Study Habits as Predictors of Motivation in Secondary School Students’ Science Learning

Author(s) : Hafiz Muhammad Salman Naveed 1* & Dr. Mobeen Ul Islam 2

Abstract:

Science education is a significant predictor of a country's technological advancement. Multiple factors like quality teaching, conducive learning environment, and students’ personal traits may contribute in the quality of science learning. Students’ personal traits, such as their attitude, study habits, and interests, may help them learn science effectively. In this study, we examine whether secondary school students’ study habits predict their motivation for learning science. This study was causal-comparative in nature. The study's target population comprised 1,47,538 students of 9th-grade enrolled in 1323 secondary schools in the Gujranwala Division. The study population comprised 35,858 students of 9th-grade enrolled in 268 secondary schools in Sialkot District. Two-stage sampling techniques were used in this study. In the first stage, 10% of schools were randomly selected as clusters from each stratum (male & female). Secondly, from each selected school, the researcher randomly selected one section when more than one section was available. If there is a single school, all students in that school would be included in the study sample. Sample of the study: Two questionnaires were used in this research to collect data. The first questionnaire consisted of 20 items was developed to assess secondary-level science students’ study habits and 2nd consisted of 20 items was developed to assess the science students’ motivation of secondary-level. Results indicated that reading habits, note-taking, study environment, test preparation, and time management were statistically correlated with motivation; however, note-taking did not account for any variance in science students’ study habits and motivation.

Keywords: Study Habits, Motivation, Self-efficacy, Science Learning, Secondary School students.