Chapter 1
PROBLEM AND IT’S SETTING
Introduction

Studying for an exam should be more than just a cramming session. Successful studying is an ongoing process that begins with the first day of classes and involves managing time and learning effectively from texts, lectures, and labs. It also involves developing a foundation from which to begin the pre-exam review. According to Pogue (2000), what is true about study habits was that more than thirty years ago still rings true today-students fail because they do not know how to study. The best advice he can give is to develop sound study skills.
Education is not merely about studying, hence in fact that the study habits directly reflects one’s self-learning ability and the lecturer’s effectiveness therefore it is significant to comprehend or find out the habits of students in able to effectively adjust one thus improve to the furthest effective learning.
The Majority in College success is due to motivation and time management. Anyone in the world who says that he or she can get through college without studying, or that he or she makes grades without studying is completely impossible. Success in college takes effort. This means that if he or she wants to do well then one must be willing to set aside time to study. One must have to sacrifice at times. However, effective time management, adequate time for school as well as a social life or free time to do the activities that one most enjoy. As stated by Abderisak (2007), time is an essential key. You cannot study properly without considering it; hence time management is most certainly a study technique in itself.
Given the hectic schedules of college students which need balance between academics and extra activities makes time management really important. Aside from this problem comes with the identity amongst Filipinos who are very much aware of the negative traits that were passed on by their folks. It is so hard for us to take away the traits they have since birth because it is already running through our blood so, this is one of the reasons that somehow greatly affect someone’s attitude or behavior in studying.
General Santos city in one of the fastest growing localities all over the Philippines that produce a quality graduates from different colleges and universities where students with better study methods and strategies score higher on their exams. Everyone is different. Different methods work for different people.
One of the Universities in General Santos City known as Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, is one of the most prestigious institutions that produce a high quality graduates is the focus of this research wherein the respondents come from AB- Mass Communication, second year.
The researcher will discuss more about the pre-examination habits of Notre dame of Dadiangas University, second year Mass Communication students and the problems that hinder the students to pass the exams.

Statement of the Problem This study aims to determine the pre-examination study habits of second year AB-Mass communication students in Notre Dame of Dadiangas University during the second semester of the school year 2012-2013. Specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions:
1. What are the profiles of the second year AB-Mass communication students of Notre Dame of Dadiangas University during the second semester of year 2012-2013 in terms of:
a. Sex
b. Age
c. Socio-economic status of their parents
2. What are the study habits of the second year AB-Mass communication students?
3. How effective are the study habits of second year AB-Mass communication students?
4. What are the factors that affect the study habits of second year AB-Mass communication students?

Significance of the Study The study is hoped to benefit the following:
• For the school teachers, the findings of this study may serve as bases for teachers’ counseling about the students’ pre-examination study habits.
• For the students, the findings of this study may serve as the bases for the effective techniques essential to the pre-examination study habits.
• For the school, these findings of the study may serve as the reference for the formulation of standardized steps or rules.
• For the guidance counselors, the findings of this study may serve as the reference for the formulation of common reasons why students fail in the examination in connection with the pre-examination study habits.
• For the researchers, the findings of this study may bring additional understanding or new discovery about the pre-examination study habits.

Scope and Delimitation This study was conducted to determine the status of pre-examination study habits of Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, second year mass communication students during the second semester of the School Year 2012-2013. The aspects looked into the students’ profiles, as sex, age and socio- economic status, study habits, effectiveness and the factors that affect the study habits.

Definition of Terms To give the readers a clearer understanding of the frequently used terms, they are defined conceptually and operationally. Pre-examination. This refers to the process involving a review of all returns, the planning files, commercial services and public records; operationally, this refers to the exercises evaluating skill or knowledge prior to the examination dates given by the school teachers. Study habits. This refers to a series of studying particular activities embark on by the students with a view to ensuring learning effectiveness; operationally this refers to as actions perform regularly and habitually in order to accomplish the long term task of learning
Notre Dame of Dadiangas University. This refers to the locale of the study which is founded by Marist Brothers; operationally this refers to the institution where the respondents are enrolled. Mass communication. This refers to as academic study of how individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time; operationally this refers to the course where the respondents are enrolled.

Conceptual framework
One of the problems that beset the educational system is poor study habit. Several studies found this problem challenging and therefore, efforts have to be exerted in order to determine the root cause. Students’ failure in academic subjects may not be due to lack of intellectual capacity, but perhaps it may be due to negative attitude toward school or toward study or poor study habits.
In application to studying process, immediate and regular study periods and doing school requirements tend to result in a better performance than delayed and erratic study periods do. When a modifiable connection between a situation and a response is not being used over a period of time, the strength of that connection is weakened. A behavior that is stimulated over regular periods will tend to be repeated leading to habit formation. A student who has this kind of behavior, in this case, in terms of having a regular and scheduled study periods and follows certain methods in studying proves to have better performance.
The student’s techniques in studying varies all the time depending upon the interest and time allocated in studying, behavior also affects.
Academic performance relies to the inculcation of prior learning of a student. This learning is called stocked knowledge that could be enriched upon studying accompanied with a good time management and appropriate behavior during the study session. In this view, the researcher wanted to study the factors affecting the study habits in the academic performance of students.

Conceptual Paradigm

Input Process Outputs