CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is the process of developing the individual socially, morally, intellectually, physically, spiritually and emotionally. These changes can occur only through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, facts and belief to improve the performance of the individual.

Knowledge acquired through education is man’s greatest weapon and his greatest assets. Therefore the development of any nation available or assessable to its countries. Since there is no short-cut to success. In education; success is therefore the result of preparation, hardwork and learning from failure. In education, academic success means achieving the targets an individual set for his/herself, against the set standard for whatever task the individual engaged in.

According to (Bandura, 2002), academic success to the demonstration ability to perform, achieve and or excel in scholastic activities, it has been identified with achieving high grade and superior performance.

Albert (2000) see self-efficacy as the ability to the students “I care” or “I cannot “belief, self-efficacy reflect how confident students are when performing a specific task. Self-efficacy belief affect the behaviour of a student through how he/she feels, think motivates him/herself and also influence what activities student select, how much effort they put forth, how persistence they are in the face of difficulties of the goal they set.

In secondary school, self-efficacy is very important to students whose needs include time management, elimination of distractions, hard work, reflection, determination have a focus, honesty, note taking, internet, skills, coordinate communication and assigning a high priority to study.

Self-efficacy entails how much do you want to go and how much do you want to learn. To study is to buy out the time and dedicate self to the application and the task of study which is to become engrossed in a process of learning practice. Therefore academic success refers to dedicated scheduled and un-interrupted time to apply oneself to the task of learning without it, one does not grow and become self-limiting in life.

According to Bandura (2004), self-efficacy is referred to as people’s belief about their capabilities to produce designated level of performance that exercise influence over event that affect the secondary school student life. It also determine how the student feel, think, motivate themselves and behaved. Such beliefs produce these diverse effect through four major process, they include cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes.

A strong sense of efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways, people with high assurance in their capabilities approach difficult task as challenges to be mastered rather than as threat to be avoided, such efficacious outlook fosters intrinsic interest and deep engrossment in activities they set themselves challenging goals and maintain strong commitment to them, they heighten and sustain their effort in the face of failure. They quickly recover their sense of efficacy after failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills which are acquirable.

However, some student who doubts their capabilities shy away from difficult task which they view as personal threats, they have low aspirations and wreck commitments to the goals they chose to pursue. When faced with difficult tasks, they dwell on their personal deficiencies, on the obstacles they will encounter, and all kind of adverse outcomes rather than concentrate on how to perform successfully. They slacken their efforts and give up quickly in the face of difficulties. They are slow to recover their sense of efficacy following failure or setbacks. Because they view insufficient performance as deficient aptitude it does not require much failure for them to lose faith in their capabilities and the student also fall easy victim to stress and depression.

The manner in which we approach our homework, the way we prepare for test and quiz are very important. If we develop a good outline for getting those things done, we will be more successful in our school programmes and have less stress.

A lot of people recommend that when you are giving homework or assignment at school, when you return, take a short break to recreate, after that, get your books and start doing the homework. That short break you have observed will help to revive or enhance your reading culture.

Bandura (2002) stress further that some four major psychological processes through which self-beliefs of efficacy affect human functioning.

Cognitive Process

The effect of self-efficacy belief on cognitive processes take a variety of forms. Much human behaviour, being purposive is regulated by forethought embodying value goals. Personal goal setting is influence by self-appraisal of capabilities. The stronger the perceived self-efficacy, the higher the goal challenges people set for themselves and the firmer is their commitment to them.

Most course of action are initially organised in thought. People’s belief in their efficacy shape the type of autocracy scenarios they construct and rehearse. Those who have a high sense of efficacy, visualise success scenarios that provide positive guide and support. For performance, those who doubt their efficacy, visualise failure scenarios and dwell on the many things that can go wrong, it is difficult to achieve much while fighting self-doubt. A major function of thought is to enable people to predict event and to develop ways to control those that affect their lives. Such skill requires effective cognitive processing of information that contain many ambiguities and uncertainties. In learning predictive and regulative rules people must draw on remember which factors they had tested and how well they had worked.

