Die verband tussen studiegewoontes en –houdings en akademiese prestasie

Abstract

The aim of this research project is firstly to determine whether factors other than study habits and attitudes influence academic achievement and secondly whether there exists a relationship between study habits and attitudes and academic achievement, as well as between the components of study habits and attitudes and academic achievement. To reach this aim a literature study was undertaken which was followed by an empirical investigation. It emerged from the literature that various factors influence academic achievement (sec chapter two) and that most writers agreed that there existed a relationship between study habits and attitudes and academic achievement as well as between the various components of study habits and attitudes and academic achievement (see chapter three). The empirical investigation made use of the information gathered in 1980 in the Orange Free State (see chapter four ). All the Afrikaans speaking pupils in the Orange Free State during 1980 were included in the research program. Different measuring instruments, of which the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes, Form H, was the most important for this project, were used (see paragraph 4.5) to identify a Large variety or independent variables (respectively the experimental and control variables - see paragraph 4.6) that influence academic achievement. The dependent variable for this research was the standard ten average marks as well as marks in the allowing subjects: Afrikaans, English, Mathematics and Science (see paragraph 4.6.3). The BMDP-computer program (Dixon and Brown, 1979; revised 1983) was used to process the results. The different statistical techniques are described in paragraph 4.7. A factor analysis was carried out to group the different variables according to their correlation coefficients with the standard ten average marks (sec table 5.1). The 67 independent variables (respectively the experimental and control variables) were grouped into different factors. The 18 factors were then used as independent variables to determine their contribution R2 (see tables 5.2 and 5.3). Next the separate and collective contribution or the components or study habits and attitudes (respectively the experimental variables) to R2 in each or the dependent variables (respectively standard ten average, Afrikaans, English, Mathematics and Science) was determined (see tables 5.4 and 5.5). The results or this study can be submitted up as follows: (1) Apart from study habits and attitudes other factors influence academic achievement. (2) Study habits and attitudes contribute a statistical significant proportion or the variance in academic achievement. (3) With a few exceptions the components or study habits and attitudes do not contribute a statistical significant proportion or the variance in academic achievement.