
they still have left without the distraction of thinking about anything else, that way they

can be focused on catching up with unfinished work or do advanced and review

studying.”

Another respondents emphasized that:

“It helps the students to take a break and rest from the academic activities and

rest up our minds from everything.”

Having term breaks or academic breaks can lessen the tendency of students to

suffer high stress levels due to loaded academic work and can result in a physical or

mental impact (Bautista, 2020).

Apart from the statements provided, another respondent perceived that: “The

advantage of implementing academic breaks is that students can have good rest and have

time to spend on leisure and enjoyment.”

Bautista (2020), also emphasized that having some rest and diverting your time to

other activities during academic breaks can improve your performance and creativity.

Perceived Disadvantages of the Implementation of Academic Break

Table 2. The perceived disadvantages of the implementation of academic break

 For the second

problem, four (4) themes have been identified: (1) school calendar concerns; (2) laziness and loss of
students interest; (3) additional workload; and (4) no specified disadvantages.
According to one of the participants:

“Some of the schools that implement this kind of break in a short period only like for a

minimum of 2 days. And for me, it is not acceptable for us students as well to the teachers as we cannot

consume it due to some reasons.”

Pedersen (2012) suggests that considering the year-round school calendar including

academic breaks are effective particularly for early graders. He also explained historically that some

schools have almost year-round school schedules.

 One of the respondents stressed that:

“The disadvantage of implementing academic break is that student can have a tendency

to be lazy in the next school days after an academic break.”

In an article published by Rappler (2020), the tendency of momentum in learning has a

high tendency to decline due to students’ prolonged coping mechanism to be motivated again. Another

respondent stated that:

“School year might be longer. And baka yung mga schoolworks po mag pile up then

biglang isang bagsakan after nang academic break.”

This signifies that the relationship between the adjusted academic calendar and the coping

mechanism to recover will be compromised since there might be a tendency of a heavy workload will be

set once academic breaks are through.

However, some of the respondents perceived no negative effects in the implementation of

academic breaks since this will be an opportunity for them to recover from stress.

Possible Interventions to be Made in the Implementation of Academic Break

Table 3. Possible interventions to be made in the implementation of academic break

 As presented on Table 3 containing possible interventions to be made in the
implementation of academic break which resulted into four (4) major suggestions: (1)

rest; (2) removal of additional tasks and completion of unfinished tasks; (3) monitoring;

and (4) continued implementation of academic break.

One of the respondents said:

“A week or two of rest for the school, students and teachers.”

In a study conducted by MP. J. Jimenez, et.al (2016), the decrease of rest and sleep

have a direct effect on the academic achievement of students. It was also further discussed
in the study that the mood and feeling of depression increases when there is lack of rest

and sleep.

A response was stated as below:

“Avoid giving projects or any kind of academic-related activities to them during

the said break and let teachers and students enjoy it.”

The suggestion of avoiding giving additional tasks during the academic break is

related to the previous suggestion of utilizing the academic break for rest. Another

recommendation from a respondent is:

“Adjust schedules, lighten and moderate workload and monitor both staff’s and

student’s progress on their work and their mindsets regarding academics and implement

interventions appropriately in response.”

Based on the research of Harper-young, K. (2018), majority of the participants

find the effectiveness of the student progress monitoring to be impactful.

Lastly, one respondent stated that:

“If possible academic breaks should be planned before the school year so that the

schedule of the subjects won’t be greatly affected. The academic break to be implemented

must not be too long (e.g. three weeks) nor too short (e.g. one to three days). In my

perspective, the best duration of academic break is one week, because it will be an
enough rest for students (and teachers) and it will not also cause students to forget their

lessons.”

Since the academic break is meant to be a rest from academic engagements, the

length of implementation is a factor to be considered whereas a balance should be

maintained in order to utilize the practice effectively.

There were other suggestions which did not have a relationship to the most

common answers which are as follows: (1) Disagreement of DepEd schools with the

implementation of academic break; (2) conducting survey; and (3) implementation of

self-study.

Conclusions

The following conclusions are drawn based on the findings of the study: 1. The results

revealed that academic breaks can have a perceived positive effect in terms of

improving their mental health and this will give them an opportunity to take a rest

from their stressful workloads and have time to dedicate themselves to their family

and their leisure activities.

2. The findings of this study reflected the perceived negative effects in terms of a

possible extension of the academic calendar since school days will be adjusted;

One repercussion to be considered is the loss of interest or momentum in learning

since there will be a disruption in the regular classes; Additional workload might

be given after the academic break, that might restore their stress levels; and lastly,

the opportunity are seen as a positive effect in some students.

3. In the end, the results consolidated the following actions that need to be considered

in implementing academic breaks. First is to take a complete rest from devices and
 gadgets especially upon the implementation of academic break; Second, is the

prohibition of uploading additional tasks before the academic break, and the strict

completion of task, this is for students to be obliged and motivated to accomplish

their pending tasks before the academic break; Third, is constant monitoring to the

situation of the learners; and lastly, the constant and established implementation of

academic breaks as part of the academic calendar of education institutions.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusion presented, the following

recommendations are suggested:

1. The school must include the academic break within the end of the quarter in order

for the learners and teacher to have ample time to recharge and to have some rest. 2.

The school administration must budget the time in the implementation of the delivery

of lessons to avoid additional workload for the students. In addition, the school

administration must create a policy of no-uploading during breaks to consume the

academic breaks productively.

3. The school administration must conduct a public consultation program in order for

a consensus for both parents and school to be bargained. This will establish a

strong relationship between the stakeholders and the school.

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