A Study on the Effect of Participating in Tutorial Courses on Happiness During the Summer Break of Thai High School Students in Bangkok

Abstract

During the semester break of high school years, one of the most common activities of students is taking tutorial courses, as most students consider this interval to be the preparation time for entering their dream school. The attitude of each student toward tutorial courses is very different; some are very happy to attend, while others are not happy at all. Happiness plays an essential role in high school students’ lives during the summer break since happiness helps students relax and also increases their productivity. Thus, we are curious about the effect of tutorial courses on the happiness of Thai high school students in Bangkok. In order to determine the correlation between these two factors, we decided to conduct a cross-sectional survey. The data was collected by sending questionnaires about the effect of participation in tutorial courses on happiness to students in various high schools in Bangkok. We received a total of 324 respondents, who are from various types of high schools, including public, private, international, and home schools. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) was used for data analysis. The results show no significant relationship between tutorial courses and happiness, which include: 1) the number of tutoring hours taken per day (P-value = 0.342), 2) the duration of the semester breaks (P-value = 0.727), 3) the number of days to take tutorial courses in a week (P-value = 0.319), and 4) the type of tutorial courses taken (P-value = 0.221). This research has most of the respondents studying in public schools and studying in grade 12, so this might be the reason that extra tutorial classes do not affect happiness. This research helps us understand whether there is a relationship between happiness and taking tutorial courses during summer break, and also provides us with information for further research.