Digital Distraction and Study Habits as Predictors of Critical Thinking Skills in English Among Grade 7 Learners of Bigaan National High School, Division of Surigao del Sur: A Predictive-Correlational Study

Abstract

This quantitative predictive-correlational study determined whether digital distraction and study habits were associated with and jointly predicted critical thinking skills in English among Grade 7 learners of Bigaan National High School, Division of Surigao del Sur. Thirty-six learners with complete and valid responses participated through purposive selection of the grade level followed by an attempt at total enumeration. Digital distraction and study habits were measured through an adapted and contextualized Digital Distraction and Study Habits Questionnaire, while critical thinking was assessed using a researcher-made Grade 7 English Critical Thinking Skills Test. Weighted means, standard deviations, rank ordering, frequency and percentage distributions, Pearson product-moment correlations, and multiple linear regression were used. Digital distraction was very high, while study habits were moderate. The mean critical thinking score was 21.0286 out of 50 (42.06%), with performance concentrated in the Developing and Beginning levels. Digital distraction was significantly and negatively related to critical thinking, whereas study habits were significantly and positively related to critical thinking. The combined regression model was significant, F (2, 32) = 10.12, p = 0.000393, explaining 38.75% of the variance in critical thinking scores (R² = 0.3875). The findings indicate that managing digital distraction and strengthening structured study routines are relevant school-based directions for supporting higher-order English reasoning.