The Correlation between Study Habits and the Academic Achievement of High School Pupils

A descriptive survey was conducted to assess the correlation between study habits and academic achievements among high school pupils, in a nominated school at Alappuzha District, Kerala. Disproportionate stratified random selection was used to pick out 180 high school pupils. Information was collected by using the socio demographic questionnaire, Modified M. Mukhopadhaya's and D. N. Sansanwal's study habits inventory and the review of previous year progress reports. The data were tabulated and examined by means of descriptive and inferential measurements. The findings shown that the total mean score in study habits was 78.81 with SD 20.26 and the total mean score of academic achievements was 65.58 with SD 14.13. The calculated Karl Pearson correlation coefficient ‘r' value (0.808) was greater than the table value (0.191) and the degree of freedom 178 at p<0.01 level of significance, indicating that there was a substantial positive correlation between Study Habits & the Academic Achievements of high school pupils. Hence, the study judged that a rise in study habits score will also raise the academic achievement score among high school pupils.


Introduction
Habits help the pupils to do things with less thought and struggle. It is important in shaping the characters of individuals. In the process of edification, study habits like thinking, reasoning, attention, punctuality, etc., enable the pupils to make proper alterations for better achievements [1].
Good study habits are the top secret to academic success in schools [2]. The development of good study habits is an art and it is the potential of individual student. Some pupils like to read alone, while some want to read in a group and some pupils read silently. There is no restricting yardstick to measure the type of study habits. It may be inherited or acquired. The student can formulate own study habits by himself or herself. Pupils should be made aware of the importance of it and proper training should be given right from childhood onwards [3].
Academic success is the sum of small efforts done by the pupils. The achievement of good study habits is the road to the goals of an individual. A simple, small modification in study routines makes a big variance in aim set and shapes one's life. [4]. In pupils, academic success plays an important role in teaching as well as in the learning course. It has been one of the best significant aims of the entire edifying progression. The valuable outcome of any edifying set up is the success of pupils in their academics. Based on the level of accomplishment, persons are categorized as good, average and poor.
Academic success is one of the objectives of edification. The educational competence of the student is judged by his accomplishments in the school [5]. The aim of all academic and non-academic happenings in the school is basically to boost the academic achievements of the pupils.
It is affected by several personal, institutional, social and economic aspects [6].
In many research studies, Educational Psychologists show a strong correlation between Study Habits & Academic Achievements. Taylor (1964) depicted that the value the student gives upon his own worth, affects his or her academic achievements. Academic achievements of a pupil refer to the information accomplished and abilities developed in the school subjects. So academic achievements mean the accomplishment of pupils in the academic subjects. [7] A survey study was conducted at Mysore city (2016) to assess Study Habits & Academic Achievement of 625 secondary and senior secondary school pupils studying in 9 th , 10 th , 11 th and 12 th were selected randomly and data were collected through study habits and attitudes scale established by C.P. Mathur and their previous annual term examination reports, and the results indicated that 71% had average study habits, 27% had poor and 1.9% had good study habits. It showed that those pupils who were good in study habits were also good in academic achievements, (M=82.25) and those who were poor in study habits were also slow in their academic achievements (M=72.83) [8].

Need and Significance of the Problem
Pupils are the leaders of tomorrow who need to be armed with a strong value system and enabling habits which can aid them to lead a well and more rewarding life. In the present academic circumstances, they need to be equipped with good study habits for succeeding in academic life. Study habits or study skills are methods applied to education. They are generally needed to success in schools, and are useful for learning throughout one's life [9].
A student's growth or lack of success in the classroom depends upon numerous factors like attention on the subject, inspiration to learn, study amenities, study habits and so on. Some pupils attribute their academic letdown to such factors as low aptitude, inaccessibility of resources, and bad luck. We can dare to say that the most significant factor playing a role in academic triumph is the pupils' little acquaintance with learning and study skills [10] Study habits differ from student to student. Some study habits are more beneficial than others from the point of view of academic achievement. Satisfactory health, proper sleep, proper exercise, and good nutritious diet are very much vital for the accomplishment of upright study outcomes. Study circumstances that are un-favorable include insufficient light, dangerous temperatures, dampness, deprived body posture, abnormal physical circumstances, and emotional troubles [11]. Pupils have different approaches to choose the learning environment for their studying [12].
The National Commission on Excellence in Education endorses that study habits, skills and attitude be familiarized to a student very early in the childhood period and remain lifelong of a student's educational career. 75% of pupils who are academic underperformers have poor study habits and examination techniques [13].
Academic achievement is the outcome of education. It is mainly measured by formative or summative assessment techniques. School procurement might be influenced by different aspects resembling study habits, memory power and the way of behavior of learners towards school, financial status and a different kind of their personality. In our community, academic achievement is observed as an important concept to justify the individual's whole capacities and potentialities [9].

