EFFECT OF STUDY HABITS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 12
ABM STUDENTS IN CONSOLACION NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DAY
CLASS
Rationale of the Study
A study habit is the commitment of a set amount of personal time to the
process of learning. Without it, one is unable to develop and their life becomes
self-limiting. According to Stella and Purtshothaman (1999), the researchers
have analyzed the student achievement with reference to the classification of
high, average, and low achievers. Study habits vary from person to person,
researchers could use distinctive set of parameters that takes into account these
differences in order to help the learners’ progress by cultivating effective study
habits. Success defines our goals in life and people around the world aim
different kinds of success and by work, diligence and motivation, possibilities
arises with the presence of these factors. One of the many elements of academic
achievement is academic performance. Numerous factors, such as
socioeconomic standing, student temperament and motivation, peer pressure,
and family support, have an impact on academic accomplishment. Academic
achievement of students is directly related to the social and economic growth of a
nation; the desire for success is generated from each person's conception of
himself and from the significance of numerous incentives as they signify success
or failure in the eyes of others. Student performance holds a very important
position in education as well as in the learning process because it helps to
produce the highest calibre graduates who will serve as great leaders and
manpower for a nation and are thus responsible for the economic and social
development of that nation (Ali et al., 2009).
There are numerous factors involved in Nigeria that affect pupils' capacity
to develop productive study habits. According to Ozmert (2005), contextual
factors play a significant role in how students acquire their study habits. Similar to
this, Adetunji and Oladeji (2007) argue that most children do not have
environments that are conducive to learning; as a result, some parents would
prefer that their children attend boarding schools in order to maintain good
discipline and foster improved reading habits. Achievement is typically used in
educational contexts, utilized to assess students' performance in formal
education, which is gauged by reports studies, investigations, and ratings
influenced by a wide range of circumstances.
Learning how to study is one of the most important components in the
world of education. This is truly the case, especially for students, regardless of
where they are or what programs they are pursuing. Whether they are enrolled in
the best architecture university in the Philippines, a technical communication
school in Manila, or even a top engineering school in the Philippines, their
success will all depend on effort (Mapua, 2016). "Study Habits of Academic
Performers in Technological Institute of The Philippines" by Foz, Gomez, Luz,
and Zarate (2016). Also demonstrated is the fact that the top academic
performers included effective time management, learning strategies, and a
conducive study atmosphere in their routines. Even if studying is the best
approach to advance and acquire educational excellence, it is still a difficult effort
that must be completed.
According to Melissa J. Bell (2014), the importance of students doing
well in school has caught the attention of parents, lawmakers, and government
education departments. As career competition in the workforce grows
increasingly competitive, educational attainment, or how well a student meets
standards set out by the local government and the institution itself, is sustained."
A successful future depends on developing appropriate study habits, which will
also make high school important and engaging. However, if the students do not
have good study habits, this could be the cause of their receiving poor grades or
failing the subject. (Venturina, G., 2014)
Researchers decided to conduct this study to know the relationship
between study habits and students’ academic performance as well as to provide
reasons on how these factors affect each other. Furthermore, this study aims to
meet and examine the effect of study habits on students' academic performance
and identify factors affecting students' study habits. In addition, it determines the
effectiveness of applying a study habit academically by recognizing the number
of students that practice this kind of habit and excel in their performance and
knowing the number of students that do not practice this habit but within the
student's academic performance results, it will determine if it does produce to
either positive or negative outcome.
Theoretical Background Of The Study
The literature demonstrates that students' study habits have a major impact
on their academic success. Two theories are employed as the foundation of this
investigation. They consist of:
I. Thorndike's theory of reinforcement.
II. Hull's theory.
I. Thorndike's Theory of Reinforcement
American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike introduced this hypothesis in
1913. He conducted tests to investigate how experiences can change non-
reflexive behavior. In the areas of learning, genetic psychology, testing,
behavioral science, and psychology of learning and arithmetic, he was regarded
by Anderson (1990) as one of the greatest educational psychologists the world
has ever produced.
In his research, Thorndike postulated that the development of habits was a
result of the stimulus and response relationship becoming stronger. When
relationships or connections are weakened, such habits are broken. As a result,
Thorndike developed the following fundamental principles of learning:
I. The law of effect,
II. The law of exercise,
III. ili. The law of readiness.
The first two principles are taken into consideration for the purposes of this
study. According to Thorndike's principle of impact, learning involves creating
bonds or associations between a stimulus and a response. He also claimed that
the type and frequency of stimulus-response pairings influences how strong or
weak these associations or "habits" are. Thorndike emphasized the role of
environmental stimuli as a tool for altering behavior and enhancing task
performance.
