Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol 3, No 12, 2012 119 Study Habits of Higher Secondary School Students of Working and Non-working Mothers Mehraj Ud Din Sheikh 1* Qamar Jahan 2 1. Research Scholar, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, UP, 202002, India. 2. Associate Professor, Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, UP, 202002, India. * E-mail of the corresponding author: mehrajamu@gmail.com Abstract The present study aims at to find out whether the study habits of higher secondary school students of working mothers (WM) differ significantly from those of non-working mothers (NWM). The study further compared the study habits of higher secondary school students of working and non-working mothers on the basis of gender. The sample of the study consisted of 100 secondary school students (25 male students of working mothers, 25 female students of working mothers, 25 male students of non-working mothers & 25 female students of non-working mothers)of the age group 16 to 18 years belonging to different localities selected randomly from different educational institutions of district Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir. Study Habit Inventory constructed by Mukhopadhyaya, M & Sansanwal, D.N was administered to the selected sample to assess their study habits and Self constructed General Information Questionnaire was used to elicit information regarding the subjects age, sex, family type, single parent or both parent, mother whether working or non-working, kind of work, number of working hours, educated/uneducated etc. The data so collected was analyzed statistically by employing mean, SD and t-test. The study revealed there were insignificant differences between the adolescent students of WM and NWM on the measure of comprehension, study sets, interaction, drilling, recording and language dimensions of study habits but significant differences were found between the students of working and non-working mothers on the measures of concentration, task orientation and supports. Regarding the total study habits the higher secondary school students of working mothers had significantly better study habits than those having non-working mothers. Further the study revealed that female students of WM had significantly better study habits fallowed by male students of WM, female students of NWM and male students of NWM. Key Words: Study Habits, Working and Non-working mothers, Higher Secondary School Students 1. Introduction Women employment rate has increased very rapidly over the last several years. Entry of women in the field of salaried jobs was a result of number of factor such as economic needs, spread of education among women, social and national reform movements attracted the attention of the people towards women empowerment, search of identity, freedom to women all over the world by recognizing equality as a fundamental right irrespective of sex, race etc. The education of women is not imperative for the benefit for the women only but uplift of the society also. Today women from all corners started working in government, semi government or private salaried jobs. The entry of women in the workforce brings changes in the structure and function of family. Every member of the family occupies a vital position in the interaction map of the child but among them the role of mother is important and varied. Mother plays important role in the personality development of the children by shaping their intellectual and social behavour. Study conducted by Hoffman (1961) found that children of working mothers had lower intellectual performance than a matched group of children whose mother does not work. Some studies revealed that while the lack of mothers presence can impact a child negatively this impact is not as serve as what occurs if the mother does not work. Such factors include poverty, parental education and quality childcare (Booth, 2000). Children of non-working parent get higher grades in high schools, but at the same time feel less pressure about doing so (Essortment, 2002). Children of working mothers do not suffer any differently from anxiety, antisocial behavior or stress related problems than those of non-working mothers, had fever stereotyped gender-role attitudes and felt their mothers are more competent. Children of working mothers were also found to have a feeling of that they had control over their environment (Gershaw, 1988). Work usually adds meaning to life this is especially true for women who enjoy their work. If a working mother is happy with her job to provide her child daily needs they may perform as a parent as well or better than a non-working mother. The working mother encouraged their children to be more independent, self-sufficient and self-independent from an early age (Hock, 1980). Researchers got interested in the field of education of children of working and non-working mothers, to find out the problems and benefits. Because, maternal employment is very imperative