Students' attitudes and academic performance in the graphical aspect of Economics: Evidence from public secondary schools in Plateau State, Nigeria
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Abstract
Background and Aim: Graphical analysis is essential in Economics education because it enables students to interpret economic relationships, examine market behaviour, and apply theory to real-world situations. Nevertheless, Nigerian students’ performance in graph-related WASSCE Economics questions remains persistently poor. This study examined students’ attitudes, achievement, and the relationship between both variables in Plateau State.
Materials and Methods: A correlational design was adopted. The population comprised 1,090 SS II Economics students in public secondary schools in Kanke (453) and Pankshin (637) Local Government Areas. Using two-stage sampling, 20 eligible schools were purposively selected, followed by the random selection of 15 students per school, yielding 300 participants. Data were collected using the Students’ Attitude towards the Graphical Aspect of Economics Questionnaire and the Academic Achievement Test in the Graphical Aspect of Economics. Reliability was high (Cronbach’s α=.944; KR-20=.956). Normality and linearity assumptions were satisfied. Frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and Pearson’s correlation were computed at α=.05.
Results: Overall, 81.7% of students exhibited negative attitudes. Achievement was low: 40.0% failed, whereas only 1.0% attained distinction. Attitude correlated moderately, positively, and significantly with achievement, r(298) =.45, 95% CI [.358, .539], p<.001; therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
Conclusion: Students with more positive attitudes are likely to achieve better outcomes in graphical Economics. Attitude improvement should therefore form an integral component of instruction. The study provides context-specific evidence concerning attitude and graph-related learning in Nigerian secondary schools and supports learner-centred, activity-based, and technology-enhanced teaching approaches for improved academic achievement.
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