ASSESSMENT OF STUDY HABITS AND THEIR IMPACT ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

BACKGROUND OF STUDY: Scholars and educational authorities have long been interested in the relationship between study habits and student academic achievement. Students in any educational environment are always striving for academic achievement, and academic performance is their ultimate aim. However, Dizney (2003) and Okegbile (2003) found that the majority of kids are underachievers in school (2007). One of the most common reasons for pupils' underdeveloped potential is a lack of learning tools. Over time, the proportional significance of teaching and studying physics has risen considerably. Physics' importance cannot be overstated, since it provides the foundation for every nation's technological growth. According to Jubril (1986), science is the most potent weapon for human growth. It has been identified as a superior tool for addressing socio-economic issues such as access to decent health care, agriculture, employment, poverty, and a variety of other issues that impede development in underdeveloped countries such as Nigeria.

Physics is a field of science that studies the interactions of energy and matter. It is also known as the science of measurement, and its expertise has aided in the development of equipment and technology that have profoundly benefited humanity. Physics may lead to a variety of scientific subjects and occupations, including engineering, manufacturing, mining, and construction. Aside from that, physics knowledge is extremely important for any nation's progress. Despite Nigeria's efforts to promote and pursue technological growth, the outcomes have been both disappointing and promising (Adebayo, 2008). Nigeria's national education strategy reflects the country's aggressive push toward technology (2004)

The following are some of the issues that physics education faces in today's society:

i. A shortage of qualified instructors for the profession: one of the most serious issues that physics teachers confront is the recruitment and retention of qualified persons in the field (Adeyinka, 2010). Any nation's destiny is in the hands of well-trained and skilled teachers. However, teaching is increasingly seen as the final resort for the hopeless, i.e., a vocation for people who have nothing else to do (Aliyu, 2011)

ii. Inadequate laboratory facilities: laboratories in our schools are not properly equipped.

iii. Low student motivation: most students in our schools enroll in social sciences and humanities, which outnumber pupils enrolled in physics and other basic science subjects.

Other barriers to efficient physics learning include: - a lack of teaching aids - poor/uncommitted pupils - a lack of suitable texts - curriculum

- A lack of appropriate student orientation

Education has long been acknowledged to play a vital role in man's existence. "Education is a continuous and ongoing process," states Aggrawal (1997). It is the process of maturation from childhood to adulthood. It encompasses the impact of everything that has an impact on a person's personality." "Education is a wide phrase, the life-long process of obtaining new knowledge and skills via both formal and informal exposure to information, ideas, and experiences," Iram (1999) cited Singh (1997) as saying.

Some psychiatrists believed that a child's mind was in a pristine condition and that a teacher could write whatever they wanted on it. Others believed that a kid was no different from a layperson, and that a teacher was no different than a porter who could make anything out of anything.

To suggest that the caliber of education in Nigeria has deteriorated is an understatement. However, it has been discovered that children with mental ability do not always perform well in school, either because they do not know how to study successfully or because they do not apply the most efficient study approach. Teachers, parents, and kids have all voiced concerns about why students perform so poorly academically. In recent years, the state government has expressed worry about this by releasing low-cost books for primary and secondary schools. Although this was intended to pique kids' interest in studying, it has had little effect because pupils do not read these books. Many of the students expressed frustration with their lack of understanding.

Without a doubt, these criticisms all lead to the same thing: a lack of good study habits. But it is this issue that I want to look into because it looks to be one of the core reasons of our educational system's current low standards.

The extent of a student's academic learning may be measured by the grades he or she receives over a period of time. A grade is thought to be the most important indicator of such learning. However, numerous experiences and studies have revealed that there are a number of other elements that influence grades. There isn't a single component that can be definitively identified as predicting grades. Gender, IQ, study habits, age, year level, parents educational achievement, social position, number of siblings, birth order, and other factors have all played a role. In reality, practically every existing environmental and psychological element influences academic success. Studying is essential in our life, particularly for students. Each student is an individual with distinct talents, approaches and ways of thinking, interests, and techniques to learning courses. Individual variations have a big impact on learning styles and knowledge acquisition. Each student has a distinct strategy and approach to studying, and while these strategies might be beneficial, some are not as productive as others (Oppapers, 2010).

These are the approaches of studying the learner that are done on a regular or habitual basis. It's habituated style of approaching units of students' learning with its constancy in disregarding, destroying his efficiency with the specific contents being studied and the impacts he exerts throughout the process. Every year, a large number of comments are received from educators, school administrators, and parents who are unsure how to enhance their pupils' study habits. Instead of forcing all students into one fixed or pre-set model, the teacher must promote a new mindset of learning style theories that values each student as a unique individual. Good study habits assist students in gaining a great deal of emotional learning, which benefits them even more. Students who excel intellectually and do well in class demonstrate that they have solid study habits. This is due to the fact that good study habits include the employment of organized learning approaches that put individuals' individual talents and abilities to the test.

However, at this time, I'd want to look at the probable link between study habits and the elements that influence them and secondary school students' academic accomplishment in a few selected secondary schools in the Mushin local government region. As a result, investigating this topic becomes a legitimate and compelling reason for me to perform this research.