Cypriot Journal of Educational
Sciences

Volume 15, Issue 4, (2020) 634 - 650
www.cjes.eu

Analysis of study skills employed by Ghanaian high school science

students

Godwin Kwame Aboagye a, University of Cape Coast, College of Education Studies, Faculty of Science and

Technology Education, Department of Science Education, Cape Coast, Ghana, https://orcid.org/0000-
0002-2268-8649

Kwaku Darko Amponsah b*, University of Ghana , Department of Teacher Education, P. O. Box LG 1181, Legon,
Accra, Ghana, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7824-6516

Eugene Adjei Johnson c, University of Cape Coast, College of Education Studies, Faculty of Science and
Technology Education, Department of Science Education, Cape Coast, Ghana, https://orcid.org/0000-
0003-2858-2199

Suggested Citation:
Aboagye, G. K., Amponsah, K. D. & Johnson, E. A., (2020). Analysis of study skills employed by Ghanaian high
school science students. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences. 15(4), 634 - 650. DOI:
10.18844/cjes.v%vi%i.5047

Received October 5, 2019; revised February 1, 2020; accepted August 3, 2020.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof.Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu, Higher Education Planning,
Supervision, Accreditation and Coordination Board, Cyprus.
©2020 Birlesik Dunya Yenilik Arastirma ve Yayincilik Merkezi. All rights reserved

Abstract

This study was motivated by the desire to explore the study skills employed by science students in senior high schools (SHS)
in the Cape Coast metropolis across the Central Region of Ghana. A total of 600 SHS second-year science students, 354 males,
and 244 females, took part in the investigation. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The “Study Skills Scale”
questionnaire was utilised for data collection to determine the kind of study skills employed by the science students, across
gender, age range, and school-type. The arithmetic mean was used to establish the degree to which students employ study
skills strategies in their learning. Similarly, the consequence of gender, age range, and school-type on the eight subscales of
study skills strategies was determined using a one-way multivariate examination of variance. Findings from the investigation
indicated that SHS science learners employ study skills strategies in their learning to a large extent for all the subscales of
study skills strategies. However, female students employ the memory and concentration study skills strategies more
effectively than their male counterparts; demographic variables, such as age range and school-type, do not influence
students’ study skills significantly. The implications for this study for policy and practice were discussed.

Keywords: Academic performance, age range, gender, school-type, study skills, senior high school science students.

* ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Kwaku Darko Amponsah, Department of Teacher Education, P. O. Box LG 1181,
University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
E-mail address: kdamponsah@ug.edu.gh / Tel: +233 550692191

http://www.cjes.eu/
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2268-8649
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2268-8649
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7824-6516
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2858-2199
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2858-2199

Aboagye, G. K., Amponsah, K. D. & Johnson, E. A., (2020). Analysis of study skills employed by Ghanaian high school science
students. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences. 15(4), 634 - 650. DOI: 10.18844/cjes.v%vi%i.5047

635

1. Introduction

Senior high schools (SHS) in Ghana are grouped as category A, B, C, or D schools based on several

factors, including academic achievement. Recently, civil societies in Ghana have indicated that the
scholarly performance of SHS' students in Ghana has declined, giving so many reasons for that effect
and proffering solutions to salvage the situation. Accordingly, the Institute of Statistical, Social and
Economic Research (2015) indicated that there is a decline in the excellence of education at the
various levels of the academic stream. It was observed that although there has been increased access
to education over the years, it is not matched by increased funding. It seems many students lose the
opportunity to attain tertiary education due to a missing link in the educational system in Ghana,
especially SHS, which some people presume is in crisis. Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic
Research (2015) opined that “Early Grade Mathematics Assessments” and “Early Grade Reading
Assessments” administered in 2013 indicated that after primary two, the majority of the pupils'
sampled were unable to read. This trend is very disturbing as it has the potential of being carried over
to the junior high school (JHS) and SHS. It is, therefore, not surprising that students’ academic
attainment, particularly in Mathematics and Science at the West African Senior School Certificate
Examination (WASSCE), is experiencing a decrease which became evident after the 2012 WASSCE. This
is worrying because according to the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (2015), it is
supposed to peak, as there have been increases in high school students’ enrolments with a
corresponding increase in the number of high school teachers recruited. In view of this, it is believed
that educational outcomes can be improved in several ways, but most importantly, an aspect that has
been overlooked, but which could be a remedy involves giving assistance to students to enable them
to regulate the way they learn. This can be done through the effectual use of learning techniques,
which are termed as study skills. This claim was confirmed by Bulent, Hakan, and Aydin (2015) who
alluded to the fact that the singular most important reason accounting for student's failure is the
deficiency in skills and attitude towards studies. Naqvi, Chikwa, Menon, and Al Kharusi (2018) further
claim that psychologists singled out study skills as the most contributory factor to student's
performance since it helps students to manage their time judiciously, use effective engagement
strategies and connect the basis for studying to their lifelong goals.

