BULLYING AS PREDICTOR OF STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ONITSHA NORTH LGA

Abstract

This study examined bullying as predictor of students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in Onitsha North local government area of Anambra State. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Correlational research design was adopted and the population of the study consisted of 4,304 (2963 Female and 1341 males) SSIII students of public secondary school students in Onitsha North Local government area. A sample of 300 respondents was selected using purposive sampling technique. The Bullying Experiences and Exclusion Scale (BEES), an 18-item retrospective self-report measure of school-age bullying experiences in three different roles (victim, witness and perpetrator) was employed as the instrument for collecting data on bullying. The result of the students in English language was employed to measure the students’ academic achievement. The data were collected by the researcher with the help of two research assistants who were properly briefed on manner on how to administer and retrieve the instrument. Simple regression analysis was used to answer the research questions and to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that bullying significantly predict the students’ academic achievement of public secondary school students in Onitsha North Local Government Area; and that bullying of male and female students significantly predict the students’ academic achievement of public secondary school students in Onitsha North Local Government Area. The study concludes that bullying predicts the students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in Onitsha North Local government area. The study recommends amongst others that the management of public schools to ensure all students and teachers adhere to the set of rules and regulations to reduce the cases of bullying in order to enhance students’ academic achievement.