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Study Habits and the Perceived Factors that Distract the Concentration of La
Salle University Freshmen

Article in SSRN Electronic Journal · January 2017

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2979233

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Study Habits and the Perceived Factors that Distract the Concentration of La Salle University
Freshmen

Anna C. Bocar
0000-0002-3895-7567
anna@gulfcollege.edu.om
Gulf College

Marylene N. Tizon
0000-0002-7004-7336
marytizon1774@gmail.com
La Salle University
ABSTRACT

This paper aimed to determine the study habits of the freshmen and the factors that
distract their concentration. The objective of every student to be outstanding in the class is
attainable with good study habits. There are students who garnered exceptional ratings while
some failed in their class performances. Students experience disturbances that are distractions
in their studies. Utilizing the descriptive survey design, this study investigated the extent of
respondents’ study habits and the factors that distract their concentration. The ninety-seven
officially enrolled freshmen who are taking board programs answered the questionnaires. The
study utilized the purposive sampling method in gathering the data. The findings disclosed that
the respondents’ study habits are good enough to some extent, but they still need to develop
their skills in some areas of their studies. Though there is none of the factors utilized in this
study that distract respondents’ concentration at all times, they should exercise more
sensibility and interest in their classes since this may lead to academic failures. Proper
adjustment to other items of distraction should also be done to achieve good results.

KEYWORDS: Education, study habits, factors that distract concentration, descriptive survey
design, Philippines

INTRODUCTION

There are no easy steps towards learning. This is not a method of getting and giving
good ideas or using one’s mind to arrive at a brilliant solution of a problem. Learning is not
static. The process of learning and the availability of information keep changing all the time.
Study habits are very essential for students to cultivate. They have to nurture it and
given more time to attain success in their life. As students, they must be aware that this is part
of the learning process. Though good study habits should be coupled with appropriate time
and place, it should be noted also that these cannot be done without the willingness of the
students.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2979233

 The students through reading observe the feelings of the author. Reading requires good
study habits. In the learning process, good study habits and skills are essential components
that would help in the interpretation of reading resources. Students need to be responsible and
must consider study habits as their property. They must be aware that they have to do all their
works in the time allocated for it. They should know how to balance their time for classes,
family, socialization and time to be alone to study their lessons.
To allocate high priority in studying, reading, note taking, doing research from the
Internet, phasing time wisely and eliminating distractions are necessary for them to succeed in
their studies.
In the Philippines, where parents are busy in making money support the basic needs of
the family including education study time must have to be flexible. Parents could set rules to
guide their children with regard to their study time.
Students are expected to excel in all phases in their life either it be inside or outside the
school at La Salle University. To be excellent is the goal but to be outstanding could be the
objective of every student. This objective is attainable with diligence in many aspects of life as a
student. There are students who garnered exceptional ratings while some failed in their class
performances. The researchers observed that students in the subject institution are coming
from different socioeconomic status. Students with different socioeconomic status have
different ways applied in their studies. Some students conferred that they were not able to get
good grades as other students had due to some distractions in their studies. Thus, this study
investigates the extent of students study habits and the factors that distract their
concentration.

FRAMEWORK

The area of specialization can be mastered through the employment of good study
habits. Igun (2007) learned that mastery and excellent performance of the students in the class
is attained when the students possess good study habits. To read privately outside the class is
consider as a tool to master the subject or topic. Studying away from the public signifies good
study habits since through this way one could have serious concentration (Nneji, 2002).
The habit of studying the lessons for the next coming days needs correct time
management. Effexis (2004) said time management improves the quality of life and one will get
more value of it. When one aims to get academic success time, management skills are equally
important. According to Sansgiry, Bhosle and Sail (2006), “time management refers to clusters
of behavioral skill sets that are important in the organization of study/course load. They
continued saying that the time management skills include activities performed by students such
as test preparation and following schedules”.
Reading is one of the skills that require good study habit. Loan (2012) declared reading
as makes a person understand the message, a way that a person will be challenged to think,
recall and communicate concepts to other people. Moreover, Loan (2012) revealed reading as
an art and through reading students could interact clearly. Reading is the ability to recognize,
and examine words or sentences and understand the information. It is a cognitive process of
understanding a written linguistic message and examining and grasping the meaning of written
or printed characters, words or sentences. The college students have positive attitudes towards