Learning skills are a group of proficiencies that are concerned with organising and assimilating novel
material, keeping the information that has been taken, or the act of assessment (Bremer, 2015). Some
of these proficiencies include mnemonics, which help with keeping lists of information, concentration
procedures, and efficient reading and effective note taking. These skills are usually crucial to academic
accomplishment in school and they are regarded as important for obtaining respectable grades, and
beneficial to lifelong learning of the individual (Bremer, 2015). This suggests that study skills comprise
a variety of combined neural structures that augment the effectiveness and learners' ability to accept,
keep, and process facts. Considering the preceding, learning abilities could be viewed through double
unmistakable, similarly significant features related to scholarly together with non-scholastic
procedures (Crede & Kuncel, 2008). Awang and Sinnadurai (2011) have indicated that academic
aspects of study skills include but not limited to information processing, memory techniques,
metacognitive understanding, and organisational and time-management procedures. Similarly, non-
academic aspects of study skills incorporate the outlook of fruitful learning, such as determination,
inspiration, self-viability, and craving for development and enhancement (Putwain, Sander & Larkin,
2013). In a research conducted by Bandura (1986) on self-efficacy, it was observed that attitude is a
more grounded indicator of progress than capability in a subject and can be conveyed to and
developed in learners. From the foregoing, it can be argued that the characteristics of learning abilities

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should be assessed as well as estimated by considering these two viewpoints: (1) factors, for example,
study techniques and propensities and (2) factors, for example, mentality and self-adequacy.

Accordingly, Nagaraju (2004), opined that utilising the brain to solve an issue or question, which is
an aspect of learning and an examination of a specific topic is referred to as study. It was indicated
that learning skills are usually crucial to accomplishment in school as they are the methodologies used
to assist learners to learn. Consequently, learning skills are thought about as indispensable for
obtaining decent grades, and helpful for learning for an incredible duration. Study skills may handle
the way of sorting out and taking new information or managing assessments (Nagaraju, 2004). Some
of these proficiencies include mnemonics, which help with keeping lists of information, concentration
procedures, efficient reading as well as competent note taking. Typically, study skills are characterised
as learners' capacity in time management and having different support systems to finish scholarly
work effectively (Ozsoy, Memis, & Temur, 2009). With regard to scholarly achievement, Bashir and
Matto (2012) characterised the scholastic achievement as the proportion of how much know-how the
individual has gained from school or teaching. Similarly, study skills are the number and sorts of study
schedules, which a learner uses during a standard time of study that happened in a favourable
learning atmosphere (Ozsoy, Memis, & Temur, 2009). This suggests that there will be a positive impact
on students' study skills if they persistently study in a congenial environment and in an orderly
manner. It is, therefore, essential for investigators to build up causal associations between identifiable
study methods and viable learning embraced by the learners to eventually improve their scholarly
achievement. Based on the above discussion, there is a surge in the number of research studies
regarding study skills because its utilisation is very firmly connected with scholastic accomplishment.

A classroom setting is a perfect atmosphere in which study skills can be taught, as they form a part
of the curriculum from primary school to the secondary school level. In any case, a look into previous
research materials demonstrates the absence of preparation in learning expertise and tendencies
amid instructors of state-funded institutions (Cornick, Guy, & Beckford, 2014). Despite the way that
the research affirms by and large upgrades in scholarly accomplishment when learners apply great
study skills, it has been observed that curriculum for offering students with precise study procedures
does not exist as mandatory and is infrequently available within US schools (Demir, Kilinc, & Dogan,
2012). Teachers within primary and secondary schools (i.e., since these are the formative stages
students' academic life) ought to teach study strategies, which would be then transformed into study
inclinations and in the long run to improve student inspiration, self-viability, and scholarly
accomplishment as they move from lower to upper grades. A study was conducted among middle
school teachers on study skills and the report uncovered that educators did not teach these skills in
the classroom as they had limited know-how of study skills (Thorpe, 2010). Further researches
conducted by Smith, Groves, Bowd, and Barber (2012) as well as Shetty and Srinivasan (2014) have
shown that focused study skills programme is more effective and produces positive results when
introduced at the lower level of the academic ladder than at higher education. A research conducted
by Renzulli (2015) revealed that university students on scholastic probation lacked the study skills
strategies that were expected to enable them to finish their tertiary programmes. The research has
shown that when students with different abilities apply study skills strategies across numerous subject
areas, their academic achievement is fundamentally enhanced (Awang & Sinnadurai, 2011). Similarly,
grade point average (GPA) has been seen to increase across gender, socioeconomic status, and
different academic areas so long as there is an effective use of study skills strategies (Al-Hilawani,
2016). Consequently, Yadav, Ansari, and Savant (2000) opined that it is evident that for students to
develop optimum knowledge and perceptual capabilities, they should adopt stringent study skills
strategies. This suggests that learners need to be guided to utilise relevant studying strategies in order
for them to have the capability for appropriate concepts development. Thus, the achievement of

