Cognitive and Affective Engagement as Correlates of Students’ Academic Achievement in Colleges of Education in Adamawa State, Nigeria

The persistent decline in academic achievement and late graduation rates among Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) students in Colleges of Education in Adamawa State has raised serious concerns among stakeholders. This study investigated cognitive and affective engagement as correlates of students’ academic achievement in these institutions. A correlational survey design was adopted, with a population of 4,712 NCE II students and a sample of 457 selected through proportionate random sampling. Data were collected using an adapted College Students’ Engagement Questionnaire (CSEQ) and students’ cumulative grade point averages (CGPA). Reliability coefficients of 0.76 and 0.81 were obtained for cognitive and affective engagement, respectively, with an overall reliability of 0.85. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation were employed for data analysis. Findings revealed that students demonstrated moderate levels of cognitive (Grand mean = 3.31) and affective (Grand mean = 3.25) engagement. Cognitive engagement showed a significant positive correlation with students’ academic achievement (r = 0.258, n = 457, p = 0.000 > 0.05), while affective engagement exhibited a significant positive relationship with students’ academic achievement (r = 0.278, n = 457, p = 0.000 < 0.05). The study concludes that strengthening students’ intellectual involvement and emotional connection to learning can improve achievement and reduce late graduation rates. It recommends that lecturers adopt interactive strategies, create enabling environments, and integrate feedback mechanisms to foster deeper engagement. Enhancing engagement practices will not only improve academic outcomes but also contribute to the quality of teacher education and national manpower development.