THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL CHAIRS ON THE

PRODUCTIVITY ON THE WORKPLACE AND CLASSROOM

ERGONOMICS OF GRADE 12 STUDENTS OF BATAAN

NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

By:

Pamela Marie Balansag

Trishia Ann Justine Lopez

Dyanne Tallorin

Marc Ignacio
 Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Background of the Study

Nowadays, there are many kinds of school chairs that every student use in their daily lives.

Students sit on their chair in a huge number of various positions. They loosen up their legs, sit on

them, cross them, slouched, twisted, tilted and straddling on their seats. However, the chairs of

students can make a big difference in their long-term issues. It is becoming obvious that the

conditions they experience in their chairs can have a significant effect on their postural conditions

which may affect the student's academic performance, physical health and their comfortability.

Though this statement is being negate by a study of Sampaio, et al (2016), stated that there is no

association between postural changes and poor academic performance, with regard to: the

behavior, performance and attendance of the students in the classroom.

Correct posture, which represents the organization and balance of the body framework,

requires a place of alignment and support of the musculoskeletal structures between the different

segments, which involves the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. According to the article of Brace

Ability (2018), posture is something that plays an important role in everyday lives. Good posture

can provide people with higher energy levels, more confidence, relief of neck tension, migraine

relief, prevent back and shoulder issues, and support for already existing chronic back pains.

Sitting with appropriate postural arrangement will enable one to work more proficiently with

less fatigue and strain on body's tendons and muscles. Being aware of good posture is the initial

step to getting out from an old poor postural habits and decreasing stress and strain on spine. By

placing this information into practice, one can avoid the structural anatomical changes that can

develop if poor posture is left uncorrected for a long time. It is intriguing that basic,

effectively alterable things can upgrade our learning capacity. Posture and movement, when

handled correctly, can make an immediate difference to a struggling student. The Government are

continually endeavoring to comprehend the complete learning environment; it turns out that

understanding the body, how it sits and how comfortable it is, is an important part of that ambition.
 Since this is a serious issue regarding the welfare of the students, the researchers conduct

this study to know if school chairs have an effect to the postural condition of Grade 12 Students

of Bataan National High School in terms of their academic performance, physical health and their

comfortability.

Related Literature

School furnitures like the school chairs play a significant role in the effectiveness of student

learning. However, according to Navas (2018), school chairs have become a hindrance on the

health and posture of teenagers. School chairs affect students greatly when it comes to their

academic performance, physical health and comfortability. According to an article published in

“Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation,” senior lecturer on ergonomics

and safety at Harvard University, Jack Dennerlein said “These chairs cause long term problems

for students, such as permanent neck and back damage, headaches and an eventual lack of focus.”

This discomfort causes students brains to shift their focus from their teacher to how uncomfortable

they are.

Also, some article says that posture can affect the academic performances of a student.

According to Richard Harvey (2018), co-author Associate Professor of Health Education,

slumping over is a defensive posture that can trigger old negative memories in the body and brain.

Related Study

From the research conducted by Sampaio, et al (2016), incorrect posture habits and

remaining in a sitting position for long periods predict an imbalance of the musculoskeletal system

and compromise the body structure. These factors are recurrent in the school population, arising

from the activity itself and the absence of mechanisms to encourage the adoption of the correct

posture. Thus, the sitting posture leads to an overload on the ischial tuberosity, due to the body

weight leaning forward and reducing the myofascial flexibility, while the upright torso supports

the constant action of the abdominal and back muscles. The fact that students have to sit in these

chairs for their whole academic lives, causes their growth spurts to become inhibited. Students’
spines can end up bent and deformed, causing many problems later in life, such as restricted blood

flow throughout the body.

Theoretical Framework

This study zeroes in on the compatibility between school furniture dimensions and student’s

anthropometric characteristics were identified as a key factor for the students to have a bad posture.

As mentioned, to define school wooden chairs dimension (standard) , it is important to consider

the student’s features. For example, age is a big factor not only because of the growth rate, but also

because of the manner of growth; the legs grow more rapidly to the trunk and in adolescence, the

growth spurt is largely in the trunk. ( Bass, et al., 2016)

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

School Chair

Academic Performance Survey-Questionnaire

Physical Health

Postural Condition

Comfortability

As a result of the interaction between the independent variables, mentioned above (school

furniture), some changes are expected to occur in a group of dependent variables, such as physical

responses and the student’s performance. For example, from the study of Grimes and Legg (2004),

wrote that school children are repeatedly exposed to the hazards of abnormal or awkward postures

because of classroom furniture.

Paradigm of the Study

The researchers of the study aim to identify if wooden school chairs have an effect to the

posture of the students by following this process. The researchers plan to make a survey-

questionnaire that will be answered by the Grade 12 students of Bataan National High School.

Finding if there is a mismatch to the school furniture (wooden school chair) that the grade 12

students they been using. By the data from that survey-questionnaire we can conclude if the

wooden school chair that the grade 12 student affect their posture.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the effects of school chairs on the postural condition of the
Grade 12 Students of Bataan National High School. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following
questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age
1.2 Gender
1.3 Track and Strand
1.4 Type of Postural Condition

2. What are the effects of school chairs on the productivity on the workplace and
classroom ergonomics of the Grade 12 Students of Bataan National High School in terms of:
2.1 Academic Performance
2.2 Physical Health
2.3 Postural Condition
2.3 Comfortability

3. What is the average sitting time of the students on a standard chair in public
schools?
4. How does the average time affect the posture of the students?
5. How will the school chairs affect the productivity on the workplace and classroom
ergonomics of the grade 12 students of Bataan National High School?
Assumption/ Hypothesis

Ha: There is a significant effect of school chair on the productivity on the workplace and
classroom ergonomics of the Grade 12 Students of Bataan National High School.

Ho: There is no significant effect of school chair on the productivity on the workplace and
classroom ergonomics of the Grade 12 Students of Bataan National High School.

Significance of the Study

This study seeks to determine the effects of school chairs to the postural condition of the
Grade 12 students of Bataan National High School. This study may be of great benefit to the
following members of the community:

The Government: This study may enable the government to acquire information about the effects
of school chairs to the postural condition of the students and create a plan of action for the
betterment of the environment and state of the students in the classroom for different places in the
country.

The School Administrators: The results of this study could serve as a baseline data to the
administrators of the school headed by the Principal through the different department subject area
heads to improve programs for school advancement. The results may serve as an eye opener to
create and innovate better school chairs for the students’ postural condition and performances in
class.

The Parents:

The Students:

The Researchers:

Scope and Delimitation

The main focus of this study is the effect of school chairs on the postural condition of the
students. The study will be using a survey-questionnaire to get the needed information for the
study.
 The study will also be conducted to determine its effect in terms of academic performance,
physical health and comfortability of the students. The scope of this research is the locale of Bataan
National High School located in Balanga City, Bataan. The respondents of the study will be the
Grade 12 students that is currently studying in Bataan National High School regardless of the track
and strand.
Some calculations, assumptions, and selections were made as a consideration of a proper
and realistic design.