CONNECTION AMONG APPROACH TO SCHOOL, CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION FOR FAILURE AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OKENE, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

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CONNECTION AMONG APPROACH TO SCHOOL, CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION FOR FAILURE AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OKENE, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA  

Abstract

This study examined the relationship among attitude to school, causal attribution for failure and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in Okene, Kogi state, Nigeria. The study had five objectives, and five hypotheses were formulated and tested. The population for the study was 2639 SSII students out of which 335 students studied included 210 males (63%) and 125 females (37%). Correlational research design was employed in the conduct of the research. The instruments used in collecting data were Students Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) and Academic Causal Attribution Scale (ACAS) with reliability coefficient of 0.84 and 0.93 respectively. Statistical

Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data at two different levels;

Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions, while Person Product-Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to analyze the hypotheses. Results of the analysis indicated that significant positive relationship exists between student attitude towards school and academic achievement (r = 0.353, p = 0.000), between student attitude towards learning and academic achievement (r = 0.413, p = 0.000), between external causal attributions for failure and academic achievement (r = 0.897, p = 0.000) and between students’ attitude to school and causal attributions with (r = 0.317, 0.000). However, significant inverse relationship was observed between internal causal attribution for failure and academic achievement (r = -0.927, p = 0.000). Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made. Teachers should give reward such as word of encourage to their students after every lesson so as to help them maintain positive attitude towards learning. The students should be encouraged to apply knowledge and skills taught through feedback and assignment.

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the Study

Education is the basic building block of every society and its core purpose since ancient times, has been to bring people to full realization of what it is to be a human being. To Ki-moon (2012) Education unleashes the optimal potential in people, improving individual livelihoods and those of future generations. In addition, a good education is more than an entry point into the job market.

Learning is the focus of the educational programmes. It occupies a very important place in human lives. Most what people do or do not do is influenced by what they learn and how they learn it. Kuppuswamy (2007:108) defined learning as, “ the process by which an organism, as a result of its interaction in a situation, acquires a new mode of behaviour, which tends to persist and affect the general behavioural pattern of the organism, to a certain degree” . Learning takes place when an organism reacts in a situation. However, in a school situation, various elements (the learner, environment, teacher, instructional materials, methodology) are involved in the process of learning. The learner is involved; unless the learner is prepared or enabled to learn, learning cannot be achieved.

Attitudes are psychological orientations developed as a result of one’ s experience which influences a person’s view of situations, objects, people and how to respond to them either positively or negatively, favourably or unfavourably (Mensah, Francis, Chisikwa, Indushi, & Lukas, 2013). Being one of the constructs of the affective domain, attitudes have been researched deeply for more than 40 years (Aiken & Aiken;

Koballa & Crawley, as cited in Can, 2012).

An attribution is a causal explanation for an event or behaviour in situations of success or failure, and also denotes the extent of control that people feel they have over the event (Basturk & Yavuz, 2010). These causal attributions are highly relevant for people’ s behaviour, emotions, and motivation and can be classified along four dimensions: locus, stability, controllability, and globality (Rania, Siri, Bagnasco, Aleo & Sasso, 2014). In the academic arena, the most important event is the success or failure of the learner to learn. Experience of failure in a task designed to test the level of learning is often followed by a ‘ naive’ reaction of blaming either lack of ability, lack of effort, difficulty of the task, or lack of luck. Success, on the other hand, is often followed by an attribution to possession of ability, exertion of effort, easiness of task, or possession of luck. While ability and effort are seen as personal factors internal to the learner, task difficulty and luck are seen as environmental factors external to the learner. On the other hand, ability and task difficulty are considered stable, while effort and luck are considered as unstable factors (Heider, 1958). These studies emphasize the importance of causal attributions and perceptions which further affects the motivation to learn.

