Attitudes and Environmental Factors as Determinants of Academic Achievement in Economics Among Secondary School Students in Kano Metropolis, Kano State Nigeria (Published)
This study investigated attitude and school environmental factors as determinants of students’ academic achievement in Economics. The study adopted a descriptive research design of the survey type. All the entire students in Senior Secondary School class two in Metropolis formed the population for the study. The sample comprised 540 students selected from the population using purposive and stratified random sampling techniques. The instruments used to collect data were Students Attitude to Economics Scale with reliability coefficient of 0.74 and Economics Achievement Test (MAT) with reliability coefficient of 0.75. Data collected were analysed using Mean, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and t-test analysis. Findings of the study indicated that there was a significant relationship between school environment and students’ academic performance in Economics and that there was no significant relationship between students’ attitude to Economics. Based on the outcome of this study, school environment was found to be an important predictor of students’ academic performance in significant relationship between school environment and students’ academic performance in Economics. Therefore, it was recommended that educational evaluator should take school, location into consideration when evaluating students’ performance in public examinations. Policy makers and stakeholders in the education sector should ensure that the educational facilities in the rural locations measure up to that obtainable in the urban locations.
Keywords: : Academic Performance, Achievement, Determinant, School Environment, attitude
Determinant and Implications of Working Past Retirement Age among Adult Working Population in Government Parastatals in South West Nigeria (Published)
The study examined the determinant factors and implications of working past retirement age among working population in government parastatals in south west Nigeria. The research was prompted by growing apprehension of many would-be retirees about the poor pension scheme and ugly experiences of retirees among other factors which pre-mediated their unwillingness to retire voluntarily or as at when due. The population of this study comprised of male and female employees of government ministries and parastatals in south west Nigeria. A sample of 300 personnel was selected through multi-stage sampling procedure which covers male and female workers. A validated instrument titled ‘Determinant and implications of Working Past Retirement Age Scale’ (DIWPRAS) was used to obtain data from the respondents. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.68, using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics to analyze the research questions. The results revealed that the negative perception of traumatic feelings, isolation, worrisome experiences by present retirees and pervasive corruption in the pension scheme among others are the reasons why some employees defer their retirement. The result also indicated that men prefer working past retirement age than their female counterpart due to men’s primary identification as economic provider. However, some experienced professionals are retained in workplaces beyond their retirement age because of their expertise and years of cognate experience. Appropriate recommendations were advanced in line with these findings.
Keywords: Adult Working Population, Determinant, Government Parastatals, Implications of Working, Past Retirement Age, South West Nigeria