ABSTRACT: The study investigated Study Habits and Academic Performance of Chemistry Students in Secondary Schools. Research hypotheses were formulated and tested. The population consisted of all SS2 Chemistry students in the public secondary schools in 2015/2016academic session in Essien Udim Local Government Area which was one thousand seven hundred and five (1705). Two hundred senior secondary two (SS2) students were randomly selected from five secondary schools in Essien Udim Local Government Area. A quasi-experimental research design was employed in the study. Chemistry Performance Test (CHEMPET) was the instrument for data collection. A statistical tool used was independent t-test.
Study Habits And Academic Performance Of Chemistry Students In Secondary Schools
The findings showed that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students who adopted personal study time table in their academic work and those who do not. Also, that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students who adopted note-taking study habit in their academic work and those who do not. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made toward improving students’ academic performance among these recommendations include: Chemistry students in secondary schools should adopt good study habits in studying chemistry so as to improve their academic performance in the subject. Parents should provide a conducive study environment at home for their wards so as to improve the academic performance of their children in sciences.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education is seen as an instrument par excellence for the development of a nation (FRN, 2013). It has been realized that students who possess adequate mental abilities sometimes do not perform well in their academic work either because they do not know how to study effectively or they do not use the most effective method of study (Alutu, 2002).
Similarly, studying for an examination can be one of the most stressful events in a student’s life. In recent times, secondary school graduates attending higher institutions, coping with the transition from secondary school to College or University is very difficult. For some students, keeping up their grades until graduation is always the main focus. In both instances, studying for examination has been a challenge. Some students may “Cram” in order to pass while others study in advance.
However, Salami and Aremu (2006) are of the opinion that through the internalization of good study habits, both failing and passing students will raise their grades. Ineffective study habits on the other hand erode self confidence among students which leads to poor self esteem (Ekwe, 2005) and cheating in examination to pass. Asangwara (2009) described study habits as strategies which learners apply for acquiring knowledge, skills, ideas and competence. He further observed that some students who have good study habits do not spend a lot of time studying before they can achieve success and that students who study very hard without utilizing good habits make little or no progress in their academics.
Onyejiaku (2010) further opined that majority of students who find it difficult to concentrate and ignore distraction while studying lacks 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 habits. It is therefore against this background that this study has deemed it necessary to investigate the effect of study habits on academic performance of Chemistry students in secondary schools in Essien Udim Local Government Area.
Study Habits And Academic Performance Of Chemistry Students In Secondary Schools
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Chemistry is one of the core science subjects that are offered by students up to the tertiary level of education. This compulsory nature of Chemistry carries with it the assumption that the knowledge of the subject is essential for all science students in our society. Despite the relative importance of Chemistry, it is very disappointing to note that students’ performance in the subject at both internal and external examinations has remained consistently poor. Statistics abound to show that mass failure in Chemistry in these examinations is real and the trend of students’ performance has been on the decline (Egurubor, 2015).
Often times, the teacher is blamed for inadequate selection of teaching methods, instructional materials as well as motivational strategies. Sometimes, the government is blamed for the poor provision of funds to the schools and even when the child is blamed, explanation is proffered only in terms of the peer group influence (Jatan, 2008). Little or no consideration is given to the child’s study habits as it relates to his or her academic performance in schools especially in Chemistry. This motivated the researcher to ask: Could the study habits adopted by the students affect the academic performance of students in Chemistry. Finding answer to this question necessitated this study on study habit and academic performance of secondary school Chemistry students in Essien Udim Local Government Area.