The Lamar University Electronic Journal of Student Research

Fall 2007

AN INVESTIGATION OF HOW THE FACTORS OF

TIME ON TASK AND STUDY HABITS CONTRIBUTE
OR INHIBIT THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF MINORITY
STUDENTS

Grace Thomas Nickerson

Ph.D. Student in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A &M University
Prairie View, Texas
Teacher
Galena Park Independent School District
Houston, Texas

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Professor and Faculty Mentor
PhD Program in Educational Leadership
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
College of Education and Professional Studies
Central Washington University
__________________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The learning-achievement gap among minority students is increasing. Several researchers

have conducted studies to discover the factors that contribute or inhibit the academic
success of minority students. Out of the three major minority groups, Asian American
students are the highest performing minority. Even though Asian Americans have
experienced the same atrocities as other minority groups, they continue to achieve at high
levels. It is important to determine the factors that contribute to their success and to
implement these factors into the educational practices of other minority students.
______________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Performance levels among minorit y groups in the United States are in

sharp contrast across all academic subjects. Asian -Americans perform higher
than any other minorit y group, and sometimes above their white counterparts.
Inattention is a significant factor associated with underachievement, and higher
ratings of inattention have been found for some minorit y groups (Malone, 2004).
Bridging the achievement gap among the minorit y groups is of great concern in
the United States. Many researchers believe that performance levels are a result
of the cultures of the various ethnic groups; thus making it impossible fo r all
ethnic groups to perform at the same level. However, finding the factors that
may contribute to the disparities in performance levels of minorit y groups can
be the planks to bridge the academic gaps among minorit y groups.

Purpose of the Article

The purpose of this article is to investigate how the factors of time on

spent on task and study habits contribute or inhibit the academic success of
minorit y students. Among minorities, though all groups spend time studying or
doing class assignments, Asian -Americans spend the most time on school
assignments and studying. If minorit y students and low -economic students come
to school with less abilit y to concentrate and put forth less effort on
schoolwork, this alone could account for their making less academic progress
during the year (Farkas, 2002). Some ethnic students endure curfews in terms of
time spent on the phone and going out on the weekends. These curfews are in
place to allow time in academics (Elmasr y, 2005).

Study Habits

Study habits are a reflection of the students’ culture. If one culture

believes in a single person making way for the famil y, then that person is most
likel y studying by themselves. On the other hand, if the culture perpetuates
famil y togetherness and encouragement, then group study forum will most likel y
result. However, not all grouping is favored. Abilit y grouping, which can be
proposed by the teacher, disproportionately and unfairl y place ethnic groups at a
disadvantage by red ucing their opportunities to learn (Farkas, 2002). The best
study habit used is when students study in groups. Groups based on abilit y are
not productive for any ethnic culture.