Statement of the Problem
A study to evaluate the correlation between Study Habits and the Academic Achievements of high school pupils in a selected school at Alappuzha District.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the correlation between Study Habits and the Academic Achievements of high school pupils.

Objectives
1. To assess the study habits of high school pupils. 2. To assess the level of academic achievements of high school pupils. 3. To find out the correlation between study habits and the academic achievements of high school pupils.

Study Design
Descriptive correlation survey design which is one of the quantitative research methods was used in the study.

Sample and Sampling Technique
The study was carried out with 180 high school pupils in the age group of 13-16 years who were studying in 8 th , 9 th and 10 th standards and the sampling technique was probability disproportionate stratified random sampling.

Tool
The tool used in this study consists of personal data form which was established by the researcher in order to assess the socio-demographical variables of the study participants. To assess the study habits of high school pupils, researcher used Modified M. Mukhopadhaya's and D. N. Sansanwal's study habits inventory (SHI). It is a 5-point rating scale. The inventory contains 35 statements and each statement is from 5 different areas like comprehension, concentration, task orientation, interaction and recording and for every statement it has 5 options such as always, frequently, sometimes, rarely and never. In SHI it consists of positive statements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 28, 31, 32, 35 and negative statements 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 33, 34. The scoring of positive statements 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 and the scoring of negative statements 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. The total statements were 35. Therefore 140 (4 x 35) is the maximum possible score. The reliability of the study habits inventory was established by Cronbach's alpha and the score was 0.728. In order to infer the content validity of this tool, the tool along with the problem statement, objectives, hypotheses and operational definitions was given to 10 experts.
For assessing the academic achievement of high school pupils, researcher used the technique of retrospective record reviewing of previous academic year progress report of high school pupils studying in 8 th , 9 th , and 10 th standard and that is evaluated by cumulative grade point average and their assessment grades were converted into standard numerical scores.

Data Collection Process
For conducting the main study, prior approval was acquired from the Principal of selected school and the data were collected from 8 th , 9 th , and 10 th standard, pupils were selected based on age, class of study and gender. Each standard consisted of A, B and C divisions. Each division had strength of 25 to 35 pupils. Then the researcher chose different sampling fractions and by simple random sampling technique using lottery non replacement method, 10 males and 10 females were selected from each division. Hence in total 60 samples from 8 th , 9 th , and 10 th standard.
On 1 st day informed consent was given to the parents of 20 pupils by sending the consent form along with the pupils after elucidating the purpose of the study and on the next day the data were collected using socio demographic proforma, modified M. Mukhopadhaya's and D. N. Sansanwal's study habits inventory, by the review of the progress reports, and distribution of the information booklets among 20 pupils. The above same step was repeated for the remaining selected samples. The time taken by each candidate to fill the questionnaire was 20-25 minutes.

Descriptive statistics:
Frequency and percentage distribution was used to evaluate the socio demographic variables. Mean, percentage and standard deviation were used to analyze the scores on Study Habits & Academic Achievement.

Inferential statistics:
Karl pearson co-efficient of correlation was used to find out the correlation between Study Habits & Academic Achievement of high school pupils. Chi-square test was used to find out the association between research variables and the selected socio demographic variables.

