ASSOCIATION OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT OF IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE-NIGERIA: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF GENDER

Abstract

This study sought to establish the association between achievement motivation and academic engagement of in-school adolescents in Anambra State using correlational research design. One research question and one null hypothesis guided the study. The population of the study consisted of all the 12, 172 Senior Secondary School (SS2) students in the 263 public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample for the study consisted of 750 SS2 students drawn from the population of the study using multi-stage random sampling technique. Two sets of questionnaires ‘Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (AMQ) and ‘Academic Engagement Questionnaire (AEQ)’ were used for data collection. The instruments for data collection were validated by 3 specialists in Education (2 from Educational Psychology and 1 from Measurement and Evaluation). The reliability of the instruments was established using Cronbach Alpha Method and the alpha co-efficient got were 0.80 for AMQ and 0.82 for AEQ. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Coefficient of Determination for answering the research question while regression statistical analysis was used for testing the hypothesis.  The findings of the study revealed that irrespective of gender, there is a high positive relationship between achievement motivation and academic engagement of in-school adolescents in Anambra state. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that teachers’ welfare ought to be a priority for the Government. If the teachers are made to work with passion especially through the support of a favourable welfare, they could ignite the needed motivation in the students, thus positively impacting their academic engagement.