Assessing the Correlation Between Academic Self-Concept and Mathematics Achievement in Secondary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Students in Kenya have been performing poorly in mathematics in both primary and secondary schools, with the majority of the students scoring below average. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which academic self-concept correlates with mathematics achievement of secondary school students in Nairobi County. The study targeted 9,641 Form 3 students in public secondary schools that had registered students for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations for the past three years. A sample of 500 respondents was drawn using stratified and simple random sampling. A questionnaire that included items from the Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire was used to measure academic self-concept. The average score in mathematics for three consecutive terms was used as the mathematics achievement for each participant. The results from the study showed that academic self-concept positively and significantly predicted mathematics achievement. Based on findings, this article includes recommendations on effective ways that teachers, parents, and other stakeholders can help increase students’ academic self-concept and boost students’ mathematics achievement.

Academic Resilience and Self-Esteem as Determinant of Students’ Academic Performance in Zamfara State

“…Therefore, the first hypothesis which states that academic resilience does not have significant effect on students' academic performance in Polytechnic Kaura-Namoda, Zamfara state is not supported. The research outcome is consistent with the findings of e.g., Njoki (2018), Abubakar et al (2021), Uzoma et al (2022). Likewise, the study found that self-esteem has positive significant effect on students' academic performance in Federal Polytechnic Kaura-Namoda, Zamfara state.…”

“…As a result, academic resilience relates to resilience in the educational setting, and it is described as a student's capacity to improve academic performance following a negative occurrence, such as failing an individual assessment (Abubakar et al, 2021). Academic resilience has been shown to be crucial in pupils' academic success (Njoki, 2018). For instance, Oke et al (2016) reported that academic resilience was a significant predictor of senior secondary student's academic confidence in Ogun state, Nigeria.…”

Ortaokul Öğrenci̇leri̇ni̇n Matemati̇ksel Dayanikliklarinin İncelenmesi̇ Ve Matemati̇k Başarisi İle İli̇şki̇si̇

“…Bu dönemde öğrencilerin psikolojik ve akademik dayanıklığı okul ve sosyal başarısını olumlu etkileyebilir (Demir, 2023a). Bu bağlamda öğrencilerin matematik başarısında yordayıcı olan (Awofala, 2021;Çetin vd., 2018;Kooken vd., 2016;Njoki, 2018;Vergara, 2021) matematiksel dayanıklıklarını belirleme, hem başarısızlık riski taşıyan öğrencileri önceden tespit etme hem de dayanıklığı artırmada önemli bir veri sağlayabilir. Çünkü akademik dayanıklığı yüksek olan öğrencilerin akademik olarak daha başarılı olmaları ve olumlu eğitim çıktılarına sahip olmaları beklenmektedir (Demir, 2023b).…”

“…Kız öğrencilerin erkek öğrencilerden daha çok matematik öğrenmenin kolay olmadığına, azim ve adanmışlık gerektirdiğine ve daha çok matematiğe değer verdikleri ve geliştirilebilir olduğuna inandıkları söylenebilir. Njoki (2018) de benzer biçimde ortaokulda yaptığı araştırmasında kızların erkeklere göre daha yüksek bir yüzdeyle akademik dayanıklığa sahip olduklarını tespit etmiştir. Kartalcı vd.…”

Self-concept, Self-efficacy, and Academic Achievement of Prospective Mathematics and Biology Teachers

“…Although there is a negative correlation between academic achievement and self-concept, the relationship is very weak, so it cannot be considered to have a significant influence in the context under study. There is no strong basis to assert that self-concept directly affects academic achievement among prospective mathematics teachers in this context (Kaskens et al, 2020;Njoki et al, 2019;Perinelli et al, 2022).…”