Results
The major findings of the study are presented below. Figure 1illustrates that (61.7%) of the subjects had satisfactory study habits. Figure 2 indicates that (45.6%) of the subjects had good academic achievement. Figure 3 reveals that direction of scattered plots falling from the lower left corner to the upper right corner indicates that there is a positive correlation between the study habits and the academic achievements among high school students. That means the score of academic achievement (vertical variable) is directly proportional to the score of study habits (horizontal variable).

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The Correlation between Study Habits and the Academic Achievement of High School Pupils

Discussion
The present study focused on the relationship between the Study Habits & Academic Achievements of high school pupils in a selected school at Alappuzha District and in this study the status of study habits showed that less than two thirds (61.7%) of the subjects had satisfactory study habits, less than one third (29.5%) had good study habits and less than one tenth (8.8%) had bad study habits. A descriptive study was conducted at Pune city (2010) to determine the relationship between Study Habits & Academic Achievements among 104 high school pupils of Spicer Higher Secondary School and the results revealed that 48.2% had average study habits, 25.9% had unsatisfactory study habits, 16.5% had good study habits and 9.4% had very unsatisfactory study habits. [11] In the present study, the selected high school pupils' academic achievement depicted that less than half (45.6%) of subjects had good academic achievements, less than one third (31.7%) had average academic achievements, less than one fifth (18.3%) had excellent academic achievements, a few (4.4%) had below average and none of them were in poor.
The correlation between the study habits and the academic achievements of high school pupils showed that the total mean score of study habits was 78.81 with SD 20.26 and the total mean score of academic achievements was 65.58 with SD 14.13. The calculated Karl Pearson correlation coefficient, 'r' value 0.808 which was greater than table value (0.191) with the degree of freedom 178 at p<0.0 level of significance showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the study habits and the academic achievements of high school pupils. That means an increase in the score of study habits will also increase the academic achievements among high school pupils. A descriptive study was conducted at Karnataka (2014) to assess the influence of study habits on the academic performance among 250 higher primary school pupils (125 boys and 125 girls), and the results revealed that 60% of the boys, 63.20% of the girls had good study habits, 28.8% of the boys, 26.40% of the girls had average study habits and 11.20% of the boys, 10.40% of the girls had poor study habits and the relationship between boys and girls on study habits was found to be non-significant. [14] Lastly, the researcher detected that there was a major relationship between study habits with age, gender, class of study, number of close friends, most favourite hobby, involvement in extra-curricular activities, failure in academic exams, habit of note taking and most frequently occurring health problems, and there was no significant association between religion, area of residence, type of family, family income per month, education of father, education of mother, occupation of father, occupation of mother, number of siblings, birth order, peer group interaction, total class attendance, most preferred time for study, parental pressure on academics, and habit of skipping breakfast. And also, the researcher found that there was a significant association between the pupils' academic achievement and their sociodemographic variables like gender, occupation of father, birth order, most favourite hobby, involvement in extra-curricular activities, failure in academic exams, and habit of note taking and no significant association between the age, religion, class of study, area of residence, type of family, family income per month, education of father, education of mother, occupation of mother, number of siblings, number of close friends, peer group interaction, total class attendance, most preferred time for study, parental pressure on academics, most frequently occurring health problems, and habit of skipping breakfast.

Conclusions
The outcome reveals that there was a positive correlation prevailing in between the study habits and the academic achievement of high school pupils. That means an increase in the score of study habits will also increase the academic achievement among high school pupils. So, the study settled that if pupils are maintaining satisfactory and proper study habits, then their academic achievement would definitely improve. Deprived study habits will upshot in a poor academic accomplishment. And also the study depicts that, sociodemographic variables like gender, most favorite hobby, involvement in extra-curricular activities, failure in academic exams, and habit of note taking influenced the study habits and the academic achievement of selected high school pupils.

Recommendations
Study habit is a significant correlate of academic achievement amongst pupils. The present study was conducted in school that is affiliated to CBSE. So for the future studies it is suggested to be carried out this similar study can be conducted in another settings like government schools in rural areas among more samples. Interventional studies can also be conducted to improve the level of academic achievement among high school pupils. Relative study can be steered to assess the study habits & academic achievements among nursing and engineering college pupils.