Dr Moriliat Jumoke Afolabi
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between socio-cultural factors and academic achievement of secondary school students in chemistry. Three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted Correlational design. A purposive sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty Senior Secondary School Two students from twelve public secondary schools in Kaduna State. SocioCultural Factor Scale (SCFS) and Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) were the instruments used. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and t-test statistics were used for data analysis. The findings indicated that there is no significant relationship between students’ achievement in chemistry and a set of Socio-Cultural Factors. The findings also show that there is no significant difference between the students in urban and semi-urban areas in their mean achievement in chemistry as measured by CAT and also their mean socio-cultural factor score in chemistry in SCFS. The researcher recommends that there should be possibility of balancing the socio-cultural factors and achievement where necessary especially in the rural settings where traditional rules and respect for elders must not be violated, thereby improving the quality of academic achievement in chemistry in Nigerian schools.