Asian Journal of Contemporary Education

Predictive relationship between admission academic abilities and undergraduates’ academic achievement in Nigerian universities

Ala Mary Adetola — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

This study aimed to determine the predictive relationship between admission academic abilities and subsequent undergraduates’ academic achievement in Nigeria. This research adopted an ex post facto descriptive design. The total population consisted of 282,834 students, while the target population comprised 72,062 undergraduates in the 200 level, and the sample size was 1,524 respondents through a multistage sampling procedure. At the point of admission, students whose scores ranged from 70% to 100% were 291 (22%), 60% to 69% were 484 (36%), 50% to 59% were 471 (35%), 45% to 49% were 69 (5%), and below 44% were 31 (2%). The same undergraduates, after admission, declined in academic achievement to 129 (10%) among the first class, 428 (32%) second class upper, 543 (41%) second class lower, 218 (16%) third class, and 17 (1%) pass category, while others were on probation. The analysis (F_{(2, 1345)} = 0.934) revealed that undergraduates’ academic achievement was not significantly affected by admission academic abilities. The study recommended that undergraduates should work towards improving their academic achievement, as this will determine their future privileges. The government should encourage students to value education by improving employment opportunities for graduates, thereby fostering academic achievement in Nigeria.

Stress, meaning-making and academic engagement under extended school hours

Lord Joseas Costales Conwi, Joan Mariz Saramines, Mikah Tabisola Conwi — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Extended school hours and a high academic workload have been causes of distress affecting students' well-being, which subsequently contribute to fatigue and reduced engagement. Guided by Park’s Meaning-Making Model, this study examined the relationships among extended school hours, stress, academic engagement, and meaning in life among students. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed, combining surveys and thematic analysis. Data were collected from 575 students. Quantitative results indicated high levels of academic stress, low academic engagement, and a strong presence of meaning-making in students' experiences. While stress directly reduced engagement, it simultaneously impacted meaning-making processes that partially counterbalanced its negative effects, fostering engagement and reflecting a post-traumatic growth-like response. Moreover, these findings highlighted situational contributors to stress, including extended school hours, inflexible schedules, and inadequate rest, which exacerbated fatigue and diminished engagement. These results suggest that schools should foster an environment that encourages meaningful learning opportunities through policies that allow flexible scheduling, sufficient rest, and institutional support. Such measures may help reduce stress-related disengagement while harnessing the adaptive potential of stress to promote personal and professional development. Furthermore, these findings highlight the importance of implementing evidence-based strategies such as revised timetables, wellness breaks, workload management, and counseling services to maintain student well-being and engagement.

The role of social media in developing tertiary-level learners’ English language skills

Md. Mahmudur Rahman Siam, Tabassum Islam Nabanee, Asif Nowroz — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Social media is nowadays emerging worldwide as an integral part of the youth’s interactive English learning practices, and Bangladeshi tertiary-level students are no exception. This paper studies Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) students’ perspectives on the incorporation of social media in developing their basic language skills. It investigates the influence of different social media platforms and content on the students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency in English. This research used a mixed-method approach to collect and analyze data. The data were obtained from 100 undergraduate students of JUST through a structured questionnaire. The findings of this study revealed social media’s crucial role in the enhancement of the students’ English language skills. However, the respondents expressed their concerns about multiple challenges that they encountered. Social media’s effectiveness is curtailed by distraction and less structured guidance, as this study finds. This study also collected their suggestions on a better utilization of social media as an English language learning assistant. This study promotes the balanced incorporation of social media in the mainstream language learning and skills development environment. Social media’s inclusion alongside the existing traditional methods can ensure an inclusive and engaging learning experience for English language learners.

Ghanaian senior high school mathematics teachers’ beliefs about assessment purposes and practices: A mixed method approach

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Assessment is an integral aspect of teaching and learning, and its importance cannot be overemphasized; however, effective assessment relies heavily on teachers' practices. The effective use of assessment practices in the classroom is influenced by teachers' beliefs about the purposes of assessment. Studies have indicated a positive relationship between teachers' beliefs regarding assessment purposes and their assessment practices aimed at supporting students' learning. Although there are studies on teachers' beliefs about assessment purposes in Ghana, there are few studies focusing on mathematics teachers' beliefs about assessment and their practices, especially when compared to developed countries. The study explored senior high school Mathematics teachers’ beliefs about assessment purposes using a questionnaire administered to 308 senior high school Mathematics teachers, followed by interviews with 15 teachers from the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The findings indicated that teachers primarily believed assessment served purposes related to student accountability, school accountability, and improvement. However, further interviews revealed that teachers’ definitions of assessment, along with their perceptions of improvement and accountability, influenced their use of assessment practices to support students’ learning. The study highlights the importance of understanding teachers’ perceptions of assessment and how these perceptions shape their instructional practices, ultimately impacting student learning outcomes. The study offers practical applications for teachers' assessment practices in the classroom, provides policy guidelines for the Ministry of Education, and recommends professional training for Mathematics teachers on how their beliefs influence their assessment practices in Ghana.

Digital distractions and study discipline: An empirical study of academic performance in selected secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria

Victoria Obiageli Obiajulu Akpadaka, Ovbe Simon Akpadaka — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0600

This study investigated how digital distractions and study discipline influence the academic performance of senior secondary school students in Rumuokwurusi Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria. The purpose was to determine the extent to which study hours, sleep duration, and social media use predict academic outcomes in a context where adolescent digital engagement is rapidly increasing. The design followed an ex post facto approach grounded in Self-Regulated Learning Theory and Cognitive Load Theory. A sample of 117 students was selected from three public secondary schools, and data on study habits, sleep patterns, and digital usage were collected through a structured behavioral questionnaire, while academic performance was obtained from school records. The analysis combined descriptive statistics, correlation patterns, and multiple regression. The findings show that study hours and sleep duration significantly enhance academic performance, whereas social media use significantly reduces it. The interaction between study time and social media use was positive but statistically weak, indicating that disciplined study behavior can mitigate the negative influence of digital distractions but cannot fully eliminate it. Gender did not significantly predict academic outcomes once behavioral factors were controlled. These results demonstrate that consistent study routines, healthy sleep patterns, and moderated digital engagement are essential for improving academic readiness and learning effectiveness. The practical implications point to the need for school-level digital discipline programs, enhanced parental guidance on online activity, and policies that promote structured study schedules and adequate rest to support students’ academic performance in digitally saturated environments.