EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS PREDICTOR OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS OF UGHELLI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

The study investigated emotional intelligence as predictor of academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Ughelli North local Government Area of Delta State. Two research questions were raised and two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. Samples of 339 students were selected through stratified purposive random sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was made up of Emotional and Social competence inventory (ESCI) by Haygroup (2011), and a self constructed test for measuring academic achievement of students in mathematics and English studies. Multiple regressions in association with ANOVA was used to analyze the data collected. The result showed that there was a significant prediction of emotional intelligence and academic achievement of students. Students’ self-awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management predicted their academic achievement based on the data analysis carried out. Therefore, there is a need for the stakeholders of educational planning to include emotional intelligence into the school curriculum and also teachers should be given orientation on how to deal with students emotions to achieve a better academic goal.