STUDY HABITS OF CLASS VIII STUDENTS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT Achieving tremendously good grades are expected output of all the educational endeavors. This grading is one of the cardinal determinants for a child's learning process at a particular point of time. High-ranking students are believed to be well acquainted with the content than low-ranking students. Even though many studies have concluded that there are umpteen factors responsible for superlative high academic achievement. Students can't employ effective study skills, until they inculcate good study habits and developing a good study habits is an art. Study habits vary on a large spectrum from individual to individual as per the factors affecting the same. The present study was conducted to compare students of government, government aided and private schools of Delhi for their study habits. The sample comprised of 180 students of class VIII. The sample was randomly selected. A fifty item questionnaire instrument on a five point Likert scale of five choices ranging from always to never, was developed and administered to the students and questionnaire was divided into seven batches, i.e., Work Methods, Delay Avoidance, Budgeting, Time, Motivation, Memory, Comprehension and External Support. Semi-structured Interview Schedule was also made and conducted on 34 teachers (class teachers and subject teachers) which were randomly selected. Statistical analysis revealed that the academic achievement of students of all types of schools, namely government, government-aided and private was highly correlated with academic achievement. Study the habits of most of the students are lacking in some or the other areas as assessed. The study habits of students of Government-aided schools are better than that of the students in Private schools. On the contrary, the study habits of students of Government schools were not up to the mark. Further teachers' data analysis revealed that motivation has been rated the highest by teachers as the factor along with family's educational background which positively affects the academic achievement of students to a great extent. This study has important connotation for the educationists.