Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education Policy (Dec 2022)
Influence of Social Self-Concept on Academic Achievement of Secondary SchoolStudents in Imo State, Nigeria
Abstract
The study was aimed at investigating the influence of social self-concept (demographic variables such as age, sex and school ownership) on academic achievement of secondary school students in Imo State, Nigeria. The study was anchored on cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The entire secondary school students in Imo State, Nigeria formed the population while 1600 Senior Secondary (SS) I, II and III students selected using multistage sampling technique formed the sample. Social Self-Concept of Secondary School Students (SSCSSS) was the instrument for data collection. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, findings showed that students� social self-concept (demographic variables) such as school ownership (B = 8.069, t = 9.540, P = 0.000); age (B = 0.673, t = 3.551, P = 0.000); and sex (B = -0.879, t = -0.612, P = 0.541) made significant contributions to the prediction of students academic achievement. Hypothesis was tested at (0.05) level of significance. Based on the findings, it was concluded that among the three demographic variables, school ownership and age have more significant influence on academic achievement of the students and that school ownership influences academic achievement of the students more than age. It was recommended that more guidance and counselling services should be rendered to students in the secondary schools in Nigeria. This is to enable them work on their social self-concept (social demographic variables such as age, sex and school type differentiation) which may turn out to improve their academic achievement.
