Influence of Motivation on Academic Performance in Biology among Public Secondary School Students in Bayelsa State

This study investigated the influence of motivation on academic performance in Biology among public secondary school students in Bayelsa State. The study adopted a correlational research design. A sample of 415 students was employed for the study through a multi-stage sampling technique.Two research questions were answered and two corresponding hypotheses were tested in the study at a 0.05 level of significance. Data used for the study was collected directly from SS2 students of the nine (9) sampled schools of this study. Two instruments were utilized for the collection of data for this study: Biology Performance Test (BPT) and Students’ Performance Motivation Scale (SPMS). Reliability was established using Cronbach Alpha for SPMS and Kuder-Richardson20 technique for Biology Performance Test (BPT), which produced the a reliability coefficients of 0.78 and 0.90 respectively.The data obtained was analysed using simple regression analysis.The result of this study revealed that extrinsic motivation isa significant predictor of students’ academic performance in Biology in public senior secondary schools in Bayelsa State while the following However, the study found that intrinsic motivation does not significantly predict students’ academic performance in Biology in public senior secondary schools in Bayelsa State. Amongst others, it was recommended that parents should endeavour to provide not only the physical basic needs but also the emotional needs of their children and should embrace their children’s shortcomings with love and empathy.