Journal of Education and Psychology

The major purposes of this study were (1) to investigate the interactive relationship between pupil control ideology and locus of control in terms of students' study habits and attitudes. (2) to investigate whether or not there were differences between students from elite high schools and ordinary high schools in terms of pupil control ideology and students' degree of locus of control.

Participants in the study were 1601 students from two types of high schools-the elite high school (the top three high schools of each school district) and the ordinary high school. Responses were obtained from the Pupil Control Ideology Form, Nowichi-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and Brown-Holtzman Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes. Four factors implicated in students' study habits and attitudes were investigated: study attention, study interest, test intellectuality, and study plan. It was hypothesized that students with external locus of control would be more accustomed to custodial pupil control orientation and those with internal locus of control would prefer a humanistic orientation.

The major findings of the study are as following:

1. It was found that male high school students felt their class teachers to be more custodial than female students. The Same situation was found from students of both ordinary high schools than those of elite high schools.
2. It was found that there was no significant difference between male and female students in terms of locus of control. Surprisingly, students from elite schools tended to have a more external locus of control than their counterparts, at ordinary high schools.
3. It was found that students from elite schools had better study habits and attitudes for two of the four factors: test intellectuality and study plan. .
4. It was found that there was no interactive relationship between pupil control ideology and students' locus of control regarding students' study habits and attitudes. It was indicated that, in terms of study habits and attitudes, students with different degrees of locus of control didn't have a preference for specific pupil control ideology.

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