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Study Habits among students: An Overview

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Kala Sarovar ISSN: 0975-4520
(UGC Care Group-1 Journal) Vol-23 No.04(IX) October-December 2020
STUDY HABITS AMONG STUDENTS: AN OVERVIEW

TAWHEED LATEEF RATHER Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Education Aligarh

Muslim University, Aligarh, UP, India :: tawheedrather123@gmail.com
ISHFAQ AHMAD BHAT Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Education Annamalai
University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India :: ishfaqbhat099@gmail.com

Abstract:
Effective study habits contribute to good student performance. Universities often provide
workshops or guidebooks for new students to learn good study habits. Through the present study an
attempt has been made to review the previous studies about study habits. The study highlights the
effective study habits. The study also explored the bad study habits that hinders the academic
progress of the students at times as well as gives some suggestions that will help the learners to
improve their study habits.

Index terms: Performance, Students, Study habits.

Introduction
The present age is the age of competition. In the present times of competition parents demand
that their wards should be provided with best quality education. High achievement and scoring good
grades in exams is what every parent or guardian as well as teacher wishes for their children, wards
and students. It seems whole system of education revolves around academic achievement of students.
The success in academics depends on many factors, one such factor is study habits of students. Study
habits play a very important role in the academic life of students. Some students perform badly in
academics due to many factors. One such factor is poor study habits which often affects the
academic achievement of students even among the bright students. It is a fact that poor have an
adverse influence on the academic achievement of even the naturally bright students. According to
Menzel, cited by Rana and Kausar (2011), failure among students is not due to their ability but
because they do not have adequate study skills. Students who have difficulty in college frequently do
not have adequate study habits that affect their academic achievement. Abid (2006) stated that the
quality of nation depends upon the quality of its citizen while quality of citizen depends on the
quality of its education which in turn depends on the study habits of the students. Quality of
education is reflected through academic achievements which is a function of students’ study habits.
Researchers have revealed that study habits are one of the major factors affecting academic
achievement of students. Psychologists and educationists believe that good study habits are the
gateways of knowledge and wisdom. Habits play an important role in human’s life.
According to Aristotle, Habit is what we repeatedly do. Anything we practice long enough
becomes ingrained into our system and becomes a habit. Having good habits will lead to an effective
life while the bad may lead to failures. Habits indicate the personality of an individual. In education,
study habits mean usual or regular learner’s ways of exercising and practicing their abilities for
learning. Habits can be extremely useful and it would be impossible to run one’s lives without them.
Study habits are the behaviors used when preparing for tests or learning academic materials. It
implies to how one studies. Study habit is a very important characteristic of all human beings who
are ‘being educated’ and ‘are educated’. It has long reaching effects deep into the life of individuals,
and by cumulative and interactive effects in the society. The study habits comprise of nine different
kinds of study behaviors. These are Comprehension, Concentration, Task orientation, Study sets,
Interaction, Drilling, Supports, Recording and Language. Effective study habits make the students
smarter. These habits include how the student approaches his/her study with the right attitude,
chooses the right environment, minimize distractions, set a realistic schedule etc. (Grohol, 2020).
Even from educational point of view, study habits play an important role for students to achieve
better and higher goals.

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Different Views
Study habits are the activities of learning carried out by learners to improve learning. Study
habits are the ways the student studies. Styles of studying are also known as study habits. Study
habits are having an important place in the academic life of students. Success in exams depends on
the quality of good study habits. According to Patel (1976) study habits include; i) Home
environment and planning of work; ii) Reading and note taking habits; iii) Planning of subjects; iv)
Habits of concentration; v) Preparation for examination; vi) General habits and attitudes; and vii)
School environment.
According to Percival and Ellington (1984) study habit refer to the method or technique of
effective learning which in turn involve a set of study skills, essay writing, report writing, note
taking, examination technique and even job-hunting skills.
According to Onubugwu (1990), “study habits is a technique, a student employs to go about his or
her studies which are consistent and have become stereotyped as a result of long application or
practice”.
Good (1998) defined the term study habits as, “the student’s way of study whether systematic,
efficient or inefficient etc”.
Nanaji (2002) states that, “the study habits are learning tendencies that enable the students work
privately”.
According to Crede & Kuncel (2008) study habits refer to ‘the degree to which the student
engages in regular acts of studying that are characterized by appropriate studying routines (e.g.,
reviews of material) occurring in an environment that is conducive to studying’.

