Psychological Variables as Correlate of Students’ Academic Achievement in Secondary School Economics in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines psychological variables as correlate of students’ academic achievement in secondary school. There is alarming concern about the poor performance of students in the Secondary School Certificate Economics. It is against this background that this study investigated the relationship between psychological variables (study habit; locus of control and self-efficacy) and secondary school students’ achievement in Economics. The study adopted survey research design of the ex-post facto type. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample for this. Data were analysed using Pearson Product Moment correlation and multiple regression statistics. The findings revealed that study habit made the greatest contribution to students achievement in Economics (b = .653; p<.05). This was followed by locus of control (b = .580; p<.05). These two variables made contributions which are significant. Only self-efficacy made no significant contribution to their achievement in Economics (b = .450; p>.05). It is, therefore, recommended that these factors should be taken into consideration in order to enhance the understanding of Economics.