Self-Efficacy and Locus of Control as Correlates of Senior Secondary School Students Academic Achievement in Biology in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

This study examined the relationship among locus of control, self-efficacy and senior secondary school students’ academic achievement in Biology in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The study adopted the correlation survey research design. The sample for the study was 420 senior secondary schools students drawn using the multi-stage sampling technique. Rotters’ Locus of control scale and new general Self-efficacy scale by Chen, Gully and Eden were used in data collection. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (r) was used in answering the research questions while t-test for correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used in testing the null hypothesis at level of significance. Results showed that there is a very low relationship between students’ self-efficacy scores and their academic achievement scores in Biology. There is no significant relationship between secondary school students’ self-efficacy scores and their academic achievement scores in Biology. Further more there is a very low relationship between students’ locus of control scores and their academic achievement scores in Biology. There is a significant relationship between secondary school students’ locus of control scores and their academic achievement scores in Biology. There is a moderate positive relationship among self-efficacy, locus of control and secondary school students’ academic achievement in biology. Hence, it could be concluded that the academic achievement of the students could not be ascribed to their self-efficacy or locus of control alone as other factors contribute to the achievement of students in Biology.