CORRELATION OF EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES WITH STUDENTS’ STUDY HABITS IN UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AKOKA

Abstract

Schools generally are established to expose students to a holistic curriculum that develops them mentally, physically, socially and morally through curricula and extra-curricular activities so as to be properly fit into society and the world of work. Thus, students are expected to par take in one extra-curricular activity or the other such as such as music, journalism, debating, sporting, and so on.  In the recent times however, it seems there has been low participation of students in these extra-curricular activities. This might not be unconnected with the notion that students’ participation in these activities could affect their study time negatively. The present study therefore investigated extra-curricular activities namely music, journalism, debating and sporting as correlates of undergraduate students’’ study habits in University of Lagos, Akoka. The study used the descriptive research design of the case study type. A self-designed validated and reliable(r=.86) questionnaire was used for data collection. Four null hypotheses formulated and tested of 0.05 level of significance guided the study. A total number of 3500 students was selected through simple random sampling technique. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPCC) was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between study habits and students’ participation in music(r=0.398; df-3498;p<0.05);journalism (r=0.404; df=3498; p<0.05); debating activities (r=0.811; df=3498; p<0.05); and Sporting activities(r=0.842; df=3498; p<0.05) respectively.  Based on these findings, it was recommended among others, that Institutional administrators should make adequate provisions for necessary equipment and facilities that will encourage students’ active participation in extra-curricular activities. Healthy competitions among students based on these extra-curricular activities should be encouraged and rewarded accordingly.