PARENTAL ACADEMIC PRESSURE AS A PREDICTOR OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ TENDENCY TO ENGAGE IN EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

While parents’ high expectations are meant to motivate, what begins as encouragement for academic achievement can, under pressure, drive students into the dark corners of examination malpractice. This study examined the predictive effect of parental academic pressure on senior secondary school students’ tendency to engage in examination malpractice in Edo State, Nigeria. Two research questions and corresponding hypotheses guided the study, tested at 0.05 significance level. A predictive correlational design was adopted. The population comprised 22,701 Senior Secondary Two (SS2) students, from which a sample of 400 was drawn through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were collected with the Parental Academic Pressure Questionnaire (PAPQ), validated by experts and found reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86. Frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation, simple linear regression and moderated multiple regression analyses were employed. Findings showed that parental academic pressure significantly predicted students’ tendency to engage in examination malpractice, although the predictive influence was low, indicating that excessive parental expectations may slightly heighten students’ vulnerability to unethical academic practices. Further analysis revealed a weak increase in the predictive power of parental academic pressure when gender was included in the regression model, implying that gender slightly influenced the relationship, with both male and female students being similarly affected. The study concluded that parental academic pressure contributes modestly to examination malpractice among students. It recommended that parents moderate their expectations to promote holistic development; policymakers de-emphasize grades in favor of integrity and competence; schools foster environments that encourage academic honesty; and students develop self-regulation, effective study habits, and resilience through guidance counselling. Suggestions for further studies were made.