School Based Assessment

Subject: Social Studies

School: Petersfield High School
Candidate#:
Center #:100093
Territory: Jamaica, West Indies
Teacher: Ms Noble
Year: 2015
Title: The Level of Alcohol Used Among the Students of My School

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Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................3
Acknowledgement...................................................................................................4
Statement of the Problem........................................................................................5
Rationale..................................................................................................................6
Method Used To Collect Data.................................................................................7
Instrument Used To Collect Data.............................................................................8
Students Questionnaires............................................................................................9
Procedure Used To Collect Data.............................................................................11
Presentation of Data................................................................................................12
Analysis and Interpretation of Data........................................................................17
Findings...................................................................................................................18
Recommendations...................................................................................................19
Bibliography............................................................................................................20

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Introduction
Petersfield High School is a secondary institution located at Petersfield, Westmoreland, Jamaica. I have
spent five (5) years in this institution and I have always seen students drinking alcohol weather in their
uniforms or in casual wear and I wonder, why do they drink? What do they get from drinking and what
do their parents think about them drinking. So I decided to do this survey to answer these questions and
by the end of it I expect to have answers to these questions and be able to recommend solutions to this
problem.

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Acknowledgement
The successful completion of this research would not have been possible without the assistance and
cooperation of the students of the Petersfield High School. I would like to thank them very much for
participating in this research and also for taking time to answer the questionnaires given to them.
Members of my family have been a constant source of support and they have assisted me in many
ways. I would like to thank my aunt for lending me her laptop to type this survey, my sister for helping
me to distribute the questionnaires and collection of data.
Finally, special thanks to my teacher who provided me with a guide to help me to finish this exercise.
Thank you to you all.

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Statement of the Problem

What are the causes, consequences and possible solutions to the use of alcohol
among students at Petersfield High School?

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Rational
When I first came to this institution I expected to meet new friends and that I did, but there was a big
difference between me and them. They drink alcohol while I did not. Now I always wonder what they
get out of drinking alcohol but never bothered to ask them. When we were in 3rd form one of then had
too much to drink at a school function and I had to take her home. Now this brings us back to this
research, and why I am doing it and I would love to find out why students drink alcohol.

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Method of Data Collection

The researcher decided to use printed questionnaires to collect data. This method was chosen because:

It requires little time to be completed.

It can be done at the convenience of the person to have it completed.
It guarantees confidentiality since respondents are not required to attach their name.

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Instrument Used to Collect Data

A survey of the Level of Alcohol Uses among Students of Petersfield High School.
Dear Fellow School Mate,
This is a survey being carried out at Petersfield High School to determine the possible causes which
may lead up to the abuse of alcohol by students of this institution. This study is being conducted as an
assignment for a Social Studies course I am pursuing at present.

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All individuals should answer the following questions truthfully and honestly. Please note, individuals
are not required to leave their names, so no one will ever who answered in a particular way. Also there
are no right or wrong answers and you may answer by putting a tick beside your answer.
Thank you

Yours sincerely
R. Llewelyn

Students Questionnaire
1) What is your gender?
Male
Female
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2) To which form do you belong?

1st
2nd
3rd
5th
3) To what kind of family do you belong to?
Single Parent
Nuclear
Extended
Other _______________________
Please State
4) How old are you?
11-12
13-15
16-17
18 or over
5) How often do you drink alcohol?
Whenever there is a school function
Whenever Im stressed
Every two weeks
Other_____________________
Please State
6) Which alcohol do you prefer?
Wine
Vodka
Rum
Other _____________________
Please State
7) Under which circumstances do you feel the craving for these alcoholic beverages?
Stress
Celebrations
Challenges
Other _____________________
Please State
8) Did a friend introduce you to alcohol?
Yes
No
9) Does anyone in your family drink alcohol?
Yes
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No
Not sure
10) If the answer to question 9 is yes how often do they drink?
Every day after work
While watching TV
During lunch break
Not sure
11) How many drinks do you have at a time?
One after the other
Two at a time
One at a time
Other _____________________
Please State
12) At what time of a typical day do you drink?
In the morning
Late at night
In the afternoon
Other _____________________
Please State
13) Do your parents know that you drink?
Yes
No
14) If your answer to number 13 is yes what do they think about you drinking?
____________________________________________
Please State

15) As a girl do boys take advantage of you while you are under the influence?
Yes
No
Some times

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Procedures Used To Collect Data

As stated earlier, Petersfield High has about 880 students on shift one. It was calculated that a sample
of 5% was necessary in order to ensure accurate conclusion of the level of alcohol use among students.
(5% of 880 = 44)
A total of 60 questionnaires were prepared for distribution to the students. It was expected that at least
44 of these will be returned.
I therefore decided to choose the students for this survey by a process of random selection which will
cater for all the requirements mentioned above. I handed a questionnaire to the first 06 persons I saw at
lunch.
The 60 students selected all got their questionnaires and in the case that a student did not want to
participate in the survey, the questionnaire was then handed to another student. All the students were
asked to return the complete questionnaires to me at my form room on Block 2, Room K.