Time Spent on Task

Time spent on task is one of the factors that determine how students
achieve. Time spent on task may include reading a book, participating in extra -
curricular activities or watching television. Students that practice study habits
in their education may study in groups, individuall y, or attend tutorials.
Research by Steven Ingles indicates that Asians spend more time on homework
outside of school than Blacks, Hispanics and Whites. Black students study for 8
to 10 hours a week, typicall y alone. Chinese students study for 14 hours a week,
working 8 to 10 hours alon e and about 4 hours with other students, checking
each other’s answers and their English. Their famil y members quiz them
regularl y and they work on problems kept in a public file in the library. Unlike
Black students, they know exactl y where they stand rel ative to the rest of their
classmates (1990).
Consequentl y, the amount of time dedicated to school and school work
makes a tremendous amount of difference in the success of American students.
Most Asian American students employ education into their conver sations with
famil y and friends. Time spent on task also includes times spent on watching
television and being involved in school -related activities (1990).
In addition, Jayne Freeman describes the difference of time spent on task
in Asian nations and the United States. The number of hours of schooling is
different. Japanese students, for example, attend school more days per year and
have more hours of after school study. Therefore, having more hours of
instruction and practice in a given subject than Amer ican students the same age,
the Japanese students tend to score higher. Academic achievement obtained b y
Asian Americans is a result of the amount of time students dedicate to their
education (1995).
According to Morrison Wong (1995), the most striking fin ding is that
Asian students have equivalent or higher levels of achievement on practicall y all
academic characteristics compared with white students. They were more
involved in academic programs and likely to take college preparatory courses.
For example, the proportion of Asian students taking such courses as Algebra I,
Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, Advanced
English and Advanced Math was substantiall y higher than white students.
Moreover, Asian students received higher g rades in high school than white
students.
The comparativel y larger number of Asian students receiving high grades
may be partiall y accounted for by the fact that they report spending a greater
number of hours on homework per week. Filipino and Japanese st udents were
twice as likel y – and Chinese students, three and half times more likel y – to
spend ten or more hours doing homework than white students. Moreover, they
were more likel y to spend 5 -10 hours per week on homework (1995).
An interesting, and for s ome a discouraging feature of contemporary high
school education, is the finding that 27percent of the White students as well as
from 1 to 8 percent of the Asian students report not doing any homework or
spending less than one hour per week on it (Wong, 19 95). Homework is a way
that education is continued in the home. In America, giving homework is a
common practice to increase academic achievement. Rosanne Paschal (1984)
acknowledges that the large amount of time in the home environment, it appears
that small variations in efficiencies of parental support of academic progress or
the direct teaching and simulation in the “curriculum of the home” can have
large effects not onl y on verbal subjects such as reading but science and
mathematics as well. Measures o f home stimulation account for as much as 50%
of the variance in school achievement; and school -based home-enrichment
programs that encourage parents to stimulate their children raise achievement as
much as a standard deviation, say, from the 50 t h to 84 t h percentile.
Paschal also asserts that academic achievement depends greatl y on time
spent on task. When time is spent on educational -related material, success is the
greatest among students. Other activities, such as television viewing, talking on
the telephone do not yield success in education (1984).
Extensive classroom research on “time on task” and international
comparisons of year-round time for study suggest that additional homework
might promote U. S. students’ achievement. Homework represents anothe r area
in which schools can intervene in an effort to raise achievement. Though
homework is given in the United States, American students continue to score
lower than students in other countries because they spend less time studying
within and outside thei r school classes. Homework may chiefl y displace
discretionary leisure -time television viewing that appears excessive as far as the
promotion of school learning is concerned (1984).
With the advancement of technology, it has become more and more
difficult for the attention of students to be focused on achieving. On television,
there are individuals that have gained success through entertainment and sports.
Almost every channel showcases someone throwing money around or in the
spotlight for winning an athleti c championship. It is true that one can be
successful without the assistance of school, but onl y a few are successful
without school. Therefore, it is important for schools to win the competition
between education and the various forms of media. Sports and entertainment are
not absolute, but education is absolute. Schools have even included these media
forms into their classrooms.
The problem arises when students are out of school and how they spend
their time. Time is such an important factor in this equa tion because if you run
out of it, there is nothing left. John Loft y explains how students get confused
about time and how it can work against them. Students need to know the time
values and practices of academic life, but their difficulties accommodating to
the timescapes of the academ y can become good reason for their exclusion. Such
moves assume political and historic significance as the academ y assess
underrepresented student populations segregated along lines of class, ethnicit y,
and gender. Less appar ent though, is the role of time in constructing these lines.
Temporal identities become visible t ypicall y onl y when students transgress our
time codes, for example, by talking during instructional time or by handing in
late work. Less visible to teachers i s the source of such transgressions in
students’ temporal identities, which encompass behaviors relative to how time is
used and valued (1995). Once I again I mention how important it is to engrain
and stress into the psyche of our students the importance of education, and how
it is the key to success. Once students grasp this concept, academic achievement
levels will improve in the United States.