Academic achievement of student is the ability of the student to study and remember facts and being able to communicate his knowledge orally or in written form even in an examination condition (Banks & Woolfson, 2008). The academic achievements of the students are believed to be greatly influenced by their academic attitude and causes of their success and failure (Basturk, 2010). Banks and Woolfson (2008) further explain that, attributions can have significant effects on academic achievement of students especially with those experiencing learning difficulties, thus, these students will more likely to display negative attributions than their peers. Mahboudi (2009) suggests that, “ Causal Attribution” is being one of the motivation theories manipulating the realization of decisions. In this process, the individuals try to decide on the causal factors of an event or consequence. This individual’ s response to a certain event is dependent on their interpretation of that event. He added also that, facilitating events prediction and control, the attributions explain the sensations, attitudes and behaviours and not only affect emotions but also manipulate individual’ s function.

Secondary education plays a crucial role in laying the foundation for the further education of students. If a good foundation is laid at the secondary school level, students can better cope with the challenges of life and profession with great ease. However, different people have explained different factors responsible for the academic achievement of students. Factors that influence students’ academic achievement at the senior secondary school are not conclusively known and could be multivariate in nature. They might include students’ attitude towards school and learning, attribution.

All senior secondary students desire success academically, but are driven by different motives and different stimuli for attainment of the success. Students do different things to attain desired academic performance. Some students lack self-confidence and may resort to examination malpractice for their test scores. Some are studious but still do not do very well in their educational pursuit, some have examination phobia maybe due to some unpleasant situations experienced at younger age in school that has resulted in apathy in schooling. While some students attribute their successes and failures to outside factors like their luck, teachers and other influential persons; some accept total responsibility for their successes and failures. Some students’ level of achievement is dependent upon the level of motivation they get from people directly or indirectly (Basturk, 2010). Though there may be other factors like social and environmental factors that militate against students’ achievement, the variables investigated in this study are centered on the students’ response to psychological stimuli of academic performance. The study is interested in finding out the magnitude and relationship among each of the psychological constructs (attitude to school and causal attribution for failure) and students’ academic achievement.

Attitude to school and causal attribution of students towards academic performance denotes a positive or negative predisposition toward schooling, learning, and how they attach causes to their success and failure. Most children come to school ready and willing to learn. How best can school foster and strengthen their predisposition and ensure that they leave school with the motivation and capacity to continue learning throughout life has remained a matter of great concern. Without development of the right attitude, students may not be well prepared to acquire the new knowledge and skills necessary for successful adaptation to changing circumstances and the necessary situation to achieve in their academic pursuit (Kuusinen & Leskinen, 2008).

Attitude is an important constructs in social psychology because it encompass powerful tendencies to feel, believe and act in a positive or negative way. Attributions are also among our most important constructs because they are part of what makes us human – our tendency to attempt to explain the events around us. Hence, this study intends to find out the relationship between attitude to school, causal attribution and academic achievement among secondary school students in Okene, Kogi state, Nigeria.

 

1.2   Statement of the Problem

In Okene area of Kogi state, Nigeria, various reform efforts have been launched to guide teaching and learning in secondary schools; the reforms (renovation of schools and teachers training and workshops) have not yielded any significant improvement in the general performance of the students. These reforms point to the structural factors but give little attention to student’ s factors. This is a clear indication that structural changes alone is necessary, but not sufficient condition in realizing an improved performance. Therefore, there is need to understand the learners themselves; their attitude to school, learning and their causal attribution for failure.

The researcher observed that, many secondary school students in the Okene area fail to learn and the failure to learn or achieve in school is not confined to less able but also many capable students fail to perform up to the required standard. Students continue to perform dismally as they lack the interest, curiosity and patience needed for learning and performing related tasks concerning academic achievement.

The researcher also observed that many youths in Okene, Kogi State who have written their Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) could neither fit into any tertiary institutions of learning nor the labour market in Nigeria because their academic achievement (performance in the SSCE) was poor, not up to the minimum standard requirement of five credit passes that must include English Language and Mathematics for admission; and this poor academic performance keeps increasing among the youths day-by-day.  As a way of seeking better understanding and combating the phenomenon of low academic achievement, this research is posed to investigate two of the psychological factors (attitude and causal attributions) with a view to identifying their relationship with the degree of contribution that they independently and collectively would have in the prognosis of students’ academic achievement.

