Psycho-social predictors of academic underachievement among senior secondary schools students in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State

Abstract

The study examined psycho-social variables as predictors of academic underachievement among senior secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey design of the ex-post facto type. A total of 288 senior secondary school students were randomly selected across Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State. A reliable instrument was used with coefficient alpha above 0.7. Three research questions were drawn and tested with Pearson’s product correlation and multiple regression. The result showed that there was a significant relationship between self-esteem, self-efficacy, large class size, study habit, socio-economic status and academic underachievement. The most potent predictor of academic underachievement was test anxiety. Followed by study habit, socio-economic status, self-efficacy and self-esteem. But large class-size was not a potent predictor of students' academic underachievement. This implies that there is high likelihood that student academic underachievement is an evidence of increased self-efficacy, self-esteem, test anxiety, socio-economic status, study habit; while increased socio-economic status will reduce the tendency of students' academic underachievement. Among others it was recommended that school counsellors should organize academic performance- boosting programmes. They should also develop one- on- one relationship with students in the school so as to help students develop high self-worth and good study habit, which can go alleviate anxiety and improve academic achievement