THE STUDY HABITS OF ACADEMIC HIGH FLYERS: A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF FEMALE ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS IN COVENANT UNIVERSITY

Architecture is one of the most highly subscribed courses of study in Nigerian universities. Architectural training in Nigerian universities, apart from being expensive, is generally considered tedious and very demanding requiring long hours of critical, analytical and creative thinking, and architectural draughting. Consequently, architecture is considered unsuitable for female students. In recent years, however, female enrolment in Nigerian schools of architecture has been on the increase. Preliminary enquiry suggests that some of these female students do not only compete favourably with their male counterparts but in some cases have distinguished themselves as academic high flyers. This qualitative study uses the interview method to investigate the study habits of these academically distinguished female students with a view to identifying those factors that have contributed to their success. Respondents are drawn from the School of Architecture, Covenant University Ota, where female students have excelled. They are identified through departmental academic records. Data is content analysed and descriptively presented. Findings of the study will assist the growing population of female architecture students in Nigerian higher institutions and elsewhere to improve their academic performance.