INFLUENCE OF SELF-ESTEEM AND LEARNED HELPLESSNESS ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN AWKA EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

f Chemistry students in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. Three research questions guided the

study and three hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. The study utilized a survey research

approach with a 2×2(two by two) factorial design. The population of the study was 2,198 senior

secondary school two students offering chemistry in Awka Education Zone, out of which a sample size

of 150 students was drawn using the simple random sampling technique. Two instruments were used for

data collection; Self-esteem scale (RSES) by Rosenberg (1965) and Learned Helplessness Questionnaire

(LHQ) by Quinless and Nelson (1988). The exam scores of the students were obtained from the teachers.

The instruments were validated by two experts from the Department of Science Education Nnamdi

Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability was established using Cronbach’s Alpha statistical analysis.

Data collected were analysed using a two-way analysis of variance (2-WAY ANOVA). The result of the

analysis showed that self-esteem does not have a significant influence on the academic achievement of

chemistry students. However, learned helplessness was found to significantly influence the academic

achievement of chemistry students, where participants who had high scores on learned helplessness

significantly performed poorly academically. The study also showed that there is no significant

interaction between self-esteem and learned helplessness in influencing the academic achievement of

chemistry students. Based on the study findings, it was recommended that interventions and support

systems targeting the issue of learned helplessness should be implemented, while also promoting self-

esteem and providing support to enhance overall student-wellbeing and improve the academic

achievement among chemistry students.