ACADEMIC BEHAVIOUR AS CORRELATES OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN UGHELLI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
The research is aimed at studying academic behaviour and how such behaviour affects the academic performance of secondary school students in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Academic behaviour is referred to as students attitude towards their studies. Academic behaviour can also be referred to how students deal with their studies and how they cope or accomplish different task given to them by their teachers. Behaviour is the aggregate of the responses or reactions or movements made by someone in any situation. Therefore, study behaviour has been shown to be a good predictor of academic performance (Owolabi, 1996, Salami, 2004, Whilhite, 1990). When students are proficient in how to study effectively, how to take notes at all lectures, how to prepare for and how to take examination, it is very likely that they will perform well in their academic work.
Students with behavioural problems such as psychological distress, social problem, emotional, vocational, academic/intellectual behavioural problem are less likely to complete their academic task (Barday, 2004).
Interest: this is a sense of concern and curiosity about something, the nature of the subject matter may be of interest to students and this can motivate students interest towards their academic works. They are two forms of motivations which are: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
The intrinsic motivation is the pleasure or satisfaction derived from performing a task of personal satisfaction without a reward while extrinsic motivation is the satisfaction derived from engaging in a task merely to obtain rewards or avoid punishment from sources other than oneself, such as receive approval from their parents or to fulfil graduation requirements.
Habit is a pattern of behaviour acquired through frequent repetition. A students with good habit induction is likely to perform well in his academic works, recent theory and research on student learning had adopted a process oriented approach that uses cognitive and information processing modules which assumed that learning depends on students’ affection use of learning strategies (Brackney and Karabenick, 1995). These strategies involve ways that the learners manipulate information, plan, monitor or regulate the use of information, appropriate study methods, time and study environment.
