THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AMONG PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENUGU EDUCATION ZONE, OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the relationship between self-efficacy and academic achievement in mathematics among public secondary school students in the Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. A correlational survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 3,718 Senior Secondary Two (SS2) students from 40 public secondary schools, out of which a sample of 560 students was selected using a multi-stage sampling technique involving simple random and proportional sampling methods. Data were collected using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995) and students’ mathematics achievement scores. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used to answer the research questions, while the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) was employed to test the relationship between self-efficacy and academic achievement in mathematics. The findings revealed that a high proportion of students performed poorly in mathematics despite exhibiting high levels of self-efficacy. Furthermore, the result showed a low positive relationship between students’ self-efficacy and academic achievement in mathematics (r = 0.333), indicating that self-efficacy had a weak influence on students’ mathematics achievement in the study area. The study concluded that self-efficacy alone does not sufficiently explain students’ academic performance in mathematics in the Enugu Education Zone. It was therefore recommended that stakeholders adopt a comprehensive approach to improving mathematics achievement by addressing instructional, environmental, and other psychological factors alongside self-efficacy