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2979233

reading and majority of them spend almost two hours on academic and non-academic reading
daily. The students developed reading habits mostly through self-efforts followed up with the
help of parents and teachers respectively. The results of this study further disclosed that the
college students prefer to read in morning (Loan, 2012). In addition, Mokhtari, Reichard, and
Gardner (2009) mentioned in their paper that development and overall academic achievement
students is attained through reading.
Fielden (2004) demonstrated “the selecting, analyzing, critiquing and synthesizing” are
the products of students intuitiveness. Insightfulness of the students plays a significant role in
their student life. Igun (2007) found that her respondents study from the materials downloaded
from the Internet. In the present days, this mode of collecting valuable resources for future use
is the current trend. Most of the educational institutions make an effort to acquire computers
to equip and advance the learning of their students.
In the test taking/ preparation skills of the students, confidence is developing during
the years of stay in the academic institution. The analytical and critical thinking skills are
present based on the study habit. Moreover, students need adequate guidance on
improvement to perform better (Sansgiry, et al., 2006).
Igun (2007) disclosed the writing skills of the students can be supported by well-
organized study habits. Efficiency in studying the subject matter will equip the students with
analytical skills, deepen their capacity for critical reasoning, increase self-reflection, augment
conceptual grasp and enhance their ability to learn alone.
To come to class beyond the time of classes is a personal decision. It is a personal factor
which may distract concentration of learning. Aside from tardiness, absences and failures in
the classes, the lack of engagement can cause students’ lack of interest in the subject.
Moreover, the findings in the study of Baker et al. (2002) illustrated that peer-assisted
learning was an effective way of improving student scores on computation problems, but
generally, there is a mixed effect on the achievement in Mathematics subject.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study concentrated on the extent of study habits of LSU freshmen and sought to
describe on what are the factors that distract concentration on their studies. Specifically, the
researchers’ desire:
1. To determine the extent of their study habits in terms of:
1.1. Time management
1.2. Test taking / preparation skills
1.3. Note taking skills
1.4 Reading skills
1.5. Writings skills
1.6. Mathematics skills
2. To find factors that distract the concentration of the respondents at all times?
 METHODOLOGY

The descriptive survey was the main method utilized in this study. The purposively
selected students consist as the sample population in the collection of data. The researchers
obtained permission from the Dean of College for the administration of survey questionnaire
and asked the consent of the student-respondents.

Research Environment
On May 17, 1994, the school Immaculate Conception College-La Salle was formally
turned over to the De La Salle Brothers. Under the new ownership and management, the
future of Immaculate Conception College-La Salle is assured. Down through the years it has
enjoyed a reputation for excellence in education and has been justly proud of its alumni who
have assumed roles of leadership in the Church and the Community not only in Ozamiz and
other places of the Philippines but also in many countries of the world.
La Salle University offers elementary, secondary, and tertiary education. It also offers
graduate programs like Master of Education Major in English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science
and Social Studies, Master of Arts in Education, and Doctor of Philosophy in Education. It has
seven colleges and one school namely: College of Education (CED), College of Business and
Economics (CBE), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), College of Computer Science (CCS), College
of Engineering (COE), College of Accountancy (COA), College of Nursing (CON) and School of
Hospitality Management (SHM). All these seven colleges and one school envision to be
community of high caliber professionals exhibiting performance in teaching, research,
extension and academic services. They seek to provide relevant tertiary Lasallian Education and
produce socially responsible, highly qualified and globally competitive graduates in the different
disciplines. They also aim to give students opportunities to develop facility and mastery in the
use of English and to help students develop proficiently their oral communication skills in
English as well as their reading, writing, and critical skills. Now, the university works hard in
developing and producing graduates who are well equipped with the ability to communicate
well in English and with the skill to think critically and logically for them to compete and survive
globally amidst a multitude of complicated duties and responsibilities in the real world.

