Self-Efficacy and Students’ Achievement in Basic Science in Junior Secondary Schools in North-Central Nigeria

This study examines Self-Efficacy and Students’ Achievement in Basic Science in Junior Secondary Schools in North-Central Nigeria, A correlational survey research design was adopted to examine this relationship without manipulating any variables. The population of the study comprised all Junior Secondary School II (JSS2) students offering Basic Science in public junior secondary schools in North-Central Nigeria during the 2024/2025 academic session. Using a multistage sampling technique, a sample of 383 JSS2 students was drawn from Niger State, Nasarawa State, and the Federal Capital Territory. Data were collected using the Basic Science Self-Efficacy Scale and a researcher-developed Basic Science Achievement Test based on the JSS2 Basic Science curriculum. The instruments were subjected to face, content, and construct validation by experts in Science Education and Educational Psychology, while reliability indices obtained through Cronbach’s Alpha and Kuder–Richardson Formula 20 ranged from 0.82 to 0.88, indicating acceptable internal consistency. Data were collected through direct administration of the instruments with the assistance of trained research assistants and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rho correlation, and Mann–Whitney U test at the 0.05 level of significance. One major finding of the study revealed that there was no significant difference between rural and urban students’ perception of the impact of self-efficacy on their academic achievement in Basic Science. The study concluded that self-efficacy is a critical psychological factor influencing students’ achievement in Basic Science, and its perceived impact is consistent across rural and urban junior secondary schools in North-Central Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that teachers and curriculum planners adopt instructional strategies that deliberately enhance students’ self-efficacy in Basic Science, as strengthening students’ confidence in their abilities can improve academic achievement irrespective of school location.