SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated social intelligence as a predictor of secondary school students’ 
academic achievement in Chemistry in Cross River state, Nigeria. The study was guided by 
two research questions and two null hypotheses. The study adopted the predictive correlation 
research design. The population of the study was 6, 376 senior secondary two (SS2) students 
of Chemistry in the public secondary schools in Cross River State, from which 800 students 
were sampled for the study. The instrument for data collection was the Tromsø Social 
Intelligence Scale (TSIS), validated by three experts. The reliability the instrument was 
established using Cronbach Alpha with coefficient of internal consistency of 0.79. The 
instrument was administered to the students with the help of six research assistants. The data 
obtained was analyzed using simple and multiple linear regressions. The findings of the study 
revealed among others that 0.6percent of the variance in students’ Chemistry scores is 
predicted by social intelligence. Furthermore, achievement in chemistry were significantly 
predicted by social intelligence F(1, 2799) = 4.487, p < .05. It was recommended among others 
that, teachers should incorporate more collaborative and interactive activities in Chemistry 
classrooms to enhance students’ social skills.