Academic Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning as Predictors of Academic Performance Among Secondary School Students in Rivers State
Keywords:
Academic Motivation, Self-Regulated Learning, Academic Performance, Secondary School StudentsAbstract
This study investigated academic motivation and self-regulated learning as predictors of academic performance among secondary school students in Rivers State. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted correlational research design. The population of the study comprised all the 64,325 public senior secondary three (SS3) students in Rivers State. Taro Yamane was used to get the sample size. Multistage sampling technique was used in the study. Academic Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning Scale (AMSRLS) and Students’ Academic Performance Score (SAPS) were used to collate data. The instruments were validated by three experts. Test-retest technique was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. A reliability coefficient of r = 0.83 and 0. 79 were established using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Simple regression was used to answer the researcher questions and test the corresponding null hypotheses at α = 0.05 alpha level. The study revealed that academic motivation and self-regulated learning both significantly and positively predicted academic performance among secondary school students in Rivers State, although their predictive contributions were relatively modest. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended, among other thing, that secondary school teachers and school counsellors should strengthen students’ academic motivation through regular encouragement, constructive feedback, recognition of academic effort and the use of engaging learning activities that help students develop clear and realistic academic goals.
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