Moral Values and Self-Efficacy of Senior Secondary School Students in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of sound orientation to moral values on the self- efficacy of senior secondary School Students in Cross River State, Nigeria, in terms of their social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, language self-efficacy and moral self- efficacy to wit. Ex-post facto design was employed in the study. The sample comprised of 1,543 students randomly drawn from 47 public schools in Cross River State. The questionnaire used for data collection was designed by the researchers and was titled Moral Value Orientation and Self-efficacy Questionnaire (MVOASEQ). To ascertain the validity of the instrument, four research experts in Educational Psychology and in measurement and evaluation were contacted while the reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. One Way Analysis of Variance was used to analyze data collected from 1,529 subjects, tested at .05 level of significance. The results revealed a significant influence of moral value orientation on social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, moral self-efficacy and overall self-efficacy. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Parents, teachers, school administrators and curriculum planners, should as a matter of fact, emphasize moral education in the school curriculum, educate students on respect for elders and the dangers of protecting friends who commit crimes.