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learners, using study skills strategies, will be enhanced as a result of the ease with which most
concepts can be learned. This argument is supported by Ogbodo (2010) who is of the view that
achievement of learning goals depends on the utilisation of appropriate study skills strategies since
learners engage in a prescribed pattern of study behaviour. Ogbodo opined that there is a universal
perception that suggests that most learners are grumbling that they do not attain better grades, which
could be attributed to poor study skills of students, as well as the improper attitudes exhibited by
learners regarding study as the development of good study habits are barely considered. Crow (1968)
demonstrated that learning includes the improvement of legitimate study propensities and abilities
yet seen that the issue of study skills is one of the widespread significant issues both from a
theoretical and practical perspective.

1.1. Statement of the problem

The studies reviewed so far have revealed that study skills are vital to learners’ academic
accomplishment (i.e., educational excellence, students' intelligence, and their affective features).
Research has indicated that even though there is an abundance of interactive tools and pedagogic
methods than ever before, the study habits of students in the 21st century has not received the
attention that it deserves at the high school level (Entress & Wagner, 2014; Feurerstein & Falik, 2010;
Ogbodo, 2010). Again, students are not able to manage their time for effective learning, organise their
notes for effective studies and focus on main ideas while reading because there has been little or no
emphasis on study skills (Cornick et al., 2014; Demir et al., 2012; Thorpe, 2010). Even though various
research studies have been directed on study skills at various levels of education, there appear to be
very limited studies available which assessed all eight subscales of study skills. Motivation, time
management and test preparation, and test anxiety are three study skills strategies investigated by
Bulent et al. (2015) for undergraduate students. The study found the mean scores of the three factors
measured to be quite high. Their results also found there was no substantial variation among boys and
girls regarding motivation, quiz preparation as well as test anxiety but found the mean scores of
female undergraduate’ time management to be high. Research studies have shown that different
students have unique skills and that what may be good study skills for one individual may not be good
for another (Ebele & Olufu, 2017). Also, variations in student attributes, such as age and gender, and
type of educational setting, such as school-type, can influence how study skills are effectually used
(Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan, & Willingham 2013). Consequently, Dunlosky et al. observed that
older students, for instance, may benefit more when introduced to good study skills than younger
ones since their basic cognitive abilities may influence their easy accommodation such study
strategies. Although studies have been conducted on the variables, such as age and school-type affect
students' performance, learning styles and other variables, their effect on study skills has not been
sufficiently explored. Accordingly, the motivation behind this research was to discover the current
study skills strategies SHS science students employ in learning science based on the demographic
variables (age, gender, and school type) in the Central Region of Ghana. The investigation was guided
by one research question and three hypotheses. A 0.05 level of significance was used to test the
hypotheses.

1.2. Research Question

1. To what degree do senior high school science students use study skills strategies in their
learning?

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1.3. Hypotheses

1. There is no statistically significant difference in the study skills strategies employed by SHS
science students in learning across gender.

2. There is no statistically significant difference in the study skills strategies employed by SHS
science students in learning across school-type.

3. There is no statistically significant distinction in study skills approaches employed by SHS
science students in learning across age range.

2. Literature review

The focus of this study concentrated on eight study skills strategies often reported in the literature
as the most useful strategies that promote students’ learning. The literature reviewed on the eight
strategies used is presented.

2.1. Time management and procrastination

Claessens, van Eerde, Rutte, and Roe (2007) describe time management as an array of procedures
for managing, and scheduling together with proper usage of time. In addition, it is the process of
scheduling and showing awareness of the amount of time it takes to explicitly exercise, principally to
build capability, competence together with output. It’s made up of the different requests normally
made upon an individual concerning work, social life, family, pastimes, specific interests of people and
responsibilities in relation to the end of time. The efficient use of time allows the individual to decide
on spending/overseeing activities at a time convenient to them (Cottrell, 2013). It is a strategy for
effective time use in accomplishing several tasks. Having enough time often to accomplish tasks,
individuals usually postpone action to the last minute (i.e., procrastination). Steel (2007) has observed
that the adjournment is made up of the determined postponement of a scheduled strategy, regardless
of being conscious of negative results. Academic procrastination is termed as postponing scholarly
responsibilities, of which some examples are, getting ready for examination and carrying out one’s
take home assignment to the end and to experience uneasiness resulting from this action (Capan,
2010). Similarly, Van Eerde (2003) conducted research on academic procrastination and found that
academic procrastination and academic achievement have a moderate to a strong negative
association.