The student's emotional response serves as the foundation for the principle
of effect. It is directly connected to motivation. This describes how learning is
boosted when a positive or fulfilling experience is present, whereas learning is
decreased when a negative feeling is present. The learner will make an effort to
keep doing whatever has a satisfying result in order to keep learning. The
instructor should acknowledge and reward progress since positive reinforcement
is more likely to result in success and drive the learner. Whatever the learning
environment, it should have components that have a favorable impact on the
pupils and make them feel satisfied. As a result, educators should exercise
caution when using retribution in the classroom.
Additionally, according to the principle of effect, the result or impact of a
response will determine whether or not the inclination to respond similarly in the
future will be enhanced or diminished. Responses that are immediately followed
by positive outcomes are more likely to be repeated. Wood (2005) asserted that
thinking was not required to understand how learning occurred. Given the
aforementioned position in Thorndike's law of effect, it can be inferred that
students' learning motivation can be reinforced or deteriorated by the type and
frequency of stimulus responses received from the learner's environment, which
includes all those around him or her, such as parents, peers, teacher
relationships, and facilities. These people can motivate the child positively or
negatively in his or her study through their actions. These can prompt the student
to react favorably or unfavorably to his or her performance on assignments and
studies.
Similar to this, according to Thorndike's workout principle, repetition
strengthens a habit since "practice makes perfect." The law is divided into two
parts: use and disuse. When a connection is used, it gets stronger; when it isn't
used, it gets weaker. Thorndike regarded "use" as proper use that was rewarded
since he found the law to be in conflict with the law of effect. According to
Thorndike, motivation and reinforcement are two aspects that might affect a
learner's study habits and task performance. They also work as a catalyst for
habit formation. This theory was supported by Iheanacho (2002), who
hypothesized that behaviors that receive reinforcement tend to develop into
habits and that reinforcement raises the likelihood that a given response will be
repeated.
Siann and Ugwuegbu (1994) acknowledged that a child's attitude toward
schoolwork is strongly influenced by the parents' behavior. Mbillni (1970), who
argued that parental attitude influences the child's attendance at school and
academic performance, supports this. For instance, if parents feel that their
children's academic progress is crucial, they may make arrangements for
additional coaching. Therefore, the type and frequency of environmental cues
might influence a student's study habits in a positive or negative way. According
to the idea of exercise, repetition makes for better memory. It is the cornerstone
of training and drill. It has been demonstrated that when students engage in
meaningful practice and repetition, they learn more effectively and retain material
longer. It is evident that practice only results in improvement when it is
accompanied by favorable feedback.
According to Thorndike's theory on the readiness principle, discomfort would
occur when a reaction was prepared to be attached to a specific stimulus
(prepared in the sense that the required neuronal structures were connected). A
certain level of focus and zeal are implied by the word "readiness." People learn
most effectively when they are physically, emotionally, and psychologically
prepared to learn, and they do not learn well if they do not see a benefit to
learning. It is typically the instructor's role to get pupils ready to study, pique their
attention by demonstrating the importance of the material, and offer consistent
intellectual or physical challenge. Students advance more quickly than those who
lack motivation if they have a clear goal, a compelling purpose, and a compelling
rationale for learning anything.
How Thorndike's Law of Learning Relates to Students' Study Habits
Thorndike's notion of exercise highlighted that only rewarding practice will
strengthen a link; practice without excellence will be ineffective. Numerous
researches have revealed that learning is better acquired and mastered as soon
as the student pays attention to it (Ogunmakin, 2001; Kumar, 2002; Gbore,
2006). However, it is simpler to recall recent occurrences and consequently put
them into action. When it comes to the learning process, immediate and
consistent study time and meeting academic standards usually yield better
results than delayed and sporadic study time. Different study methods, especially
for memory enhancement, emphasize the significance of immediate recall and
learning.
Connections are made more easily if a person believes that certain stimuli
or reactions are related. Another idea that was offered was "polarity," which
states that connections are more likely to occur in the same direction as their
original formation than the opposite. Thorndike also popularized the concept of
the "spread of effect," according to which rewards have an impact on both the
connection that produced them and connections that are temporally close to
them.
This type of legislation is further supported by Thorndike's concept of
exercise, which states that, all else being equal, the stronger a changeable
relationship between a circumstance and response is, the more frequently it is
employed. The strength of a changeable connection between a circumstance
and a reaction is diminished over time when it is not used. A behavior that is
stimulated over time tends to be repeated, which results in the establishment of a
habit.