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Presentation and Explanation of Data

A total of 60 questionnaires were distributed to the students, out of which 50 were returned. Of these
respondents, 75% were male and 25% were female.

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

1st Form

2rd Form

3th Form

5th Form

Fig 1: The forms to which respondents belong to

Figure 1 shows the form to which the respondents belong to. As you can see 30% of respondents were
in 5th form as well as 3rd form, 15% in 2nd form and 25% in 1st form.

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liked beer

chose rum

prefer vodka

drink wine

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Fig 2: The preference of alcohol beverages

Figure 2 shows the preferred alcohol beverage chosen by the students. As you can see most of the
respondents prefer vodka rather than rum, bear and wine.
TheConsumption of Alcohol on a Typical Day
Time

Percentage

In the morning

10%

Late at night

15%

In the afternoon

35%

When ever I feel like

40%
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Table 1 shows that 40% of the respondents consumed alcohol at their own leisure. The rest of the
respondents chose a specific time for drinking.

Weather Friends Introduced their Pears to Alcohol or Not.

No; 30%

Yes; 70%

Fig 3: friends introducing their pears to alcohol

A significant 80% of the respondents insisted that they started to drink alcohol on their own, while the
other 20% of the respondents said that they were introduced to alcohol by a friend.

How Many Drinks a Student Consumes

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Amount of Drinks at a
Time
One after the other

Percentage

Two at a time

10%

One at a time

40%

As much as I can hold

30%

20%

Table 2: How Many Drinks a Student Consumes

Table 2 shows the amount of alcohol consumed by some of the students at my school. Most of the
respondents (40%) said that they take it one at a time, 10% of them said they even drink two alcoholic
beverages at a time, 30% said that they take as much as they can handle and 20% said they go one after
the other.

How Boys React to Girls under the Influence

No; 35%

Yes; 65%

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Fig 4: How Boys React to Girls under the Influence

Figure 4 shows that 65% of the respondents said yes the boys take advantage of girls under the
influence while 35% said no they dont.

How Often Does a Family Member Drink?

Time Period

Percentage

Every day after

work

5%

While watching TV

50%

During lunch brake

45%

Table 3: How Often Does a Family Member Drink?

A majority 50% of respondents said that their family member consumed alcohol while watching TV,
whereas 45% claimed that the family member drinks during lunch brake. The other 5% said that their
family member drinks everyday after work.

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Analysis and Interpretation of Data

There was overwhelming data which showed that most of the students at Petersfield High drinks
alcohol. 30% of the students stated that its because of stress why they turn to alcohol while another
60% say they drink when they are celebrating. And the other 10% of the respondents went as far as to
say that they drink when facing challenges.
According to the data the most popular alcoholic beverage among students of this institution is
Vodkafor exampleSky Vodka, Black Ice etc.About 50% of respondents chose vodka as their preferred
drink of choice, 20% chose wine, another 15% said they preferred rum and the other 15% stated that
they preferred beer most of all. This further finds that most of the respondents drink alcohol in large
quantities and others stated that they consumed alcohol in small moderations. From the data that I have
collected there was a unanimous amount of the respondents claimed that they were introduced to
alcohol by a friend. Its about 70% to be exact and the other 30% said they started drinking on there
own.
Since most of the students of Petersfield High were introduced to alcohol by a friend then it was clear
that these students were non-drinkers before attending this institution.

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Findings
The survey has revealed that a number of the students at Petersfield High are alcohol drinkers. This
may be so because:
1. Most of the students have a family member(s) who is an alcohol drinker and others who allow
their friends to convince them to drink and they may end up getting addicted.
2. When students leave primary school and enter into high school they will do anything to hang
out with the cool kids as they are new to the school. This survey has alsorevealed that 65% of
respondents say that when a girl is under the influence of alcohol the boys take advantage of
them.
3. Most students anything that their pairs do so it is more than likely that if one student observe
that his/her pair is drinking then they them selfs will start to drink alcohol.

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Recommendations
The drive to stop students under the age of 18 from drinking alcohol cannot be overemphasised. These
students need to understand that if they are under the age of 18 and they are drinking it could destroy
them both physically and mentally.
One of the most important recommendations is to implement work shops to educate students of the
dangers of underage drinking and classes could also be provided daily so that the students dont lose
what they have learnt.
Another recommendation could be to get persons from the community to speak to these students and
try to actuality find out what they find so interesting in alcohol and why they indulge in it.
In order to solve this problem I would do the following:Page
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Invite a member of the Ministry of Health to lecture to the students of my school about the
dangers of underage drinking and why they should stop this act.
Calibrate with the principal to see what can be done to raise awareness for this problem.
Appeal to the members of the events committee to tell teachers to stop selling alcohol to
students at school functions.

Bibliography
Rampersad Ramsawak and Ralph R. Umraw. 2005 Modules In Social Studies With SBA Guide and
CXC Questions. Teddys Shopping Centre, Gulfview Link Road, Gulfview, La Romaine, Trinidad,
W.I.: Caribbean Educational Publishers.

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