Relationship between study habits and academic achievement of secondary school students in Mbale municipality, Uganda July 2015

Abstract

The present study was designed to explore the relationship between study habits and academic achievement of advance secondary school students in Mbale municipality, Uganda. The purpose of the study was to find out the relationship between advance level students’ study habits and their academic achievement of secondary schools in Mbale municipality, Uganda. The researcher hypothesized that there is no statistically significant relationship between time management, reading habits, study environment with academic achievement of secondary school student in Mbale municipality. A correlational research design was used for the study and sample size of 175 students were used. For measurement of study habits a standardized inventory developed by Bakare (1970). Study Habit Inventory (SHI) was adapted to determine the students’ study habits. Academic achievement was measured by using scores obtained from end of term examinations. The data collected were analyzed quantitatively with the use of statistical package for social science (SPSS), using Pearson product moment correlation statistics. The results of the findings indicate that; there is a moderate positive relationship between students’ time management habits and their achievement (r = 0.582, P 0.00<0.05), there is high positive relationship between students’ reading habits and their achievement (r = 0.712, P 0.00<0.005), a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.418, P 0.00<0.05) exists between students’ study environment and their academic achievement. The study concluded that students who adapt the habits of managing their study time well leads to achieve higher on average in economics in secondary schools in Mbale municipality, students who accepted good reading habits also tend to perform well in their school achievement to a very extent in Mbale municipality, and the conduciveness of the study environment relates to the academic achievement of the student in Mbale municipality. The following recommendation were suggested: The learners should be constantly advised to engage in learning activities, meaning that planning of specific time is very important, Reading and debate clubs should be encouraged by school administrators and teachers, and the school should provide an enabling environment for students to have full concentration from the beginning to the end of a lesson.