Research Respondents
The study centered on the ninety-seven first year college students or freshmen who are
taking board programs. To know their strengths and weaknesses are important before taking
the board examination. Suggestions are introduce after this study. This paper utilized the
purposive sampling method.

Research Instruments
The first part of the instrument utilized in this study was adapted from the paper
entitled Virginia Gordon University Survey: A Guidebook and Readings for New Students (2013).
Slight modification was made to be more suitable to the chosen respondents of the present
study. The study habits were divided into six subparts. These are the time management, test
taking/preparation skills, note-taking skills, reading skills, writings skills, and Mathematics skills.
The first two of the six subparts mentioned earlier consist of eight indicators, while the four
other subparts are measured through the six indicators in each part.
Moreover, the factors that may cause distraction to students’ concentration in their
studies were taken from an online article published by North Dakota State University (2011).
This portion is assessed by three subparts with their respective indicators namely: Physical
Environment at Home: younger siblings play and demand for attention; my parents assign me
household chores and errands; noise is produced by household appliances; the room is dark or
dimly lit; the atmosphere is humid and stuffy. Psychological Factors’ indicators are: people or
chatting in the room; my attention span is shorter; too many emails to write and reply; thinking
too much of upcoming events; the embarrassing incident that happened earlier is in the mind;
Moreover, the gauges for Personal Factors are: interest in the classes is low; lack ability to
concentrate due to breakup with boyfriend/girlfriend; home environment is troubled; have an
abusive relationship with parents; have fights with peers at schools. The indicators above
mentioned are utilized in the entire duration of the study to obtain the answers of the
respondents.

Data Gathering Procedure

The survey questionnaires were distributed to the first year students. In order to
guarantee that the items in the instrument are clear to the students the researchers assisted
the students during the administration of the questionnaires. The researchers explained the
procedures of answering the questionnaires and at the same time clarified the points raised.
Once the tools were retrieved the responses were tallied.

Statistical Tool and Treatment of Data

The accomplished questionnaires were collected and the responses to each instrument
were tallied. The data were then processed and tabulated.
To determine the extent of study habits, the researchers use the interpretation in the
paper Virginia Gordon University Survey: A Guidebook and Readings for New Students (2013).
Since there were eight indicators for the titles time management, and test taking/preparation
skills the determination of the extent of the study habits of the respondents on the gathered
data were treated as follows: when the respondent checked not more than two of the
indicators given (0-2) this means that the student needs help in this study habits; when the
respondent checked at least 3 but not more than 5 (3-5) of the indicators this means that the
study habit of the student is good enough, but improvement is needed; and when the
respondent checked at least 6 but not more than 8 (6-8) of the indicators this signifies that the
study habit of the student is Great. While, the other four titles, namely: note taking skills,
reading skills, writings skills, math skills had only six indicators in each the numerical value is
different, the verbal interpretation was just the same. This means that when the respondent
checked 0-2 this indicates that the student needs help in this study habit; when the
respondent checked at least 3 but not more than 4 (3-4) of the indicators this suggests that
the study habit of the student is good enough, but improvement is needed; and when the
respondent checked at least 5 but not more than 6 (5-6) of the indicators this implies that the
study habit of the student is Great. After the tabulation of the gathered data, interpretation
was then done through the use of frequency and percentile distribution.
 For the factors that distract concentration the weights assigned to the scale were noted.
The weighted mean of each item was determined. The following formula was applied:

∑ ƒx
μ =
N

where: μ = weighted mean

∑ = summation
ƒ = number of responses under each scale
x = the weight assigned to each scale
N = number of respondents

For discussion purposes the researchers formulated the scale and assigned a
hypothetical mean range as follows:

Table 1. Scale of Measurement

Numeric Hypothetical Mean
Value Qualitative Scale Verbal Description Range

1 Sometimes means that the item is a distraction in few

times 1.00 – 1.75

2 Often means that the item is a distraction at majority

of the time 1.76 – 2.50

3 Very Often means that the item is a distraction at most of

the time 2.51 – 3.25

4 Always means that the item is a distraction at all time

3.26 – 4.00

This study utilized the above statistical treatment for interpretation purposes of the
gathered data.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section presents the outcome of the study. The discussion is provided to simplify
the results of the investigation. The straight forward discussion is illustrated based on the issues
raised in this paper.

