Locus of Control, Achievement Motivation and Academic Self Efficacy as Determinants of Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance in Ondo State, Nigeria

This study examined locus of control, achievement motivation and academic self-efficiency as determinants of secondary school students’ academic performance in Ondo State. The study adopted ex-post facto and descriptive research of survey type designs. The population of the study comprises all secondary school students in three Senatorial Districts of Ondo State. Multi-state sampling procedure was used to select 900 sample respondents for the study. Instrument used for data collection were Questionnaire on Locus of Control, Achievement Motivation, Self-Efficacy and Students Academic Performance Questionnaire (LCAMSESPQ) and Academic Performance Proforma. The validity of the instruments was done by expert in Tests and Measurement. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined through test re-test method. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that there was significant relationship among locus of control, achievement motivation, academic self-efficacy and academic performance of secondary school students (R= 0.456, P< 0.05). Locus of control, achievement motivation and academic self-efficacy jointly accounted for 20.8% of the total variables in academic performance (R² = 0.208, F _(3,899) = 78.226, p<0.05). Locus of control which was the best predictor of academic performance accounted for 55.6% (β= 0.556, p<0.05) of academic performance and closely followed by achievement motivation with (β= 0.463, p<0.05), Academic Self-efficacy was the least predictor, with β= 0.233, p<0.05. Based on the findings, it was concluded that Locus of Control, Achievement Motivation and Academic Self-Efficacy are influential to students’ academic performance. It was recommended among others that teachers should endeavour to create adequate time to develop strong internal locus of control in students by encouraging good study habits, lower academic procrastination, low test anxiety both at home and in school in order to boost their locus of control and consequently enhance their academic performance.

Keywords: : Academic Performance, Academic Self-Efficacy, Achievement Motivation., locus of control