EFFECT OF STUDY HABITS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF ADULT LEARNERS IN ETIM EKPO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Learning is a purposeful, conscious and complex process. An important feature of learning is that it involves a complex interaction between the learner aqnd the learning concepts. According to Ekwe (2005) the learners occupy the central role for learning to occur as learning cannot be forceful and as such the learners must be ready to learn before they can learn However, due to the important position occupy by learners in the teaching learning process, their approach or approaches to learning becomes necessary7 to be investigated upon.
Clerk and Rumbold (2006) Bamin, Kazi and Hasan (2013) observed that in addition to personal and mental developments, study is critical for ensuring ones access to social, economic and civic life. Studying is considered to be crucial for people from all cross sections of life for successfully coping with the complexities and challenges of the 21st century.
Effect of Study Habits on the Academic Performance of Adult Learners
Studying for an examination can be one of the most stressful events in a learner’s life. In recent time, secondary school graduates attending higher institutions, coping with the transition from secondary schools to College and University is very difficult. For brilliant learners to maintain their grade level from secondary school until graduation is always taskful and may seem energy-sapping for the learners. Also for the dull learners for them to improve in their studying level demands a great task likewise in both instance, studying for examination has been a challenge as some learners may “cram” in order to pass while other study in advance.
However, Salami and Aremu (2006) are of the opinion that through the internationalization of good study habits, both failing and passing learners will raise their grades. Ineffective study habits on the other hand erode self-confidence among adult learners which leads to poor academic performance as well as poor self-esteem (Ekwe 2005) and cheating in examination to pass. Asagwara (2009) described study habits as strategies which learners append for acquiring knowledge, skills, idea and competence. He further observed that some learner who have good study habits do not spend a lot of time studying before they can achieve success and that learners who study very hard without utilizing good habits make little or o progress in their academics.
Onyejiaku (2010) further opined that majority of adult learners who find it difficult to concentrate and ignore distraction while studying lack self-discipline, intrinsic motivation or goal orientation. It is pertinent to note that time management is to be recognized as the control idea of the concepts of study habit. It is therefore against this background that this study has deemed it necessary to investigate the effect of study habit on academic performance of adult learners in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Education is an instrument par excellence for the development of any nation according to National Policy on Education (NPE) (2013). Therefore, the focus of the educational enterprise in Nigeria is the development of human capital required to meet present and future challenges of globalization. Researchers such as Cernal and Kseria (2015) sustain that all thing being equal, what remain different in a classroom of adult learners is the cultural background of the learners and teachers and environmental variables.
Class observations and interview made by Umoetor (2015) showed that some learners’ exhibit different study habits as some learners prefer listening to lectures without taking note into their exercise books while others take note while the lesson is going on. Correspondingly, Baquiran (2011) provide evidence that study habits and study attitudes are both significant variables which determines the academic performance of learners.
Similarly, statistics abound to show that mass failure among adult learners is real and the trend of adult learners academic performance has been on the decline Akinboye (2009.) Oftentimes, the teachers are blamed for the poor academic performance, some people blame Government for not providing sufficient fund to the school and even when the adult learners are blamed explanation is proffered only in terms of the peer group influence. Little or no consideration is given to the fact the adult learners study habit can affect his or her academic performance in school. This motivated the researcher to ask “could the study habit adopted by the adult learners affect their academic performance in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area”.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to investigate study habits and academic performance of adult learners. Specifically, the main objectives of this study are to:
(i) Examine the influence of time allocation to studies on Academic Performance of adult learners.
(ii) Investigate the effect of note taking habit on Academic Performance of adult learners.
Effect of Study Habits on the Academic Performance of Adult Learners
1.4 Significance of the Study
The finding of this study will be useful in the following ways:
- The study is designed toward helping adult learners to improve in their study habits
- To the instructors, it is believed that this study will help them to understand the different study habits adopted by adult learners and therefore will adopt teaching methods that will enhance effective learning irrespective of the learners’ study habits.
- To the counselors, it will help in yielding a good basis for adult learners counseling on self-discipline and the right attitude towards studies.
- To the policy makers and planners in education, it will furnish them with a sound basis for effective supervision of adult education centers.
- As a data bank, it is envisaged that this research work will serve as a store of information for future researchers who may wish to research further into the same topic on related topic
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:
- There is no significant difference in academic performance of adult learners who adopt time allocation to their studies and those that do not
- There is no significant difference in academic performance of adult learners who adopt note taking study habit and those who do not
