Scientific substantiation of the ordinal scale of difficulty of subjects for students 5–9 grades

Abstract

The most important factor in the prevention of overwork among students is the rationaldistribution of the study load during the school day and week. It depends on compliancewith hygiene requirements when designing a lesson schedule. The ordinal scale of the difficulty of educational subjects which is currently in use in our republic was proposed in the 70s of the last century by I. G. Sivkov. The ordinal scale does not take into account the specifics of modern education and is not differentiated for grades 5 to 9. The method of expert assessments was used to develop a modern ranking scale for the difficulty of subjects. We designed a questionnaire containing questions about the difficulty and tediousness of teaching academic subjects. We inter­viewed a random sample of students (1191 students of grades 5–9 in schools and gymnasiums of the republic) in accordance with the quentionnaire. We have established that indicators of difficulty and fatigue significantly differ from the ordinal scale that is currently in use, and they vary depending on the year of study. The results obtained were used to develop a modern ordinal scale for the difficulty of academic subjects that takes into account the specifics of national education system and the year of study. The revealed statistically significant differences in the difficulty and fatigue of school subjects for students of schools and gymnasiums determined the need to develop an algorithm for developing ordinal scales for the difficulty of school subjects, taking into account the characteristics of training in an educational institution. It will help to maintain working capacity at an optimal level, prevent overwork and facilitate growth and development of students.