Review of the Related Literature

Kaur (2001) investigated the impact of study habits and achievement motivation on the academic
achievement of BA/BSc students in relation to sex and area. The results of this study showed
positive significant relationship between study habits and academic achievement. The students who
achieved high on academic achievement had good study habits and boys had good study habits than
girls.
Aisha et al. (2002) examined the relationship of study habits with educational achievement. The
objective of the study was to find the relationship of study habits with educational achievement.
Findings of this study revealed that there is significant positive relationship between the achievement
and proper study schedule drawn by the students.
Vijayalakshmi (2006) analyzed the study habits and achievement in physics of students of class-
XII. Data was collected from five colleges of Shimoga district using stratified random sampling
technique. He concluded that there is a significant relationship between the study habits and
achievement in physics. Also, the results showed that sex has no impact upon the various categories
of study habits and type of college has no impact upon the various study habits.
Nandita and Tanime (2007) conducted a study on study habits and attitude towards studies in
relation to academic achievement in geography of secondary school students. The results of this
study revealed that there exists a positive and significant relationship between attitude towards
studies and academic achievement and between study habits and attitude towards studies.
Paura and Archana (2011) examined study habits of secondary school students in relation to their
Scholastic Achievement. The total sample of the study were 100 secondary school students selected
through simple random sampling technique. The results of the study revealed that there is a
significant positive correlation between study habit and scholastic achievement of secondary school
students as whole and dimension wise.
Bashir (2012) investigated on study habits and academic performance among Adolescents (14-19)
years to determine the impact of study habits on academic performance. Findings of the study
revealed a highly significant relation among various variables of study habits and academic
performance.
Anwar (2013) carried out a correlational study of academic achievement and study habits: issues and
concerns. Sample of 200 senior secondary school students studying in Class XI were selected using

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Kala Sarovar ISSN: 0975-4520
(UGC Care Group-1 Journal) Vol-23 No.04(IX) October-December 2020
purposive sampling technique. The descriptive analysis revealed positive relationship between
academic achievement and study habits and the degree of relationship was high. It was also found
that the academic performance of students having good and poor study habits differ significantly and
good study habits result in high academic achievement.
Chamundeswari, et al. (2014) conducted a study on self-concept, study habits and academic
achievement of students. The main objective of the study was to assess the self-concept, study habits
and their relationship to performance outcomes. The results of the study showed a significant
correlation between self-concept, study habits and academic achievement of students.
Yazdani and Godbole (2014) investigated the relation of achievement motivation and study habits
to academic performance in high school students. A sample of 400 students consisted of boys and
girls from 7th and 8th grade. Study habits inventory of M.N. Palsane (1989) was used to collect the
data. The data were analyzed by Mean score, Standard deviation, Pearson’s correlation and
regression. The results showed a significant positive relationship of achievement motivation and
study habits to academic performance.
Suresh (2015) conducted a study on study habits, achievement motivation and academic
achievement of high school students. The objective of his study was to find out the significant
influences if any in academic achievement on study habits and achievement motivation. The total
sample of the study consisted of 842 high school students selected through random sampling.
Regression analysis was used to analyze the date. The results of the study revealed that academic
achievement has a significant influence on study habits and achievement motivation of high school
students.
Siahiand Maiyo (2015) investigated the relationship between study habits and academic
achievement of higher secondary school students of Spicer, India. The objectives of the study were
to determine student’s study habits of 9th standard at Spicer Higher secondary school and to find out
the effect of study habits of 9th standard students on academic achievement at Spicer Higher
Secondary school. The results of this study revealed a positive relationship between study habits and
academic achievement. The results also implied that the study habits need a significant attention if
we are to improve performance of students.
Bhat and Khandai (2016) conducted a study on academic achievements and study habits of college
students of district pulwama. The total samples of the study were 410 out of which 193 were males
and 217 were females. The sample was selected using random sampling technique. The objective of
his study was to study the academic achievement and study habits of male and female college
students. Data was analysed using Mean, S.D., and T-test. The results of the study showed that
female college students have high academic achievement as compared to male college students; it
was also found out that study habits of college female students are slightly higher than the male.
Sakirudeen and Sanni (2017) conducted a study on study habits and academic performance of
secondary school students in mathematics: A case study of selected secondary schools in Oyo local
education council. The study investigated the relationship between study habits and academic
performance of secondary school students in Mathematics. The results of this study revealed that
there is significant relationship between study habits and academic performance of secondary school
students in mathematics.
Laxmi and Kaur (2017) conducted a study on study habits and attitudes among secondary school
students with respect to gender. The objectives of the study were to find out the difference in study
habits and attitudes among P.S.E.B and C.B.S.E. secondary school students. The results of this study
revealed that there exists a significant difference in study habits and attitudes among P.S.E.B and
C.B.S.E. secondary school students.
Jafari et al. (2019) investigated relationship between study habits and academic achievement in
students of medical sciences in Kermanshah-Iran. The sample consisted of 380 medical science
students selected through random sampling. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential
statistics. The results of the study revealed that there is a direct and significant relationship between
study habits and academic achievement.

