Study habits

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of Local Education System and GCSEsystem by comparing the scores obtained by first yearMBBS students of both streams ofeducation in the first professional exam. The study also determined the effect of educationsystems on the study habits of these students. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting:Rawal Institute of Health Sciences, Islamabad. Period: June 2015 to June 2016. Methods:Students of first year MBBS were interviewed by the researcher by using a close endedquestionnaire to compare the study habits between the two groups. First professional examscores and study habits were noted and compared in both the groups of students comingfrom two different educational systems by applying Independent Sample T test and Chi Square(χ2) test of independence, respectively, using SPSS 21 version. Results: After analysing thedata gathered, it was found that students from both the systems performed equally in the firstprofessional exams irrespective of their educational background, hence there is no relationshipbetween the type of secondary education and performance in professional examinations.Similarly, there was no association between the study habits and the system of education. Ourstudy concludes that study habits are personal traits and vary from one student to anotherstudent. Conclusion: The performance of students cannot be calculated simply through thesystem of education because of the complex and intermingled associations between cognitive,affective and contextual factors in higher education. This study concludes that predictability ofacademic success based on education system attended is questionable.