2.2. Memory and concentration

An essential obstruction to educational accomplishment is the challenge of defending the pursuit
of educational objectives emanating from undesirable interferences. Some of the undesirable
interferences include but not limited to focusing in a classroom setting, finishing take home tasks,
reading, and focusing during a quiz (Parks-Stamm, Gollwitzer, & Oettingen, 2010). One needs to
process information in a friendly atmosphere (concentration) in order to avoid such impediments and
be able to process and retain task-relevant information or working memory (Fougnie, 2008). Baddeley
(2000) opined that working memory as indicated by one widely utilised model is also accountable for
controlling attention and the process which is included in an array of regulative activities, as well as
the recovery of information from long-term memory. Additionally, operational memory comprises
numerous parts whose activities are coordinated, and which is accountable for the provisional
stockpiling and handling of data (Alloway & Alloway, 2010).

2.3. Test strategies and test anxiety

Researchers, instructors, and counsellors have been worried over the years with their lack of
understanding of students' emotional experiences, such as test anxiety, during the testing process.

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This is because they believe that test anxiety might have a devastating effect on achievement in an
exam, scholastic accomplishment, and overall well-being of the student (Bonaccio & Reeve, 2010).
Hunsley (1985) found that test anxiety is positively correlated to poor test performance when taken
either at the commencement or at the completion of the semester. However, Chapell, Blanding and
Silverstein (2005) observed the rather substantial opposite correlation between test apprehension and
learners’ GPA. The findings revealed that the results (average of a B+) of tertiary students with low-
test- apprehension were better than the results (average of a B) of those with high-test-
apprehension. This goes on to prove that test apprehension plays a crucial part in student learning and
achievement.

2.4. Study aids and note-taking

Researchers continue to conduct research on the approach used by students to review notes on the
improvement of the process of taking and reviewing notes as university students need these skills to
have a meaningful learning experience (Grabe, 2005). Accordingly, Kobayashi (2005) observed that
undergraduates are of the view that copying notes ensures one paying attention to the lecture notes,
understanding of the lecture notes to be well-read, and the consequent remembrance of information.
Unfortunately, some individuals are of the view that notetaking alone has the propensity of facilitating
the act of comprehending and systematising the learning material. Slotte and Lonka, (1999) indicated
that these categories of people are those who summarised their lecture notes knowing very well that
such summaries are irrelevant as they could not possibly use them later. The findings in another study
revealed that the instruction on note-taking strategy had a substantial influence on learners’ academic
accomplishment (Haghverdi, Biria, & Karimi, 2010), which agrees with the view that scholastic
excellence correlates positively with effective notetaking.

2.5. Reading and selecting main ideas

Research has shown that reading comprehension is a multifaceted intellectual capacity that needs

the ability to incorporate written information into the knowledge base of learners, which results in the
amplification of rational illustration (Meneghetti, Carretti, & De Beni, 2006). This suggests that the
motivation for reading is to try to understand what the author seeks to communicate. This can be
done by going through two layers of reality: invisible and visible layers (Küçükoğlu, 2013). Therefore,
the goal of reading is to make what we cannot see visibly clear (Kose, 2006). Thus, people become
lopsided and seize to spark if they relinquish their reading habits. To avoid this obstacle, teachers
should teach reading strategies to help improve students' comprehension (Kucukoglu, 2013). Similarly,
Block and Israel (2005) opined that the development of generic skills, such as the capability to
anticipate, make associations, visualise, infer, question, and summarise are approaches that have
been shown to enhance reading comprehension. The majority of people believe that early effective
reading is likely to promote a progressive life-course bearing, encouraging incredible academic and
psychosocial outcomes, though hindered reading capabilities are likely to provoke fewer charming
outcomes (Kern & Friedman, 2009). It implies that reading exercises are assigned to students to aid
their comprehension of scholastic materials and to identify the interrelationship among concepts.
Cogmen and Saracaloglu (2009) indicated that reading comprehension approaches can be beneficial in
the sense that, it aids readers to recollect important facts, determine which information is useful or
not, consider the key idea, and make a comment on the issue under discussion.

2.6. Motivation and attitude

Motivation has been defined as the usual positive force by Osa-Edoh and Aluta (2012) which

determines why people achieve their capabilities and perform good works. Nagaraju (2004) stated
that motivation is a condition of a creature, which includes the presence of a necessity that drives the
creature from inside and guides its undertakings to an objective that can achieve the fulfillment of the

640

necessity. This implies that motivation alludes to whatever is inside a person that pushes the person
into activity without influence from other individuals or circumstances. Motivation makes individuals
develop the strength to accomplish a task without taking inspiration from external sources (Ncube &
Zondo, 2018). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are the two types of motivation used by learners in
the course of their studies. Intrinsic motivation refers to attaining something since it is inherently
captivating or appealing, whereas extrinsic motivation makes reference to achieving something since
it gives rise to a distinguishable consequence (Mizuno et al., 2008). In effect, one needs either of the
two motivations or both to muster courage in order to accomplish a task or purpose. It is, therefore,
not surprising for Komarraju, Karau and Schmeck (2009) to contend that scholarly achievement is
unequivocally influenced by individual differences in motivation.

