Free time activities, learning results and popularity in class

The thesis contains a case study of a 4th year class that I was teaching during the school year 2010/2011. Fifteen elementary school pupils participated in the research. While teaching I found out how pupils differ from each other on different fields. I focused mainly on the difference in interests, learning results and social skills and relationships. The fact is that apart from the time spent at school, pupils also have their free time they can use for various activities. Schools and other institutions offer them manifold choise of free time activities. Pupils can choose from these activities those that interest them or those they are more talented for. I was curious if the pupils who have some free time activities are also more successful and socially skilled than those who have no free time activities. I judged the pupils' social skills indirectly, with the help of the answers of the two teachers who taught the class together with me and I also observed the pupils myself. Only three of the fifteen pupils had no free time activities. These were the pupils with poorer learning results. As teachers we judged them as less socially skillful. The majority of pupils participating in free time activities had better final grade average. Pupils are shaped by various factors that influence their learning results and social relationships. Free time activities are an important factor of quality spending of free time. Because of this it is important that teachers encourage pupils to participate in free time activities