Impact of Parental Buruli Ulcer Diagnosis on Students’ Educational Engagement and Academic Performance in Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Benue State

This study investigated the impact of parental Buruli ulcer diagnosis on students’ educational engagement and academic performance in Mathematics among senior secondary school students in Benue State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The population comprised senior secondary school students whose parents or primary caregivers had been diagnosed with Buruli ulcer, while a sample of 294 students was selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.82 using Cronbach’s Alpha. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple and mediation regression analyses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant negative relationship between parental Buruli ulcer diagnosis and students’ educational engagement in Mathematics (β = -0.524, p < 0.05). The study also found that parental Buruli ulcer diagnosis significantly and negatively influenced students’ academic performance in Mathematics (β = -0.461, p < 0.05). Furthermore, educational engagement significantly predicted academic performance and partially mediated the relationship between parental Buruli ulcer diagnosis and academic performance, with a significant indirect effect confirmed through bootstrap analysis. The study concluded that parental Buruli ulcer diagnosis adversely affects students’ educational engagement and academic performance, while educational engagement serves as an important mechanism through which these effects occur. It was recommended that schools strengthen psychosocial support, academic mentoring, and learner engagement programmes for students from Buruli ulcer-affected households to improve their educational outcomes.