The Role of Study Skills in Academic Achievement of Students: A Closer Focus on Gender

The study aimed at identifying various study skills used by the learners, to ascertain which study skill is more related to academic achievement and to compare the use of study skills between girls and boys. The sample consisted of 300 intermediate students (173 girls, 127 boys) taken from 10 colleges of Abbottabad, Pakistan. Modified version of Scale for Study Habits and Attitudes (Ansari, 1983) was used to identify study skills. Academic achievement was determined by marks scored by students in Annual examinations conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Abbottabad. The findings indicate significant relationship of time-management skills, reading, and note-taking skills with academic achievement; there were nonsignificant relationship for other study skills. Students with higher academic achievement use a wide range of study skills as compared to students with lower academic achievement. Analyses further revealed that the girls were better in using study skills as compared to boys. The results of this study may pave the way for further research leading to improve teachers’ thrust on developing learners having sufficient skills.