2.10.2 Hull's Theory
Additionally, an American psychologist named Clark Leonard Hull put forth
this notion in (1943). Hypnosis, concept development, test and assessment,
learning, and motivation are some of the topics Hull has studied. Hull was mostly
recognized as a behaviorist in the study of motivation and learning. Anderson
(1990) referred to this theory as the "elegant" of all learning theories.
Hull's approach placed a strong emphasis on habit reinforcement, reduced
drive, and intervention. Hull compared learning to what an organism needs.
Drive-reduction theory is the name of this educational theory. The organism is
motivated to take action in order to release tension, and while doing that action,
the organism is exposed to numerous stimuli and produces a constant stream of
responses. There is a probability that an association may form when these
stimuli prompt a reaction, but this association will not happen until it is followed
by a reward or punishment, which is motivation (Chauham. 1992). Psychologists
have defined motivation as the urges and incentives that underlie behavior and,
ultimately, the creation of habits.
Hull distinguished between basic and secondary degrees of reinforcement.
Reduced need is the primary reinforcement condition, and the engagement of a
stimulus aggregate that has been closely linked to need reduction stimulus is
secondary reinforcement. The ability of other stimuli to elicit a learnt response
that is intensive or of a higher caliber than the original stimulus leads to
generalization. In that situation, the learning process may lead to stimulus
reinforcement, which may provide better responses. That example, today, if the
learner applies the proper study techniques, task performance will be improved.
The theory of Hull also includes the idea of stimulus generalization. This
indicates that if there are two or more similar stimuli, they may cause the
organism to respond in a manner that is similar to or identical to how it
responded to the first stimulus. For instance, a youngster who fears a snake will
also dread a rope or anything else that resembles a snake. The habit strength
sHr will generalize from one stimulus to another to the extent that the two stimuli
are similar based on the feature of stimulus generalization. Hull used the phrase
"generalized habit strength" to denote the phenomena of stimulus
generalization's generalizing effects on habit strength. Hull attempted to explain
the phenomenon of training transfer (along the lines of Thorndike's identical
element theory) by focusing on the likelihood that learning that was done under
comparable circumstances would be transferred to the new learning setting.
Review of Related Studies
Children's academic achievement increases after receiving study skills
instruction (Garrison 1980). As a result, developing a disciplined study routine
can help you attain academic success.
K. Premalakshmi (2012) conducted research on higher secondary students'
study practices and academic performance. It was suggested that children's
academic success is influenced by their changing study habits. An individual's
capacity is their study habits. Some children seize the opportunity to browse
alone, while others require group browsing. Some kids read aloud for everyone
to hear, while others read quietly. It might be described as "work tactics," in
which the kids engage in various study routines. It might involve taking notes,
expanding one's vocabulary, preparing term papers, and taking tests. One of the
things that helps students do better academically is their study habits.
Ogbodo (2010) investigated at how parents bring their kids to school so they
can study there. Children are exposed to a variety of situations that affect their
behavior. Learning, then, is a modification of behavior. Such a modification
observed in their development of values and interests, physical growth, physical
development, and mental reasoning. The shift may be easy or challenging
depending on the family and school setting. The educated elite are known for
their love of relaxation. Reading periodicals teaches students how to unwind,
calm their minds, avoid mental exhaustion, and helps them maintain a disciplined
lifestyle in school. Most of the time, it's effects in promoting sleep and rest after
exhausting in-class or library reading contributes to healthy habits.
Making a good study is an art (K. Premalakshmi, 2012). To attain academic
success, one must first establish a consistent study routine. Children can develop
strong study habits by practicing at home and at school. They need to be led
appropriately. The youngsters would improve their ability to learn and favorably
impact all parts of education with the assistance of their parents and teachers.
According to K. Premalakshmi (2012), government pupils do not receive
adequate attention from their parents, teachers, or peers. As a result, extra
attention should be given to the students to help them understand. To obtain
strong academic success and have a better future, the student should develop
appropriate study habits.
Academic achievement of students plays a significant role in both learning
and education. It is regarded as a key to a criterion to assess a person's overall
potentialities and capacities, which are commonly gauged by exam results
(Nuthana and Yenagi, 2009). It is used to evaluate the standard of education
being provided by academic institutions. The worrisome exam results of students
have made it the most current issue in higher education institutions, which has
greatly concerned educators and academics.