However, in cognitive process, the relationship between exercise and children mental function has not, until relatively recently, been systemically evaluated. Children whose cognitive processes are affected tend to be aging in performing well in academic. Research has been concluded to assess how exercise influences children’s mental development. They purpose of the present view is to evaluate published students that examined the effect of physical activity and exercise and children’s intellectual function cognitive abilities and academic success.

Motivational Processes

Self-efficacy play a key role in the self-regulation of motivation, most human motivation is cognitively generated. People motivate themselves and guide their actions anticipatory by the exercise of though. They form beliefs about what they can do. They anticipate likely outcomes of prospective action they set goals for themselves and plan courses of action designed to realise valued futures.

However, motivation is something that energies direct and sustain behaviour. It gets students moving point them in a particular direction and keep them going. Virtually all students are motivated in one way or another one student may be keenly interested in classroom subject matter. Another student may be more concern with the social side of school.

Motivation is not necessary something that learners bring to school to achieve academic success. It can also arise from environmental condition at school. When we talk about how the environment can enhance a learners motivation to learn particular thing or behave in a particular way.

Bandura (2005), stressed that motivation has a major role to play in the child’s academic success in their schools.

Statistics shows that motivation increase of willingness to achieve success in all verification. It increase the amount of effort and energy that learners expand in activities directly related to their needs and goals.

Motivation increase motivation of and persistence in activities. Learners are more likely to begin a task they actually want to do. They are likely to continue working at it until they have completed it.

Research shows that leaners are motivated to achieve academic success. The more learners want to be accepted and respected by peers.

Affecting Process

Some student belief in their coping capabilities affect how much stress and depression they experience in threatening or difficult situations as well as their level of motivation, perceived self-efficacy to exercise control over stressors play a centre role in anxiety arousal. People who believe they can exercise control over threats do not conjure up disturbing though patterns out those who believe they cannot manage threats experience high anxiety arousal. They dwell on their coping deficiencies, they view many aspect of their environment as fraught with danger, they magnify the severity of possible threats and worry about things that rarely happen. Though such inefficacious thinking they distress themselves and impair their level of functioning. Perceived coping self-efficacy regulates avoidance behaviour as well as anxiety arousal. The stronger the sense of self-efficacy the bolder people are in talking on taking and threatening activities.

Bandura (2005) cited that a child who cannot affectively plan update to working memory, shift from one mental self another, and inhibitor impulsive behaviour is unlike to be able to stay on task in the classroom and excel academically.

Moreover, the ability to control or inhibit response is purported to underlie children’s capacities to develop imagination, experience empathy, act creatively and to evaluate oneself.

Selection Process

The discussion so far has centred on efficacy-activated process that enable secondary school students to create beneficial environment and to exercise some control over those they encounter day in and day out. Students are partly the product of their environment. Therefore, beliefs of personal efficacy can shape the course live take by influencing they types of activities an environments people choose. Students avoid activities and situations they believe exceed their coping capabilities but they readily undertake challenging activities and select situation they judge themselves capable of handling. By the choice the secondary school students make, students cultivate different competencies, interests and social networks that determine life courses. Any factor that influences choice behaviour can profoundly affect the direction of personal development. This is because the social influence operating in selected environments continue to promote certain competencies values, and interests and long after the efficacy delusional determinant has rendered its inaugurating effect.

Student’s belief in their capabilities to master academic activities effects their aspirations, their level of interest in academic activities, and their academic accomplishments. There are a number of school practices that, for the less talented or ill prepared, tend to convert instructional experiences into education in inefficacy. These include lock-step sequence of instruction which lose many children along the way; ability groupings which further diminish the perceived self-efficacy of those cast in the lower ranks and competitive practices where many are doomed to failure for the success of relative few.

According to Okonkwo (2007), academic success refers to good marks or high level of academic achievement. It does not mean smart in relating to these component with academic success.

