ACADEMIC STRESS AS A PREDICTOR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN COMPUTER STUDIES IN AWKA EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

The study investigated the prediction of students’ academic achievements in Computer Studies by academic stress in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses tested at a 0.05 level of significance guided the study. A correlation survey research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 14,657 (6,346 males and 8,311 females) senior secondary two (SS2) students in the 62-state government-owned secondary schools in the Zone. A sample of 390 students determined using Taro Yamane’s formula for calculating sample size and obtained using a multi-stage sampling procedure was used for this study. However, only 335 (128 males and 207 females) students, representing 85.9% of the sample size, accurately completed the administered instrument and were used as the sample for the study. The instrument used to collect data was Academic Stress Scale (ASS) adapted from Bedewy and Gabriel (2015). The ASS was validated by three experts from the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The Cronbach alpha reliability test of the instrument gave a coefficient of 0.62, which is considered to be reliable. In addition, the second-term examination results of the students in Computer Studies for the 2023/2024 academic session represent their achievement scores in the subject. The data collected were analysed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and regression analysis. The findings of the study revealed, among others, that academic stress does not significantly predict students’ achievement in Computer Studies and the moderating influence of gender in the prediction is insignificant. The study concluded that other variables not academic stress affects SS2 students’ achievement in Computer Studies in Awka Education Zone. It was recommended, among other things, that students should learn to be optimistic about academic challenges and to perceive them as a call for personal development.