Self-esteem and Locus of Control as Correlates of Academic Achievement among Secondary School Students in Anambra State, Nigeria

Aim: The present study aimed at the correlation between self-esteem, locus of control and academic achievement of secondary school students in Mathematics.

Study Design: Correlation Survey Research Design.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted among senior secondary school students from the six education zones in Anambra state.

Methodology: This study was conducted among 18,297 senior secondary school students from the six education zones in Anambra state. The multistage sampling procedure was adopted to select a sample of 895 SS II students from Awka education zone. The instruments for data collection were; the self-esteem scale developed by Hare in 1975, the locus of control scale developed by Aston Trice in 1985. These instruments were examined and its usability and validity in Nigeria reported. The student’s terminal results in mathematics were gathered in order to measure student’s academic achievement scores in mathematics. The reliability of the instrument was as follows The Hare self-esteem scale was subjected to a test-retest reliability and indicated a good stability r = .56 to .65 for the three sub-scales and r = .74 for the general scale. The administration of the instrument was done through direct delivery approach. By this method, copies of the questionnaire were distributed personally to the respondents (SS II students) by the researcher with the help of the regular teachers from each school sampled, the teachers will be trained and enlightened on the research assistant’s role. Data relating to research question 1 and 2 was analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, while research question 3 was analyzed using simple regression analysis. The research hypotheses raised were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Multiple regression analysis determined the R, R – squared and R2 adjusted. The significant value on the coefficient table was used to test hypotheses 1 – 4, while the R, R – square and R2 adjusted coefficients were used to establish the percentage correlation among self-esteem, locus of control and academic achievement.

Results: The study shows that a moderate positive relationship of 0.544 exists between male secondary school students’ self-esteem and their academic achievement in Mathematics. The study also revealed that, there is a significant relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement of male secondary school students in Mathematics in Anambra State. Also, a low positive relationship of 0.336 exists between male secondary school students’ locus of control and their academic achievement in Mathematics. There is a significant relationship between locus of control and academic achievement of male secondary school students in Mathematics in Anambra State. The results also revealed a moderate positive relationship of 0.562 exist among secondary school students’ self-esteem, locus of control jointly with their academic achievement in Mathematics, similarly, there is a significant joint relationship among secondary school students’ self-esteem, locus of control and gender with their academic achievement in Mathematics.

Conclusion: Based on the analysis, it was concluded that, the absence of self-esteem and locus of control among students can lead to early discouragement, and in turn propel/ lead to poor academic achievement in core subjects despite the relevance of these subjects to academic growth and development. This can result in lack of interest and perseverance at school tasks, and ultimately, they may find it easier to avoid potential damage that might occur due to attributing failures to their own fault or ability.