Roles of school belongingness and career indecision on academic performance among secondary school students in Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the roles of school belongingness and career indecision on academic performance of secondary school students. Participants were 1408 secondary school students 581 (41.3%) were females while 827 (58.7%) were males drawn from 11 secondary schools from four states in the South-eastern Nigeria, using purposive sampling technique. Their ages ranged from 13 to 20 years with mean age of 15.50 (SD = 1.27). The Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data on academic performance were obtained from the students’ annual results cumulative usually compiled after third term examinations. Data were coded and analysed using Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient and Hierarchical Multiple Regression. The result showed that school belongingness (β = .12, p<.001) significantly predicted academic performance among secondary school students while career indecision (β = -.06, p<.05) was negatively associated with academic performance among secondary school students. To enhance secondary school students’ educational status, plans to increase sense of belonging and reduce career indecision should be at the focus of intervention.