Attitude is a pattern of beliefs established over a period in a given socio-cultural setting. These
beliefs play a vital part in the learning process. There is a general agreement that a positive attitude
establishes the framework for learning and vice versa (Bain, McCallum, Bell, Cochran, & Sawyer,
2010). Students who are motivated or de-motivated have different perceptions about their educator,
the class they belong to, and the curriculum that they use. These perceptions form the foundation of
attitudes that students have towards learning.

2.7. Organising and processing information

It has been observed that the educational difficulties encountered by many learners are as a result
of the absence of personal organisation together with discipline rather than a lack of intellectual
ability. Accordingly, Komarraju et al. (2009) indicated that disciplined and ordered learners stand a
better chance of being inspired compared to their counterparts who are unmanageable and clumsy. In
addition, a significant issue in scholastic achievement is information processing. Surface-level
processing and deep level processing are two methods used by learners in processing information.
Whereas surface-level processing consists of information processing approaches like (e.g. analysing,
memorising, and repetition), deep level processing encompasses information processing approaches
such as (e.g. relating, structuring and critical thinking) (Rozendaal, Minnaert, & Boekaerts, 2003). Even
though both methods reveal some form of regulation rooted in them, learners who continuously
memorise the lecturers’ notes are reliant on a system of outside guidelines. However, learners who
make use of critical thinking ability to process knowledge laterally together with writers, lecturers
together with learners alike, validating the consistency of instructions given by the teacher show
resourcefulness and are likely to be more regulating itself without intervention from external bodies
(Vermunt & Verloop, 2000). It implies that the proper processing of information leads to greater
learning outcomes.

2.8. Writing skills

Writing is an intricate, complicated, and decisive act of correspondence, achieved in diverse settings,
under numerous time constraints, and with a diversity of language resources and high-tech tools
(NAEP, 2011). This suggests that all exercises related to the assessment for writing should specify its
exact purpose, and the specific audience writing should address (NAEP, 2011). In most countries’
educational systems, the evaluation of literacy skills and broad educational accomplishment through
structured essay-type examination is being utilised frequently and exponentially in many subject areas
(Brown, 2010). The rationale for this is that this approach has offered a better way of recording final
scores and subject selection. Consequently, writing skill is an uncommon capacity that permits
essayists to communicate their reflections as important words and of a psychological collaboration
through composed messages (Jani & Mellinger, 2015; Knoch, May, Macqueen, Pill, & Storc, 2016).
Writing skills can assist students in improving their independence, eloquence, and ingenuity in writing.
Students will also become better communicators in various ways when they master these skills as it
makes others to comprehend their ideas in a better way.

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3. Conceptual Framework

This investigation was based on the assertion that demographic variables, such as gender, age

variations together with the type of school students attend, can influence the study skills strategies
and the utilisation in learning science which can improve students' performance. The conceptual
model for this study is represented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Model of the conceptual framework

The study has shown that gender plays a critical role in the way learners assimilate knowledge. A

significant proportion of the literature pointed out the fact that female learners exhibit impressive
study skills comparatively to their male counterparts simply because they take down notes carefully,
pay attention, have the ability to recall information obtained from lectures, spend more time on
assignments and tasks, more serious on managing their time efficiently and setting goals and planning
(Bulent et al., 2015; Naqvi et al., 2018). However, a few studies also reported that male students
possess great thinking and analytical skills than female students (Gledhill & Van der Merwe, 1989).
This shows that gender has a serious influence on how students adopt study skills in their learning.

Despite no literature, after the extensive search, was found on how age difference and school-type
influence the students using study skills in their learning, research studies maintain that no matter the
age or academic level (Ashish, 2013), programme of the study and the areas of specialisation (Bulent,
2015; Helfand, 2017) and level of study (Papa et al., 2016; Sekar & Rajendran, 2015), students differ in
the type of study skills they employ in learning. We can use this evidence as a proxy to assume that
students can differ in the way they use study skills across school-type. It can be concluded that
demographic variables, such as gender, age range, and school-type have the tendency of influencing
the type of study skills strategies students are likely to use in learning.