Freshmen’s Study Habits

The Table 1 below brings to light the degree of respondents’ study habits in the six
different skills. As shown in the results of the study the time management and test
taking/preparation skills of the respondents disclose that majority of them are doing all right.
This means that in terms of these two (time management and test taking/preparation skills)
study habits they are doing well but improvement is needed. The findings of this study indicate
that the respondents aim to get academic success. They put into action the real meaning of
time management. Therefore, this suggests to impliedly agreeing what Effexis, (2004) when he
said, “Using time to improve the quality of life and getting more value of it is called time
management”. As manifested by the respondents, the results further agree to Sansgiry et al.
(2006), when they said that “time management skills include activities performed by students
such as test preparation, and following schedules”. In view of the fact that the respondents are
yet freshmen the theory mentioned in the paper of Sansgiry et al. (2006) are impliedly
acceptable in relation to this present study when they specified that in the test taking/
preparation skills of the students, confidence could be developed during the years of stay
in the academic institution. The way of studying, analytical and critical thinking skills are
acquired during this period. Thus, the students should be given adequate guidance on how to
improve their skills in order to perform better.

Table 2. Extent of the study habits of the respondents

Good enough, but
Need Help improvement is Great
needed
Study Habits Point F % F % F %
*Time Management 7 7.22 66 68.04 24 24.74
*Test Taking /Preparation Skills 26 26.81 51 52.58 20 20.61
*Note Taking Skills 23 23.71 28 28.87 46 47.42
*Reading Skills 34 35.05 48 49.49 15 15.41
*Writing Skills 24 24.74 31 31.96 42 43.30
*Mathematics Skills 36 37.11 41 42.27 20 20.62
*Adapted from: Virginia Gordon’s University Survey: A Guidebook and Readings for New Students (2013). Its
indicators are slightly modified.

On the other hand the outcome of the study depicts that the study habits of some of
the respondents as regards to note taking and writing skills range from good enough but
improvement is needed to great, while only few of them declared that they need help in this
point. This signifies that their ability to take notes during their classes is well organized and is
efficient and thus, they knew what the necessary points to write down. Furthermore, this
suggests that some of the respondents found no difficulty to review their notes after classes,
trouble-free in highlighting what are the important points when reading some class materials
and capable enough to translate their notes through the use of their own words. This result
impliedly agrees with the words of Igun (2007) in his paper which held that efficiency in
studying the subject matter will equip the students with analytical skills, deepen their capacity
for critical reasoning, increase self-reflection, augment conceptual grasp and enhance their
ability to learn alone.

Finally, as regards to the reading and math skills of the respondents, the study depicts
that only few are doing great in these two study habits. This indicates that majority of them
needs help. The findings exposed in this study sound contradictory to the study conducted by
Loan (2012). The previous study (Loan, 2012) revealed that the college students have positive
attitudes towards reading and majority of them spend almost two hours on academic and non-
academic reading daily. Loan (2012) said reading is the ability to recognize, and examine words
or sentences and understand the information within. It is a cognitive process of understanding
a written linguistic message and to examine and grasp the meaning of written or printed
characters, words or sentences. Therefore, students at all levels, including adolescents and
adults, are expected and encouraged to engage reading (Mokhtari et al., 2009). When reading
skills are yet to be developed the students need more time to make it great.

Distraction Factors as Revealed by the Freshmen

The Table 3 highlights the factors that have effects to respondents’ attention on their
studies. The investigation reveals that among the three factors that distract respondents’
concentration on their study none of them suggested that this is a factor that distracts
respondents’ concentration at all times.

