CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Study
habits are learning tendencies that enable students work privately. Study
habits are defined as those techniques such as summarizing, note taking,
outlining or locating materials which learners employ to assist themselves in
the efficient leaning of the materials which is at land. The term “Study habits” implies a sort of more
or less permanent method of studying. According to Good’s dictionary of
education, “Study habits are the tendency of students to study when the
opportunities are given.
In
the era of globalization and technological revolution, education is considered
as a first step for every human activity. It plays a vital role in the
development of human capital and is linked with an individual well – being and
opportunities for better living. It ensures the acquisition of knowledge and
skills that enable individuals to increase in their productivity and improve in
their quality of life.
Success
as the name implies is wished for by everybody but it does not easily come by on a mere
platter of gold; one must work for it through hard work and
diligence. Schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities have no worth
without student. The social and economic development of a country is directly
linked with student academic performance; the desire of success is derived from
individual’s concept of himself and in term of the meaning of various
incentives as they spell success and failure in the eyes of others.
Learning
is a very important personal matter and there isn’t one study habit that works
for every situation. An individual student has to take more responsibility to
acquire the desired knowledge to develop positive values, critical thinking,
attitudes and skills.
Effective
study skills and strategies are opportunities to approach learning tasks
systematically and independently. Practicing good study habits is the key to
becoming smarter and achieving success in school.
Paivio (2000) noted that habits of
study, which are formed in school, have greater significance and students must
realize the need to acquire these effective study habits. Effective studying
will help students to prepare schoolwork in less time to achieve greater degree
of mastery of the lesson. Students who study effectively and efficiently
utilize methods of learning which aid the acquisition, retention, application
of knowledge, facts and information from textbook and class discussion,
lectures and other resources.
According to Pascual (2001), stated
that study skills/ habits or study strategies are approaches applied to
learning. They are generally critical to success in school, are considered
essential for acquiring good grades, and are useful for learning throughout
one’s life. There are arrays of study skills, which may tackle the process of
organizing and taking in new information, retaining information, or dealing
with assessments. They includes mnemonic, which aid the retention of lists of
information, effective reading and concentration techniques, as well as
efficient note taking. Effective study habits are often up to the students and
their support, however there is an evidence that they are increasingly taught
at secondary schools and university levels. The researchers believe that the
development of study habits helps a person become successful and productive. Study
habits are said to be improving because of the advents and wide use of the
internet, hypertext, and multimedia resources which greatly affect the study
habits (Liu, 2005).
Karin
and Hassan (2006) also noted that the exponential growth digital information,
which changes the way students perceive studying and with printed materials
that are to be used in facilitating study. Liu (2005) and Ramirez (2003) report
that students print material from the internet in order to study and read later
on. Igun (2005) also found that Nigerians study from materials downloaded from
the internet. Reading is an attempt to absorb the thought of the author and
know what the author is conveying (Leedy 1956). Studying is the interpretation
of reading materials. Study habits and skills are particularly important for
college students, whose needs includes time management, note taking, internet
skills, the elimination of distraction, and assigning a high priority of study.
Fielden (2004) states that good habits helps the students in critical
reflection in skills outcomes such as selecting, analyzing, criticizing, and
synthesizing. Nneji (2002) states that study habits are learning tendencies
that enable students to work.
Individual are really different;
thousands would love to study at night before going to bed while thousand
others will love to study at dawn. Late night is normally quite and an
individual is unlikely to be disturbed by anyone. Besides, a person has longer
hours to review all his notes and works unlike the dawn when an individual will
have to race against time. A thorough review at night will help a person learn
while the hesitant studying at the dawn is highly prone to forgetting. This is
true for a particular group of people. This is entirely against the theory of
‘Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise’. Waking
up the whole night to study for exams is sure to affect your health. Late night
study is less productive as the mind loses concentration late at night. Lack of
sleep affects an individual’s daily life. It weakens the strength of the
student and can make him lose focus during examination.
It
will also lead to serious memory impairment, thus making no use of the hard
work and study. The extent of student learning in academics may be determined
by the grades a student earns for a particular period. It is believed that a
grade is a primary indicator of such learning. It is concluded that they may
also have learned a lot while low grades indicate lesser learning. However,
many experiences and studies found out that there are also several factors that
would account for the grades. It has been interplay of so many factors- gender,
IQ, study habits, age, year level, parent’s educational attainment, social
status, number of siblings, birth order, etc. In fact, almost all of existing
environmental and personal factors are a variable of academic performance.
However, at this point in time, the research would like to investigate the
possible relationship achievement of students in secondary schools.
The
investigation becomes a real and compelling motivation for the research to
conduct this study. Diverse study techniques, even for the improvement of
memory stress, the importance of immediacy in resembling and learning.
