Immediate and Sustained Effects of a Study Skills Training Programme on Students’ Scores in Biology

Abstract

Low academic performance may result from students’ineffective study skills. Most teachers’instructions focus more on what students should learn; but less on how to learn. The authors investigated the extent to which a study skills training programme enhanced students’scores in Biology. 84 (42 males; 42 females) Senior Secondary School II students in Southwest, Nigeria participated in the study. This study used a matched two-group post-test design. We hypothesized that student who experienced the study skills training programme would performed better than those who did not participate in the training programme. Results showed that students who participated in the study skills training programme performed significantly better than those who were not
trained. An eight-month follow-up assessment involving 65 students (38 males; 27 females) revealed that students who experienced the study skills training programme maintained their superiority over the untrained low academic achievers in a Biology examination. It was concluded that low academic performance might be associated more with lack of effective study skills; but less with socio-cultural and school-specific factors. In order to enhance academic performance, student should be given course/subject-focused study skills training.