Also, motivation often leads to improved academic performance. Academic success is delicate to provide outstanding in home coaches to support every types of student while empowering parents with customised feedback after each session. Many of students are high achievers who need extra support for their most rigorous classes. Other struggle with school and need instruction across a variety of different subjects.

Okoegnate (2001) cited academic success system helps students plan ahead for tests and assignments, organise their work so they can avoid being requirements calmly with a strategy rather than in a panic of the last minute.

Idong (2000) observed that majority of the secondary school students have defective self-efficacy which is now affecting their academic success.

Therefore, there is need to examine critically the factor that affect self-efficacy and academic success among secondary school students in Abraka Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State with the view to provide solution in order to make the educational system what is ought to be done.

Academic success is more than just making good grades, it is the maximum development ones intellectual capacities and skills in service to humanity.

However, in the academic setting many studies have shown that there is a positive and significant correlation between self-efficacy and academic success. These studies have shown that regardless of age, gender, class, art student, domain, discipline and countries, student with higher sense of self-efficacy will achieve better academic success.

Louis and Mistelle (2002) reported that although there were difference in level of self-efficacy by gender in both female and male taking mathematics and Arts, self-efficacy is still found to be a good predictor of the achievement scores. Self-regulated abilities of students taking economic of “A” level found that there was a significant, positive correlation between self-efficacy and academic success, and self-efficacy with self-regulated learning.  

Statement of the Problem

The issue of self-efficacy in academic success has for a long time become a clog in the wheel of our national development especially among secondary school students.

The problem of poor performance in both external and internal examination can be attributed to the management factor that affect learning, parental negligence in the area of encouragement through the provision of conducive environment, and environmental influence and social-economic status.

Despite the effect being made to encourage the students in developing good self-efficacy and academic success, students still do not know the benefit of engaging themselves in useful activities in order to achieve the desired objective.    

Research Questions

In view of this study, the following research questions were raised:

1. Is there any relationship between component of self-efficacy and their academic success?
2. Is there any relationship between self-efficacy and academic success among secondary school students.
3. Is there any difference between students’ high self-efficacy and students with low self-efficacy?
4. Is there any difference between male and female academic self-efficacy?
5. Is there any relationship between self-efficacy and students age and their academic success

Research Hypothesis

The following null hypothesis have been formulated to guide the study:

1. There is no significant relationship between component of self-efficacy and their academic success
2. There is no significant relationship between students with high self-efficacy and students with low self-efficacy
3. There is no significant relationship between male and female academic self-efficacy
4. There is no significant relationship between self-efficacy and students age and their academic success

Purpose of the Study

This study was designed specially to determine the importance of self-efficacy and the extent to which it is related to academic success. The study will attempt to generate finding on the following:

1. Determining the relationship between component of self-efficacy and there academic success
2. Determining the relationship between self-efficacy and academic success among secondary school students
3. Determining the difference between self-efficacy and students and their academic success based on age
4. Determining the relationship between students with high self-efficacy and students with low self-efficacy
5. Determining the relationship between male and female academic self-efficacy

Significance of the Study

In any educational set up, the ultimate goal is to equip its beneficiaries to achieve academic success in terms of learning outcome.

This findings will help the education as well as curriculum planners to prepare functional curriculum and subject content that will prepare the students who can function effectively and efficiently in the school system.

This finding will help the student to develop a strong self-efficacy and a good study habit which enable the student to achieve a good knowledge of skills acquired and utilised.

In fact, the teachers will also benefit greatly, if they can use the skills or techniques acquired properly, it will help them to function well in their place of work.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study is exclusively and specifically concerned with relationship between self-efficacy and academic success of secondary school students in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State.

Consequently, the study is delimited to secondary school students in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.

Definition of Terms

Relationship: The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected together

Self-Efficacy: This refers to the abilities of the students for success in given task

Academic Success: Refers to the demonstration ability to perform, achieve and excel in scholastic activities, it has been identified with achieving high grade and superior performance.

You either get what you want or your money back. T&C Apply

Talk to us right now: (+234)906-451-7926 (Call/WhatsApp)

---