The key assumptions that most researchers (Demir et al., 2012; Kumar, Kulkami, Kavitha, &
Manjunath, 2016) have made were that when students possess effective study skills, they are likely to
perform creditably academically. This means there is a positive significant relationship between study
skills together with students’ achievements (Demir et al., 2012; Ogbodo, 2010). Adeninyi (2011)
further upholds the view that employing worthy study skills in learning provides learners with the
opportunity to perform and aspire for higher education careers. It is for this reason that the current
study was conducted.

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4. Methods

4.1. Research Design

This study adopted the cross-sectional survey design since the aim of the study was to investigate

the study skills science students at the SHS level use in learning. This design was the most appropriate
because it has the potential of gathering standardised information on study skills using the same
instruments and questions for all participants and can also be used to ascertain cause and effect
relationships across variables being measured (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007; Creswell, 2012).

4.2. Sampling procedure

A total of 600 SHS 3 students randomly sampled from 6 out of the 10 SHS offering the General

Science programme in the Cape Coast Metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana took part in this
study. Out of the 10 SHS, there are only two girls, only three boys, and five mixed schools. Two schools
out of each category were sampled to participate in this study. The computer-generated random
numbers were then used to sample 100 SHS 3 science students from each school for the study. Table 1
presents the distribution of the sample with respect to gender, school-type, and age range.

Table 1: Distribution of the sample across gender, school-type and age range

Variable N=600 N (%)

Gender

School-type

Males

Females

Boys only

Girls only

Mixed

356 (59.3)

244 (40.7)

200 (33.3)

Age range

12-14

15-17

18-20

10 (1.7)

513 (85.5)

77 (12.8)

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4.3. Instrumentation

In order to determine the study skills strategies employed by the students in Ghanaian SHS, the
“Study Skills Assessment Questionnaire” developed by the University of Houston Clear Lake's
Counselling Services was adopted. This instrument consists of 64 items designed to measure eight
subscales of study skills, namely: Concentration and Memory, Motivation and Attitude, Organising and
Processing Information, Reading and Selecting the Main Idea, Study Aids and Note-Taking, Test
Strategies and Test Anxiety, Time Management and Procrastination, and Writing skills. Each subscale
also consists of eight items. Items on the questionnaire were scored on a four-point Likert-type scale
format starting from: 1 = Never 2 = Sometimes 3 = Usually to 4 = Always. To ensure that the items on
the instrument were valid to measure the study skills of SHS in the Ghanaian context, it was pilot
tested with 100 students in one SHS in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in Western Region of Ghana. The
reliability coefficient calculated using the Cronbach alpha correlation was 0.89. This coefficient
indicates that the items were internally consistent.

The interpretations used by Cottrell (2005) and Maltepe (2016) in their studies to ascertain the
extent to which learners utilise study skills strategies in their learning were adopted. The total scores
obtained by the students on the entire instrument were analysed by converting them into standard
scores. Scores between 64 and 128 were considered as low, moderate if it is between 129 and 192,
high if it is between 193 and 256 and very high if the scores are over 256.

4.4. Data collection procedure

Permission was sought from the school authorities and the teachers available during the period of
data gathering in order to undertake the study. Regarding each class, the sampled students were
educated on the purpose of the study and procedure for responding to items on the questionnaire.
Students were urged to think critically about each item carefully by taking a decision. It took students
about 50 minutes to finish responding to the questionnaire.

4.5. Data processing and analysis
Descriptive statistics, specifically, means, standard deviations and standard scores were utilised to
address research question one from the data obtained. This was on the grounds that the research
question sought to research the degree to which learners utilise the eight study skills methodologies
concerning their learning. The three null hypotheses were tested using a one-way between group
multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The plan was to test whether learners vary regarding the
eight sub-constructs of study skills across gender, school-type, and age range.

5. Results and discussion

5.1. The extent to which senior high school science students use study skills strategies in their learning

In this study, the extent to which SHS science students employ study skills strategies in their learning
was sought. To get an answer to this question, the data were analysed descriptively, and the findings
presented in Table 2.
As indicated earlier, students will have a low study skill ability if the score is between 64 and
128, moderate if it is between 129 and 192, high if it is between 193 and 256 and very high if over 256
(Cottrell, 2005; Maltepe, 2016). Based on these criteria, it was deduced that SHS science students
employ study skills strategies in their learning to a high extent for all the subscales. This finding
indicates that students devise extra means to study outside the classroom. The fact is that since the
SHS science curricula are much loaded, there is a high possibility that should students rely solely on

644

what the teachers teach in the normal classroom setting they may not be able to finish the entire
curricula.

