Perception of Students on Selective Factors Affecting Their Academic Performance in School of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria

Abstract

The measure of a student’s ability to accomplish his or her academic tasks or studies successfully is referred to as academic performance. It has been observed that often the academic performance of students fall below expectation due to one or more factors militating against their educational objectives. The specific objective of the study was to determine the perception of the respondents on demographic, socio-economic status, environmental and psychological factors affecting the academic performance of final year students of School of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. The research utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design; thus, Taro Yamane’s formula was adopted to generate 120 students as the sample size, which were randomly selected from the study population of 172 students. A validated and reliable self-structured questionnaire was developed and utilized for data collection. The students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA) was used as a measure of academic performance. The data were analyzed quantitatively and the results indicated an overall good academic performance. No statistically significant difference was found between demographic factors and academic performance. The respondents perceived parental income, parent education level, family size, parent occupation, school location, school basic amenities, sleeping, stress and motivation as factors which more significantly affect their academic performance (p = 0.000). Despite the very good academic performance displayed by the respondents, this could be further improved by taking steps to address all the factors perceived by the students as hinderance to their academic performance, such as the socio-economic status of parents, school basic amenities and stress.