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(UGC Care Group-1 Journal) Vol-23 No.04(IX) October-December 2020
Sadry et al. (2019) conducted a study on relationship between study habits and academic
achievement of Afghan EFL students. The main objective of the study was to find out the correlation
between study habits and academic achievement of Afghan EFL students. A sample of 169 students
were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using correlational
design. The results revealed that there is a significant positive correlation between Afghan EFL
student’s study habits and their academic achievement.
Pathak S. (2020) investigated academic stress and self efficacy in relation to study habits among
adolescents. The main purpose of the study was to find out the relationship between academic stress
and study habits among secondary students and to investigate the between self efficacy and study
habits secondary students. The results showed a significant negative relationship between academic
stress and study habits of students. Also the results showed a significant positive relationship
between self efficacy and study habits of students.
Alam and Islam (2020) conducted a study on academic performance of secondary students in
relation to their study habits and socio-economic status: A Descriptive survey study. The objective of
the study was to investigate the relationship between academic achievement of secondary students
with their study habits and socio-economic status. The samples of 250 students were selected using
simple random sampling technique. The results showed that study habits, socio-economic status and
academic achievement are correlated with each other.
From the above studies it can be concluded that study habits play an important role in the
academic achievement of students. Studies have revealed that there is a strong connection between
the student’s study habits and their academic performance. Good study habits lead to good academic
performance where as bad and defective study habits result in poor academic performance. The
findings also revealed that school and teachers play an important role in developing good study
habits among students.

Highly Effective Study Habits

 Look for place that is good for reading.
 Plan and follow a definite time schedule for study.
 Use dictionary as much as possible while studying.
 Read newspapers in order to develop the habit of reading.
 Practice by yourself or with friends.
 Bring everything you need, nothing you don’t.
 Take regular breaks while studying.
 Try to evaluate the difficulty of the material to be learned.
 Take brief notes and review the material related to studies.
 Take regular breaks while studying.
 Analyze study habits and try to correct defective study habits.
 Develop the habit of reviewing the material related to studies.
 Study with a definite purpose and study in a distraction free environment.

Bad Study Habits

The following are the bad study habits among students-

Studying at the wrong place

Studying at the wrong place and studying around loud noise or in distraction results in lower
level of concentration.

Turning on distractions
Turning on distractions such as TV, Facebook or other social media platforms also affects
student’s academic achievement.

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Kala Sarovar ISSN: 0975-4520
(UGC Care Group-1 Journal) Vol-23 No.04(IX) October-December 2020
Studying the night before
Studying the night before is also a bad study habit. Students might pass some tests studying
only the night before, but it will be hard to pass many tests this way, especially if students are aiming
for higher grades and a deeper understanding of what students are actually studying. Students should
study as early as possible in order to reduce the stress of exams.

Studying with the wrong people

Studying with the wrong people also results in bad study habits among students. Choosing
the right people to study with is important to develop good study habits.

Suggestions for improving study habits

 Students should study every day in order to remain in touch with studies.
 Students take regular breaks while studying.
 Students should develop the habit of preparing in advance for exams. This helps in reducing
exam stress and helps in scoring good grades in exams.
 Things that disturb the students like phone, TV and other devices should be turned off while
studying.
 Students should take notes in the classroom and rehearse them regularly.
 Consult experts if you are facing difficulties in studying.
 Study in the calm and peaceful environment.
 Remove the distractions as much as possible.
 Plan your study time and make a timetable to study effectively.
 Students must study in a style those best suits their abilities, the more student’s study
according to their abilities the more success they achieve in academics.
 Stay focused while studying topics.
 Use the dictionary to understand the difficult words. Using dictionary helps in developing
good vocabulary.
 Read the study material carefully which helps in understanding the content clearly.
 Teacher should emphasize the importance of good study habits among students. The teachers
should conduct weekly reading and written tests in order to know the weaknesses of students.

Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that having good study habits are important
and contribute significantly in the academic achievement of students. For achieving goals more
easily and efficiently developing good study habits is important. It is very important to give proper
guidance to students in order to develop efficient study habits which will help students to study
smarter and faster.

References
1. Anwar, E. (2013). A Correlational study of academic achievement and study habits: Issues
and concerns. Excellence International Journal of Education and Research, 1(2), 46-51.
2. Aisha R., Asma K. & Niaz H.M. (2002). Relationship of study habits with Educational
Achievements. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 4(3), 370-371.
3. Alam, S. & Islam, Md, R. (2020). Academic performance of secondary students in relation
to their study habits and socio-economic status: A Descriptive Survey Study. London
Journals Press, 20(3), 57-71.
4. Bashir, I. & Hussain, N.M. (2012).A study on Study Habits and Academic performance
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5. Bhat, Y. I. &Khandai, H. (2016). Academic achievements and Study habits of college
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 Kala Sarovar ISSN: 0975-4520
(UGC Care Group-1 Journal) Vol-23 No.04(IX) October-December 2020
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