Self-Regulation Ability as a Correlate of Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Biology in Anambra State

Abstract

The unending quest to enhance students’ academic performance in biology in external 
examinations motivated the study on relationship between self-regulation ability and secondary 
school students’ academic achievement in biology. The study guided by three research questions, 
with three testable null hypotheses, adopted a correlational survey research design. Multi-stage 
sampling procedure was employed to draw a sample of 227 (94 males and 133 females) SS2 
students, from the 18,730 SS2 students, enrolled in the 2023/2024 academic session in Anambra 
State. An Adapted Self-regulation scale (SRS) and a Biology score proforma (BSP), were used for 
data collection. SRS was face validated by three experts with a reliability co-efficient of 0.85 
established using Cronbach alpha. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment 
Coefficient to answer the research questions and t-test for correlation to test the null hypotheses at 
0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study revealed that secondary school students’ self-regulation 
ability positively and significantly correlated with their academic achievement in biology. Also, 
the study reported that male students were significantly more self-regulated than the female 
students, although the correlation was statistically significant for both. Based on the findings, the 
study concluded that students’ self-regulation ability, irrespective of gender, has a strong 
relationship with their academic achievement in biology. The study therefore recommended 
among others that curriculum developers should redesign the biology curriculum to inculcate 
activities that will motivate students to think critically, promote self-determination and foster self
regulation abilities that will in the long run enhance their academic achievement in biology.