ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF STUDY HABIT ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE CHILD-LEARNER

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�� ��� ��� ��� �����!��������"� ���������#��������$�!���%&!��������"� ���������#��������$�!���%&!��������"� ���������#��������$�!���%&!��������"� ���������#��������$�!���%&����___________________________________________________________________________ Declaration of Sources of Funding The study was funded by the Combined Services Third World Fund (CSTWF) of Ireland and the Child-learner Development Organisation (CLEDOR). . ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the effect of study habit on the academic performance of the child-learner Design: Descriptive survey Setting: School environment Participants: Three hundred and ninety five (395) pupils in three public Junior High Schools (JHS) took part in the study. Main Outcome Measures: On 15th Dec 2007, schools were selected for the study. After three months, 395 pupils were given the Study Habit Survey (SHS - Form A) to find out their study habit scores. In addition their achievement scores were collected. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the academic achievement scores of pupils with good study habits and those with poor study habits (P� 0.05) Conclusion: This small survey showed that need-tailored counseling intervention to improve study habits among school pupils is likely to result in improved academic performance. INTRODUCTION Studies have shown that a child’s ability to learn depends on several factors other than her/his Intelligence Quotient (IQ) (Duckworth and Seligman, 2004). Underachievement due to these factors remains a public concern. School children constitute a vulnerable group where poor study habits have a dramatic impact on learning ability and educational potential (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1994). METHODS Study Area and Participants The study took place in three public Junior High Schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis of the Central Region, Ghana. The locations of the schools were basically rural with similar socio-economic backgrounds. The Metropolis is situated 145 km west of the capital of Ghana, Accra, on the Gulf of Guinea. Between 3rd December and 15th December, 2007, schools were approached to participate. Very limited counseling services are available for school children in the region so high

consent rates were anticipated. Pupils in basic eight and basic seven, that is JHS 2 and JHS 1were identified for the study. Research Design The descriptive survey, a non-experimental research method, was adopted for the study. In this design, there was no need for any intervention or treatment to yield an outcome which would be measured. The method assumed that the data needed was already in the field for collection. Sample Three (3) schools out of seventy two (72) were selected based on enrolment. Out of the selected schools three hundred and ninety five (395) pupils were given the study habits survey to determine their study habit scores. Research Instrument The researchers in reviewing the measuring instrument took into consideration factors such as reliability, validity as well as administration procedures. The consideration led to the selection of the Study Habit Survey (Essuman, 2006) for the collection of data. Validity and Reliability of the SHS The Study Habit Survey (SHS) has been validated. Reliability and validity indexes have been established for the inventory as measures for the extent of its reliability and validity. This was done by using 30 JHS and 29 Senior High School students as respondents in the Cape Coast Municipality in the 1999/2000 academic year. Reliability Index Test- retest method was used to establish the reliability indexes for each of the 10 scales. This gave an average index of 0.62 for the inventory with a range of 0.42 to 0.81. Validity Index The concurrent validity method was used to establish a validity coefficient (index) for the S.H.S. This was done by correlating the S.H.S. scores of the 59 students with their achievement scores in English, Mathematics and Integrated Science. The means of the three academic subjects of the students were correlated with their S.H.S. scores by the Spearman-Brown Rank Order Correlation method. This gave a correlation index of -0.54.The negative sign indicates that the relationship of S.H.S. scores to achievement is an inverse one. The higher the SHS score the lower the achievement. Thus, high achievers are expected to have good study habits (i.e. Low SHS scores). Low achievers are expected to have poor or inadequate study habits (High SHS scores). This agrees with the data pattern collected. Significance of the Indexes The critical value for r (correlation coefficient) at p<0.05, N= 50 is 0.28. With N=59 this will be less. Thus, both the reliability index of 0.62 and the magnitude of the validity index of -0.54 are all significantly greater than zero. The indexes therefore significantly measure the reliability and validity of the inventory.

Validity of the S.H.S in 2002/2003 Academic Year The Study Habit Survey (S.H.S) was further validated using 79 JSS (2) pupils in Winneba township. The SHS scores of the pupils and their achievement scores in English, Mathematics and Integrated Science for two terms (most recent} were collected. Half of the number of the JSS 2 pupils were high achievers and about half were low achievers. The average of the achievement scores were correlated to their S.H.S scores. Using Spearman Rank Order statistics gave a validity coefficient of 0.68. This is significantly greater than zero. Since at N=79, the critical value of the coefficient � 0.230, p<0.05 Data Collection Procedure The first stage of the process was to collect the personal data of participants. These included their name, age, sex and class. Participants were well spaced out to ensure independence on their colleagues. The next stage, they were directed to respond to the likert type statements. There were ten scales with 80 items in all. The participants responded to the statements scale after scale until they completed the process. Data on their academic achievement scores were also collected. Collection of Achievement Scores Achievement scores for each participant in English, Mathematics and Science were collected for the previous two academic terms. The means of these scores were used to determine their achievement scores. These scores served as the dependent continuous variable for the study. Method of Data Analysis Analysis was conducted using the responses of the three hundred and ninety five (395) pupils to ascertain descriptive statistics. These included the distribution of schools, the types of study habits, distribution of the mean and standard deviation of continuous variables. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics was used to determine whether academic achievement depended on the study habits of the pupils. The Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) for Windows 15.0 was used for the analysis. In interpreting the SHS, Pupils with good study habits (N = 135) selected for the study were those who scored 200 or less in the Study Habit Survey. Participants with satisfactory study habit (N = 129) were those who scored between 201 and 226 in the survey while those with poor study habit (N = 131) were those who scored 227 or above in the survey. The selection criteria were developed purposefully based upon the objective of the project. RESULTS Baseline A one-way analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship between study habits (independent variable) and academic achievement (dependent variable). The ANOVA was significant f (2, 392) = 6.59, p= .002. Because the overall f test was significant, follow-up tests were conducted to evaluate pair-wise differences among the means. A decision was made to use a post hoc procedure that does not assume equal variances after a Levene’s test and Welch and Brown-Forsythe tests (Pallant, 2005) were performed. Dunnett’s C test was performed to control for Type 1 error across the multiple pair-wise comparisons: Good Study Habits (N = 135 M = 301.24, SD = 41.48). Satisfactory Study Habits

(N=129, M= 288.91, SD = 67.81). Poor Study Habits (N= 131 M= 267.59 SD=106.19). Good Study Habit and Poor Study Habit had a mean score difference that was significant. Table 1: Results of the ANOVA

Source df MS F P Between Groups 2 38,407.02 6.589 0.002 Within Groups 392 5,828.85

P� 0.05 DISCUSSION Participants with good study habits and poor study habits recorded statistically different achievement scores. It was established that participants with good study habits recorded significantly higher achievement scores than those with poor study habits. However a number of limitations should be considered in interpreting the results of this study. Other variables within the child or in his environment such as poor academic preparation of teachers, inadequate facilities, absence of performance standards and absence of counseling and special needs services may also affect academic performance. CONCLUSION The results of the one-way ANOVA supported the hypothesis that different study habits had differential effect on academic achievement of Junior High School pupils. REFERENCES Duckworth A. L., Seligman M. E., (2004). Self-Discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting

Academic Performance of Adolescents. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press National Assessment of Educational Progress, (1994). Report on Assessment of Educational

Progress. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service Essuman J. K., (2006). Study Habit Survey Manual, Cape Coast: University of Cape Coast (In Print) Pallant J., (2005). SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis. Berkshire: Open

University Press.