Table 2: Scores of students using study skills strategies in their learning (N = 600)

Study Skills

Arithmetic
Mean

Standard
Deviation

Standard
Score

Time management and procrastination 3.89 .57 248.96

Memory and Concentration 3.36 .45 215.04

Study aids and note-taking 3.71 .61 237.44

Testing strategy and test anxiety 3.49 .46 223.36

Reading and selecting the main idea 3.83 .60 245.12

Motivation and attitude 3.88 .59 248.32

Organising and information processing 3.87 .55 247.68

Writing skills 3.51 .65 224.64

Total 3.69 .40 236.16

It is possible that the students engage in other activities, such as personal independent studies,

group studies, and extra classes in order to complete the curriculum and be ready for the external
final examinations (WASSCE). This suggests that they may be employing these study skills strategies to
be in tune with the demands of the educational system. This finding partially confirms the finding of
Bulent et al. (2015) that undergraduate schools mean scores in three strategies of study skills (i.e.,
motivation, time management, and test preparation and test anxiety) to be quite high. The ability of
students to utilise a high level of study skills strategies in their learning could have been acquired from
their formative school stages.

5.2. Hypothesis testing

To test the null hypotheses of no statistically significant differences in the study skills approaches
employed by SHS science students in learning across gender, age range, and school-type, a one-way
MANOVA was conducted to determine the effect of gender, age range and school-type on the eight
sub-strategies of study skills. Preliminary screening of the data showed no violation of all assumptions
of MANOVA for homogeneity of covariance matrices, linearity and multicollinearity, multivariate
outliers, and multivariate normality, normality, and test of equality of error variance. The descriptive
statistics for the gender, age range, and school-type of science students with respect to the study skills
strategies are presented in Table 3. As shown in Table 3, it is difficult to find whether the independent
variables differ across the various sub-scales of study skills and so further analyses were performed to
establish whether there were statistical differences.

645

Table 3. Descriptive statistics for gender, age range and school-type with respect to the eight study skills
strategies

St
u

d
y

St
ra

te
gi

e
s

Ti
m

e
m

an
ag

em
en

p
ro

cr
as

ti
n

at
io

M
em

o
ry

a
n

co
n

ce
n

tr
at

io
n

St
u

d
y

a
id

a
n

d
n

o
te

-
ta

ki
n

Te
st

in
g

st
ra

te
gy

an
xi

et
y

R
ea

d
in

g
an

d
s

el
ec

ti
n

m
ai

n
id

ea
s

M
o

ti
va

ti
o

n
a

n
d

at
ti

tu
d

O
rg

an
is

in
g

an
d

in
fo

rm
at

io
n

p
ro

ce
ss

in
g

W
ri

ti
n

g
sk

ill
s

M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD

Gender

Male 3.88 .54 3.31 .44 3.68 .62 3.50 .47 3.82 .62 3.92 .60 3.90 .54 3.52 .62

Female 3.89 .60 3.43 .46 3.75 .60 3.47 .44 3.84 .57 3.83 .58 3.83 .57 3.50 .69

Total 3.89 .57 3.36 .45 3.71 .61 3.49 .46 3.83 .60 3.88 .59 3.87 .55 3.51 .65

Age range
12-14 3.71 .60 3.19 .36 3.54 .82 3.49 .44 3.92 .64 4.01 .48 3.63 .70 3.26 1.02

15-17 3.88 .56 3.35 .44 3.70 .62 3.49 .45 3.83 .60 3.88 .58 3.87 .53 3.50 .63

18-20 3.97 .62 3.46 .53 3.78 .56 3.50 .53 3.81 .64 3.87 .71 3.89 .62 3.60 .73
Total 3.89 .57 3.36 .45 3.71 .61 3.49 .46 3.82 .60 3.88 .59 3.87 .55 3.51 .65

School-type
Boys only 3.86 .54 3.30 .42 3.61 .64 3.48 .47 3.78 .61 3.89 .59 3.87 .53 3.49 .61
Girls only 3.93 .56 3.42 .43 3.78 .58 3.49 .40 3.86 .56 3.86 .56 3.88 .55 3.50 .66
Mixed 3.88 .60 3.37 .49 3.74 .61 3.50 .51 3.85 .63 3.90 .63 3.87 .56 3.54 .68
Total 3.89 .57 3.36 .45 3.71 .61 3.49 .46 3.82 .60 3.88 .59 3.87 .55 3.51 .65

5.3. Differences in the study skills strategies employed by senior high school science students across gender

To test the hypothesis of no statistically significant differences in the study skills strategies

employed by SHS science students in learning across gender, a one-way MANOVA was conducted.
Pillai’s Trace criterion was considered for the multivariate analysis because it’s considered to be the
most robust statistic against violations of assumptions (Field, 2006; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). There
was a statistically significant difference in mean scores between male together with female science
students on the combined dependent variables [F(1, 598) = 3.693, p < 0.001, Pillai’s Trace = 0.048, η2 =
0.048]. This means that about 5% of the multivariate variance of the eight dependent variables was
associated with gender. A post-hoc power analysis also showed that at a critical F(1, 598), the
observed power of the test = 0.987, which means that the probability of finding a true significance as
indicated in MANOVA is about 99%. Hence, the assumption of no variation was overruled.

