A REVIEW OF STUDY HABITS AND ITS IMPACT ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Human life, which is the most beautiful creation of God, is divided into two categories: the biological and the social or cultural parts. Unlike the former, which is maintained and passed via sustenance and reproduction, the latter is conserved and transmitted through educational opportunities. In the same way, it is through education that he increases his intelligence and expands his knowledge, allowing him to influence the world for good or ill according to his desires. As a matter of fact, education is one of the most important "life processes" of human beings, "much as there are some essential vital processes of life in a biological sense." Education is essential for regular existence; without education, an individual would be disqualified to participate in community activities (Muraina, 2013).

The significance of scholastic and academic accomplishment has prompted several critical topics for educational experts to consider and address. What are the variables that help students attain success? What is the extent to which the various components contribute to academic achievement? Ramaswamy, as mentioned in Gudaganavar and Halayannavar (2015), is an Indian philosopher. Many kids struggle academically for a variety of reasons other than a lack of intellectual ability. One of these factors is poor study habits, which can lead to low academic achievement even among individuals who are inherently gifted. When it comes to a person, his or her habits are actual indications of their originality. As a result, study habits are defined as the conduct of an individual that is associated to studies. According to his study habits, he is a good student. Study habits of learners are defined as the manner in which a learner exercises and practices his or her capacities for learning on a regular basis over the course of their education. The pattern of conduct established by students in the course of their studies is referred to as their study habits, and it is believed to be important.

Study habits may be classified as either effective or ineffective based on how effectively they benefit the students who engage in the activities. The development of healthy study habits is at the heart of many of the challenges surrounding secondary school students' success in the public sector. Reading habit is defined as the behavior that reflects a person's preference for reading specific sorts of reading and a person's taste in reading (Busayo, 2011). In Africa, people prefer hearing and conversing over reading because of their cultural foundation of learning via culture, and because of their cultural practice of preferring listening and chatting to reading (Busayo, 2011). In light of this, developing appropriate study habits in African children/students is extremely important for their academic performance in school. Traditionally, parents have been urged to designate a dedicated study room in their home for their child's home work, adhere to a strict timetable, and do one assignment at a time, among other things (Stephens, 2010). Families may undoubtedly play a significant part in ensuring that their children have the motivation, atmosphere, and tools essential to succeed in their studies at home, among other things. At school, on the other hand, the library provides a calm, well-lit study atmosphere that is conducive to mental focus and concentration. Adesoji (2007) makes the claim that libraries have long been connected with the notion of lifelong reading and learning, which is supported by research. He went on to say that libraries, particularly school libraries, are desired in order to instill in pupils the habit of reading for a variety of reasons, including education, pleasure, knowledge, culture, and so on, from an early age in their lives.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of a student's study habits in determining his or her academic success. Each student's ability to succeed or fail is determined by his or her personal study habits. Without a doubt, studying is an art, and as such, it demands a great deal of experience. Some students put forth more effort, yet they don't achieve as much as they should. Those who study less tend to achieve more. The ability, intellect, and effort of each student are all important factors in determining their level of success. In terms of academic achievement, it is certain that students who maintain regular study habits reap the benefits of their efforts. In light of this assumption, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relative impact of study habits on academic performance among secondary school students.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

An inefficient study habit is one of the fundamental issues that has a significant impact on students' success in government; many students do not read or study in a way that allows them to grasp what they are learning. This difficulty is sometimes caused by students' lack of study enthusiasm, which prevents them from going the additional mile and asking assistance from the teacher or a classmate. Students recall and repeat information and concepts in this manner, but they do not comprehend what they are learning. In addition, Mark and Howard (2009) assert that the most frequent obstacle to students' success in all facets of their lives is a lack of effective or positive (excellent) study habits, which they believe is the most common barrier to students' success in all facets of their lives. The majority of students do not have a study plan to help them through their studies. Some students don't show up to class, don't do their assignments, don't study for examinations, and so on.

Most public secondary schools in Nigeria have inadequately equipped libraries that are overflowing with out-of-date textbooks and other materials that do not entice students to read. Another tendency affecting secondary school students' performance in government has been their failure to use the school library and its resources, when they are made accessible, to aid their learning process, which has been a trend for some time. It is on this foundation that the researcher seeks to review study habits and its impact on secondary school students academic performance.

1.3    OBJECTIVES  OF THE STUDY

The major objective of this study is to review study habits and its impact on secondary school students academic performance. While other specific objectives of this study are:

i.          To determine the extent at which secondary school student devote to study.

ii.         To find out the impact of study skills on students learning outcomes.

iii.      To identify the challenges hindering effective study habit of secondary school students.

iv.      To ascertain whether study habit is of significant impact on student academic achievement

1.4      RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The undertaking of this research project will beam a searchlight on the following research hypotheses;

Ho1: The study habit extent of secondary school student is low

Ho2: Secondary school student study habit has no significant impact on their academic performance

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Finding of the study will be relevant to student, teachers, parent, school administration and government. To student, the result of this research will encourage  students to study independently at home and aspire for higher educational career.To teachers and parent, findings will enlighten them on the need to teach and help student prepare study guides that will serves as reminder for them to study. To school administrator and government, the result of the study will serve as a framework upon which they will improve funds for school facilities and equipping of the school library. Empirically, the study will add to the body of existing literature and serve as reference material to scholars who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study borders on a  review study habits and its impact on secondary school students academic performance. The study will further ascertain the extent secondary school student devote to study and examine  the impact of study skills on students learning outcomes. The study is however delimited to selected secondary school in Oredo local government in Edo State.

1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only secondary school in Oredo local government in Edo State.Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other secondary schools in other  states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

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