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Predictive Power of Achievement Goal Orientation on the Academic Achievement of Students in Colleges of Education in North East Nigeria

Jacob FILGONA PhD, Gidado BABBA, Prof. John SAKIYO, Zainab Mahmud YAHAYA

Abstract

Over the years, public concern regarding the quality of graduates from Colleges of Education in North East Nigeria has increased due to persistent academic underachievement, high failure rates, and widespread delays in graduation. This situation is further compounded by other challenges, including limited institutional resources and socio-economic factors, which may influence students' motivational dispositions, a key driver of academic success. To this end, this study investigates the predictive power of achievement goal orientation on the academic achievement of students in Colleges of Education in North East Nigeria. A sample of 989 NCE II students was drawn from a population of 8,761 across three institutions using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using the adapted 40-item College Students' Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire and the Student-Teachers' Academic Record pro forma. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and regression analysis were employed for data analysis at a 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed moderate levels across all four goal orientations: mastery-approach (Grand mean = 3.37), performance-approach (Grand mean = 3.44), mastery-avoidance (Grand mean = 3.37), and performance-avoidance (Grand mean = 3.41) and overall achievement goal orientation (Grand mean = 3.40). Each goal orientation significantly predicted academic achievement, with mastery-approach goal orientation (R2 = 12.2%, F (1, 987) = 137.586, p = 0.000 < 0.05) and performance-approach (R2 = 0.106, F (1, 987) = 117.527, p = 0.000 < 0.05) significantly predicted students’ academic achievement. Similarly, mastery-avoidance (R2 = 0.056, F (1, 987) = 58.173, p = 0.000 < 0.05), and performance-avoidance (R2 = 0.041, F (1, 987) = 41.699, p = 0.000 < 0.05) significantly predicted students’ academic achievement. Collectively, the four orientations accounted for 23.2% of the variance in academic achievement (R2 = 0.232, F (4, 984) = 74.120, p = 0.00

Keywords

Predictive PowerAchievement Goal OrientationAcademic AchievementColleges of EducationNorth East Nigeria

References

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