Analytical study of the impact of age chronotype and time preferences on the academic performance of secondary school students from a modest social background

Abstract

The biological factors of the human being are subject to both endogenous and exogenous circadian rhythms. The effects of the latter on cognitive, psychomotor and academic performance is burdensome. During the weekdays, the adolescent interactions are regulated by the school rhythm on the one hand and the biological fluctuations on the other. However, no studies till nowdays have investigated the relationship of academic performance with age and chronotype or analyzed students’ time preferences of courses reviewing and familial socioeconomic status in a young Moroccan population. For this reason, we aimed to examine the impact of these variables on the scholar outcomes of Moroccan adolescents whose average age is 13 years, based on their grade levels.We used the “Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire (MEQ)” through its 19 multiple-choice questions to measure chronotype, while courses reviewing preferences on school days and familial socioeconomic status were investigated using a directive interview. As for the academic performance measures, we used the grade point average (GPA), extracted from “MASSAR platform” for each school subject.The majority of the sample is intermediate type (51.91 ± 9.66), 23.5% of it is morning type while the rest is evening type. Morning type students at all grade levels had a higher grade point average compared to moderate evening type. The results showed that chronotype has a main effect on both Humanistic/linguistic (p < .024) and Physical education grades (p < .031). While age (p< .001), mothers’ educational level and fathers financial status all have a significatif effect on students’ academic performance. Our results opt for the consideration of students’circadian typology, grade levels, time preferences and familial socioeconomic status when planning the school calendar, aiming from administrators to make small changes in the scheduling patterns that may improve the academic performance at a law-cost.