Table 3. Factors that distracts the concentration of the respondents

Items Item Average

µ Interpretation
Physical Environment at Home
1.younger siblings play and demand for attention 1.81 Often
2. my parents assign me household chores and errands 2.06 Often
3. noise is produced by household appliances 1.86 Often
4. the room is dark or dimly lit 1.66 Sometimes
5. the atmosphere is humid and stuffy 1.86 Often
Factor Average 1.85 Often

Psychological Factors
1. people or chatting in the room 2.12 Often
1. my attention span is shorter 1.88 Often
3. I have too many emails to write and reply 1.63 Sometimes
4. I am thinking too much of upcoming events 1.95 Often
5. I have in mind the embarrassing incident that happened earlier 1.88 Often
Factor Average 1.89 Often

Personal Factors
1. my interest is low in my classes 1.95 Often
2. I lack ability to concentrate due to breakup with boyfriend/girlfriend 1.36 Sometimes
3. my home environment is troubled 1.58 Sometimes
4. I have an abusive relationship with my parents 1.39 Sometimes
5. I have fights with peers at schools 1.38 Sometimes
Factor Average 1.53 Sometimes

It can be noticed that among the five items under the factor physical environment at
home most of the items are rated Often except item No. 4. The latter shows that it distracts the
respondents’ concentration Sometimes. This means that most of the items disturbed
respondents’ concentration at majority of the times except one (No. 4) which distracts
concentration in few times.
 Furthermore, under the psychological factors only item No.3 was observed to redirect
respondents’ attention Sometimes. This signifies that to reply too many emails turn away
respondents’ attention in few times. However, in the entirety the result demonstrated that
physical environment at home and psychological factors are the two factors that Often
distract respondents’ concentration. This means that these two factors switch their attention at
majority of the time. The students must choose a certain area of the library or the home
where distractions are less to concentrate their studies.
While the personal factors draw away respondents’ concentration in few times as
denoted in the factor average of Sometimes, low interest in their classes was discovered to
have distracted the respondents Often. This signifies that this item distracted the respondents’
concentration at majority of the time. The respondents need to remember, “Studying
effectively is not an all-night cram session the day before the exam. It involves readings,
attending lectures and tutorials, and participating throughout the semester.
Additionally, the result of this study focused only the students who are taking board
programs in the university, and as such, students from the other programs offered by the
school are not included in this investigation. The researchers utilized only the six areas of study
habits and three factors that distract students’ concentration in their study.

CONCLUSION

As derived from the findings of this study the researchers conclude that the respondents
still need to develop and widen their time management and test taking/preparation skills.
Their note taking and writing skills should have to be enhanced and they need to exert more
concentration on how to augment their reading and math skills. Though there is none of the
factors utilized in this study that disturbed respondents’ concentration at all times, respondents
should have to exercise more sensibility and interest in their classes since this may lead to
academic failures. Proper adjustment to other items of distraction should be done to achieve
good results.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Adequate study skills will reduce the degree of frustrations and failures on the part of
the students. In order to reach ones goal in school good study habits are necessary. The good
study habit could also be a foundation for a flourishing work habits; therefore, the researchers
would like to recommend the following:
1. The first year students or freshmen should concentrate on the development of their
study habits that weak, namely: reading and math skills. They should develop positive attitudes
towards reading and mathematics subjects since the good reading skills and in-depth
comprehension are necessary weapons to have a better understanding on the different subject
matters.
2. Parents should instill to the minds of their children that they should develop a system
in learning their lessons and that they should use this system effectively and consistently.
 3. Administrators of board programs should show support and extend encouragement
to their students so that they would possess more competence to study the subjects that they
believe to be difficult.
4. Teachers should help the students realize that they can control how well they do in
school and in life.
5. LSU administrators must work together to initiate some better programs or plans to
help the students reduce the feeling of difficulty in Mathematics.
6. Other researchers may make an effort to conduct a study on what are the possible
solutions to perform that may remedy students’ difficulty more specifically in Mathematics.
7. Educators within and outside the Philippines need also to consider the culture,
beliefs, values and socioeconomic status of the students. These could be contributory factors
towards students’ difficulty in nurturing their study habits.

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