Study Habits

Study habits are also a component that may deem success. Many Asian
American students in higher education meet in groups to study and continue to
employ education in their conversation with their peers. In these groups, these
students will meet with students that speak a similar language and discuss their
viewpoints on how to complete an assignment.
According to Monica Lambert (2006), study habits are an important
component to investigate because with the passage of the No Child Left Behind
Act, academic standards for students have significantl y increased. Never before
has it been more important for learners to maximize the time they spend
studying. Although secondary level teachers often assume that all students have
acquired sufficient study skills by the time they reach high school, many have
not. No one likes to study. This is not a favorite past ime for anyone. However,
this component has to be engrained in the psyche of the student. This concept
does begin at home, and it continues until the goal is obtained. They need to
know that because they do not spend all their time in school, the responsib ilit y
is theirs to understand and master their lessons in school.
Furthermore, schools have to begin teaching students how to study. Many
students do not study, because they do not know how to study. Because they do
not study, they fail. Instead of the el ective courses that students take that
meaningless or the fillers that students get because they have taken all of their
required courses, they need to have an ongoing required course of learning how
to study.
Monica Lambert (2006) also explains the impor tance of study habits. She
states that because these skills are an essential part of independent learning, it
is important that high school teachers incorporate study skills in their
instruction so that all students with learning disabilities acquire these necessar y
skills (2006). Since study habits are important part of academic achievement,
the kind of studying that is most helpful and yields the most results is helpful to
know so that students will get the most out of studying. Study habits are need
in the equation of improving the academic achievement of minorit y groups.
Robert Slavin (1980) has investigated the t ypes of study habits that
yielded results of high academic Achievement. He used the study methods of
student teams, peer tutoring, and indivi dual study. Learning team techniques
have generall y had positive effects on such student outcomes as academic
achievement, mutual attraction among students, and race relations in
desegregated schools (1980). Slavin divided the students in his study into fo ur
groups. Team reward, Group Task focused on 4 to 5 students working together
and sat together at all times. Team Reward, Individual Task focused on team
members sitting together, but working individuall y; Individual reward, Team
Task groups sat by themselves, and came together to work on assignments.
Lastl y, Individual Reward, Individual Task , students worked and sat b y
themselves. On each of these experimental groups, Slavin employed STAD
(Student Teams -Achievement Divisions) and TGT (Teams -Games Tournam ent)
In his study, Slavin found that study habits that involve groups is the method of
studying that increases academic achievement (1980).
To make a comparison between American students and Asian students, a
form of study habits include peer tutoring and voluntary homework. Gary
Decoker (2002) describes the study habits of Asian students. He explains that in
addition to in -class instruction, rapid learners can help those who are slower,
and students who do not understand the lesson can ask questions of th e fast
learners. The fast learners, in turn, benefit from being placed in the position of
clarifying their understanding as they explain and expand the discussion along
the lines of the questions raised by the slower students.
Homework that is assigned in the West is not commonl y assigned in
Japan. Instead, students are expected to study on their own or to solve practice
problems. Rather than follow a teacher -assigned sets of problems or tasks, it is
assumed that students will review the day’s review the d ay’s lesson and
anticipate the lesson that will be studied during the next meeting of the class.
Although Japanese students are expected to engage in study after school, many
teachers assume that homework is not an especiall y effective means for
improving students’ academic achievement (2002).
Similar to studying, doing homework is not the most ideal way to spend
one’s time, however, in order to improve academic achievement, this is a must.
Not onl y is it important to do homework because the teacher requi red the
completion of it, but it is a practice of what is taught in class. Mastering a
lesson in class requires that work is completed outside of class.
After researching this topic, the factors that are most noted to contribute
to the success of minorit y students are time spent on task and study habits.
Stanley Sue points out academic aptitude and achievement test scores, rather
than high school grades, are often better predictors of college performance. SAT
–verbal score was a better predictor than was t he high school GPA for black
males. Of course there are many other factors that contribute to the academic
success; however this study is focusing on the two components mentioned
above. Those components are the common issues between the minorit y groups.
Cultural differences are another factor that contributes to academic success.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, determining if Asian -American students out -perform other

minorit y groups because of the Asian influenced characteristics practiced in
predominatel y Asian schools will give educators in this country a perspective on
how to solve the American educational problems. Many efforts by the
Mathematics Achievement Partnership Under Achieve, Inc., and a Nation at Risk
have been used to correct the problem s in American education. However, the
educational/learning gap continues to increase between the students of America.
Elaine Wu explains that since education is available to everyone, there’s
not a lot of competition in our schools. Other countries force kids to focus at an
earlier age, and there’s more competition to deal with. It’s basicall y the
teaching system, the values and cultures of country that underlie its education
s ystem. Other factors like funding really have nothing to do with it (2006).
What is more important, our students will continue to be disadvantaged and
outperformed by their peers in other countries until educators in America find a
remedy to the variance in academic achievement.

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