Thorndikes law of Exercise further supports this kind of principle asserting
that other things being equal, the more frequent a modifiable connection
between a situation and a respond is not being used over a period of time, the
strength of that connection is weakened. A behaviour that is stimulated over regular
period will tend to be repeated leading to habits formation. A student who has developed this kind of
behaviour, in this case, in term of having regular and scheduled study periods
and following certain methods in studying proves to have better performance.
The most common bad study habits can
affect even if a student is gifted, bad habits can hurt a students’ scores.
Studying with friends while having fun, sometimes a student may lose out on
quality study time by socializing. To fix this, the student needs to find a
good study group which he/she likes. Otherwise, he should just say no when
everyone wants to study together.
Too much music and noise can
interfere with the brain’s ability to comprehend new information. It can also
distract the student from focusing on the material at hand. If a student needs
music in the back ground, he should find a specific type (usually classical)
that works well for him/her. He should not keep changing it around.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM;
1.
Study group
2.
Finding a quite space and make it a daily habit
3.
Refreshing topic in memory often
4.
Setting a particular time and place
5.
Poor study habits
6.
Time management
7.
Improving concentration
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of the study is to
examine the influence of study habits on student’s performance in Chikun L.G.A.
of Kaduna state. Specially, this study seeks to examine:
- To
investigate the possible relationship of study habits and how it enhances
good grades in improving academic performance of students in secondary
schools. - The
extent of students’ good study habits which when developed improves
academic performance. - How
environment and time management affects academic performance of students. - How
a student can acquire effective study habits to improve academic
performance.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is done to acquire good grades to improve academic performance?
2. How can good study habits be developed to improve
academic performance?
3. Does environment and time affect academic
performance?
4. When and how does any student acquire effective
study habits?
1.5 THEORETICAL/CONCEPTIONAL
FRAMEWORK
Robert
Bjork and Fellow PT Biogger Nate Kornell have explored some of the study habits
of college students in a 2007 paper in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Research on memory provides a number of important suggestions about the most
effective ways to study. One of the most important tips is that students should
study by testing themselves rather than just reading over the material. It is
also important to study over a period of days rather than just waiting until the last minute to
study. Kornell and Bjork’s studies suggest that only about 2/3 of college
students routinely quiz themselves, and a majority of students study only one time
for upcoming exams.
Research
has suggested that sleep and good memory are bed fellows. Burning midnight oil
harms more than it serves. The researchers say that at least a good night sleep
within 30hours is needed to remember a new task later. Science has also said
that teen brains work most effectively at night. However, the scientists
concluded that a good night’s sleep, which includes both slow –wave and REM
(Rapid eye Movement) sleep, produces the most effective performances.
What
matters is not late night studying or early dawn studying just before the
exams, but its about how a student benefits himself through any type of
reading. So long as it benefits him, he can continue with the particular style
of studying, but an individual should take care that his/her health is not
deteriorated as health is the supreme here. A student can’t do anything he/she
wants to do if he/she has a poor health.
Nagaraju
(2004) pointed that, for good academic success, good study habits and attitudes
are important. Hence, it is imperative and desirable that a probe into the
pattern of study habits and attitudes of students be made.
Studies
have shown that learning new information in different environments, at varying
noise levels and even mood states, can significantly improve a student’s
ability to recall that same information when test day comes.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
It
is hope that this study will provide information for governments, teachers,
parents, school administrators, agencies, students, communities to reflect upon
various factors that can help students in achieving their academic goals. In so
doing, they can investigate the possibility of introducing the factors to the
school, which may consequently lead to enhancing students’ educational outcomes
in schools.
In
addition, the fact that the study is conducted in public schools, it shares a
lot of similarities with many other counterparts. In this connection, this
study provides a valuable reference for other schools to reflect upon the study
habits as it affects the academic performance of students in secondary schools.
1.7 OPERATIONAL
DEFINITION OF TERMS
1.
Study
Habit definition
The
definition of study habits are the behaviours used when preparing for tests or
learning academic material. It also refers to the habitual practices a student
or an individual uses to help them study and learn. Good study habits can help
students achieve or maintain good grades.
2.
Habits
Habits
refers to a thing that someone does often and almost without thinking,
especially something that is hard to stop doing. It is a usual behaviour.
3.
Study
Study
is the activity of learning or gaining knowledge, either from books or by
examining things in the world. It is also the act of considering or examining
materials in detail.
4.
Academic
Academic
involves a lot of reading and studying rather than practical or technical
skills. It is connected with education, especially studying in schools and
universities.
5.
Performance
Performance
is how well or badly an individual does an activity.