Since it became evident there was a statistically significant difference for the combined dependent
variables, a follow-up univariate ANOVA tests was conducted to check the between-subject effects of
the dependent variables on male and female science students. The results of the univariate ANOVA
indicate that the only difference in mean scores to reach statistical significance was concentration
[F(1, 598) = 10.778, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.018, power = 0.906]. A review of the mean scores as represented
in Table 3 indicates that the female students who offer science (M = 3.43, SD = 0.46) employ memory
and concentration as a study skills strategy than their male counterparts (M = 3.31, SD = 0.44). On the
other hand, the univariate ANOVA results indicate that there was no statistically significant difference
in mean scores between male and female students for the study skill strategies: time management
and procrastination [F(1, 598) = 0.126, p = 0.723], study aids and note-taking [F(1, 598) = 1.931, p =
0.165], testing strategy and test anxiety [F(1, 598) = 0.560, p = 0.454], motivation and attitude [F(1,

646

598) = 3.242, p = 0.072], reading and selecting main ideas [F(1, 598) = 0.203, p = 0.653], organising and
information processing [F(1, 598) = 1.901, p = 0.168] and writing skills [F(1, 598) = 0.172, p = 0.678].

It is no wonder that female science students use memory and concentration study skills strategy
more often than males. This confirms the observations made by numerous studies (Bulent et al., 2015;
Hagborg, 1991; Naqvi et al., 2018) that females have superior study habits as compared to males.
Females, generally, make notes, pay attention, take instructions and spend more time on assignments
and tasks during lectures and can store and recall information better (Bulent et al., 2015; Hagborg,
1991; Naqvi et al., 2018). This was elaborated more in a cross-sectional study by Al-Shawwa et al.
(2014) who found out that 45.7% of females study between 3 and 4 hours a week as equated to their
male counterparts (31.4%).

5.4. Differences in the study skills strategies employed by senior high school science students across school-
type

To test the hypothesis of no statistically significant differences in the study skills approaches

adopted by SHS science learners across the three school-types—boys only, girls only and mixed— a
one-way MANOVA was conducted. There was no statistically significant difference in mean scores
among the three school types on the combined dependent variables [F(2, 597) = 1.344, p = 0.162,
Pillai’s Trace = 0.036]. The assumption of no significant difference was, hence, not overruled. This
implies that students in all three school types employ the eight study skills strategies to the same
level. Since every school type follows specific philosophy, mission, and vision and rules (Ebele & Olofu,
2012), it was hoped that this could affect the way the students use study skills in learning, but the
finding was contrary. It could be that schools in the study area used for this study follow similar ways
of fostering learning.

5.5. Differences in the study skills strategies employed by senior high school science students across age range

To test the hypothesis of no statistically significant differences in the study skills approaches

employed by SHS science learners across age range (i.e., 12–14, 15–17 and 18–20), one-way MANOVA
was used. These age ranges were used because the lower and upper age ranges, 12 and 20,
respectively, represent the typical minimum and maximum ages of students in SHS (Sarfo & Ansong-
Gyimah, 2011). No statistically significant difference was obtained as indicated by the age range [F(2,
597) = 1.232, p = 0.236, Pillai’s Trace = 0.033]. It can be inferred that all science students in the age
ranges used in this study employ the eight study skills strategies to some extent. This result
contradicts the findings of Ebele and Olofu (2012) who posited that several factors including the age of
the students affect study skills used by students in learning.

6. Conclusion and recommendation

Although this research was small-scale research limited to a single metropolis within Ghana, it
provides some pertinent insights into the extent to which SHS science students use the eight subscales
of study skills strategies in their learning. With regards to the results of this study, it can be established
that SHS science students utilise the eight subscales of study skills (i.e., Time Management, and
Procrastination; Concentration and Memory; Study Aids and Note-Taking; Test Strategies and Test
Anxiety; Organizing and Processing Information; Motivation and Attitude; Reading and Selecting the
Main Idea and Writing skills) to a high extent, female students employ the memory and concentration
study skills strategy more effectively than their male counterparts, demographic variables, such as age
range and school-type, do not influence students study skills significantly.

647

It is recommended that additional variables that contribute positively to students’ use of study skills
in their learning should be investigated in further studies to determine their relative importance on
students’ performance. Further studies are needed to determine how the study skills strategies are
integrated into the high school curriculum to foster learning. It is suggested that instructors should
teach students how to utilise these study skills strategies in their studies.

Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the students who responded to their instruments and the authors
whose materials they consulted.

Conflict of interest

The authors confirm that there is no conflict of interest with respect to the data presented in this
paper.

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