ABSTRACT

This study sought to determine whether parental achievement orientation predicts self-concept and academic self-efficacy of in-school adolescents in Enugu State. This desire was also motivated by the need to determine whether gender has any relationship with self-concept and academic self-efficacy of in-school adolescents. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The design of the study was correlational research design. A total of 1160 senior secondary school students proportionately drawn from public senior secondary schools in Enugu State were used for the study. Three instruments namely: – Parental Achievement Orientation Scale (PAOS), Adolescents Self-Concept Scale (ASS), and Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) were developed, validated and used for the study. The internal consistency reliability of the instruments were calculated using Cronbach Alpha procedure and reliability estimates of .81, .86 and .92 were gotten for the PAOS, ASS and ASES, respectively. Data obtained through the administration of the three   were analyzed using Pearson’s r, R2 (coefficient of determination) to answer the four research questions while ANOVA and multiple regression were used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 levels of significance which revealed the following findings: Parental achievement orientation significantly predicts academic self-concept of in-school adolescents. Achievement orientation of parents had 29 percent contribution in predicrting the in-school adolescents’ self-concept; parental achievement orientation significantly predicts academic self-efficacy of in-school adolescents. Achievement orientation of parents had 45 percent contribution in predicting the in-school adolescents’ self-efficacy; gender significantly predicts self-concept of in-school adolescents. Gender of in-school adolescents had 11 percent contribution in predicting the in-school adolescents’ self-concept and gender does not significantly predict self-efficacy of in-school adolescents. Gender of in-school adolescents had zero percent contribution in predicting the in-school adolescents’ self-efficacy. A major educational implication of the findings was that the in-school adolescents could be educated on the importance of parental achievement orientation as the predictor of self-concept and academic self-efficacy. It was thus recommended that emphasis should be given to educating adolescents on the importance of parental achievement orientation as the predictor of self-concept and academic self-efficacy and that the conflicting signals from the societal system that are causing confusion of interpretation for young persons  should be checked.