ACADEMIC INTEREST AS A CORRELATE OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NNEWI EDUCATION ZONE, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA.

Willingness and curiosity towards learning can stimulate academic interest among students. This study examined academic interest as correlates of academic achievement of students in English Language in public secondary schools in Nnewi Education Zone. The study was guided by three research questions and one hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance. Correlation research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 8,150 SS2 students in the 48 public secondary schools in Nnewi Education Zone. Multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to draw a sample size of 782 students. The instruments for data collection were Students’ Academic Interest Questionnaire (SAIQ) and SS2 Students Achievements Scores (SAS) in English Language. The instruments were validated by experts and the consistency established using Cronbach alpha reliability index, which yielded an aggregate of 0.81 coefficient and was considered fit for the study. The administration of the instruments were done through the direct method approach with the help of four research assistants. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was utilized for data analysis. The p-value was used to determine the relationship of the variables at 0.05 level of significance for the hypothesis. The findings of the study revealed that academic interest has a high positive and significant relationship on academic achievement of students in English Language in public secondary schools in Nnewi Education Zone. The study recommended among others that Anambra State government in collaboration with the principals in Nnewi Education Zone should organize seminars, workshops or conferences to enlighten the students on the need to develop academic interest towards learning of school subjects especially the English Language.