 

1.3   Research Objectives

The objectives of the study are:

  1. to determine the relationship between students’ attitude toward school and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  2. to find out the relationship between students’ attitude toward learning and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  3. to ascertain the relationship between internal causal attribution for failure and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  4. to determine the relationship between external causal attribution for failure and students’ academic achievement in Kogi state.
  5. to determine the relationship between attitude to school and causal attribution among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.

 

1.4 Research Questions

The study sought answer to the following research questions.

  1. What is the relationship between students’ attitude toward school and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in Kogi state?
  2. What is the relationship between students’ attitude toward learning and their academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state?
  3. What is the relationship between students’ internal causal attributions for failure and their academic achievement in Kogi State?
  4. What is the relationship between students’ external causal attributions for failure and their academic achievement in Kogi state?
  5. What is the relationship between attitude to school and causal attribution among senior secondary school students in Kogi state?

 

1.5   Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between students’ attitude toward school and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between students’ attitude toward learning and the academic achievement of senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
Ho3: There is no significant relationship between students’ internal causal attribution for failure and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
Ho4: There is no significant relationship between students’ external causal attribution for failure and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
Ho5: There is no significant relationship between attitude to school and causal

attribution among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.

 

1.6   Basic Assumptions

This study is based on the assumptions that:

  1. Attitude to school may have relationship with the poor academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  2. Students’ attitude toward learning may have related low academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  3. Students’ internal causal attribution for failure may have contributed to the problem of academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  4. Students’ external causal attribution for failure may have relationship to problem of academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi state.
  5. Student’ s attitude to school, attitude towards learning and causal attribution for failure may be related to the problems of academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Kogi State.

 

1.7   Significance of the Study

The findings of this study, is significant because it will be of benefit to stakeholders, subject or curriculum designers, teachers, students, examination bodies, school administrators and counselors. This  study  would  help  in  understanding  the  importance  and  influence  of  the affective constructs regarding teaching and learning which would appeal to stakeholders to take the necessary measures.

For subject or curriculum designers, they can have some concrete evidence to

design curriculum, methodology and learning materials suitable for the low-achieving students to help them learn more favorably and successfully, by more or less considering their learning attitudes and academic causal attribution preferences as the bases for curriculum and syllabus development.

For teachers, the implications might help in preparing for teaching as well as developing teaching ability. Moreover, teachers can plan to deal with students’ failures by reacting appropriately to their mistakes and attributing their failure to positive elements that could enhance their performance in future learning activities rather than focusing on factors that might undermine students’ future endeavors. Teachers can also utilize appropriate strategies to help students improve how to deal with their attributions.

For the students, it is hoped that the study will create awareness for them on the causal attribution style they have and the influence it has on their academic achievement thereby make adjustment in their academic attitude.

The findings of the study could provide parents with the knowledge of the attitudes and causal attribution styles of their children and provide them with the needed support in their learning activities. This study will also provide examination bodies with the necessary knowledge of how to cater for students with different academic attitudes and causal attribution styles when setting examination questions.

Beside all these, the study could serve as source of reference material to other researchers in educational psychology and guidance and counseling and those that may want to conduct research in the area of students’ academic attitude and causal attribution. Above all, the findings could provide a basis for the restructuring of teaching methodologies, strategies, instructional materials and evaluation procedures.

 

 

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1.8   Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study covers all government public senior secondary schools students within Okene area of Kogi state Nigeria, SS2 students male and female from five schools were used in the study. The study is delimited to examine the relationship among attitude to school, causal attribution for failure and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in the study area with respect to attitude to school, attitude to learning, internal and external causal attribution for failure.

The study covered both male and female SS2 students in the public secondary schools of the study area. These SSII students are regarded as suitable for the study, because the SSI students may not be in the school during the exercise. Also, SSIII students will be busy preparing for the Senior Secondary School Examination/West African Examination Council (SSSE/WAEC). The reason for choosing government owned schools is their uniformity in socio-economic background, admission, staffing, availability of teaching materials and teachers’ discipline.

CONNECTION AMONG APPROACH TO SCHOOL, CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION FOR FAILURE AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OKENE, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA  

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