International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Volume 7, Issue 11, November 2020, PP 21-26 ISSN 2349-0373 (Print) & ISSN 2349-0381 (Online) https://doi.org/10.20431/2349-0381.0711004 www.arcjournals.org International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Page | 21 Self - Efficacy as Predictors of Academic Achievement of Secondary Schools Students in Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. Nigeria. Love Nwamadi (Ph.D) 1* , Rosemary Obiagaeri Ekechukwu. (Ph.D ) 2 1 Department of Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Rumuolumeni, Rivers State, Nigeria 2 Department of Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling Faculty of Education. University of Port Harcourt. Nigeria 1. INTRODUCTION Academic achievement of students especially at the secondary school level is not only a pointer to the effectiveness or otherwise of schools but a major determinant to the future of youths in particular and the nation in general. The medium through which the attainment of individuals and the nation’s educational goals can be achieved is learning. Learning outcomes have become a phenomenon of interest to all and this account for the reason why scholars have been working hard to unravel factors that predict academic achievement (Aremu & Sokan, 2002). Adeyemo (2001) opined that the major goal of the school is to work towards attainment of academic excellence by students. According to him, the school may have other peripheral objectives, but emphasis is always placed on the achievement of sound scholarship. The students’ academic achievement plays an important role in producing the best quality graduates who will become great leaders that can produce the man power needed for the country’s economic and social development (Ali, 2009). Halawah (2006) stated that academic achievement is accomplished by actual execution of class work in the school setting. It is typically assessed by using teachers’ ratings, class tests and examinations organized by the academic institutions or by the educational boards. Academic achievement to Sunitha (2005) is the knowledge acquired and skills developed in school subjects, generally indicated by marks obtained in tests in annual examination. Virtually everybody concerned with education places premium on academic achievement; excellent academic achievement of children is often the expectation of parents (Osiki, 2001). The declining quality of education in the country and the breeding of graduates with little technical know-how have resulted in serious setbacks to the industrial development of the nation. Studies have suggested that Abstract: The study investigated self-efficacy as predictor of academic achievement among secondary school students of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The study adopted the correlational research design. Two research questions as well as two corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study will be made up of all 14,784 senior secondary school students (SSS 1, 2 and 3) in 16 public secondary schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. A sample of 339 students comprising of 174 male and 164 female were drawn from the population using stratified purposive random sampling technique. Two instruments were used for data collection; Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) and Students’ Academic Achievement Test (SAAT). The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha technique and the reliability coefficient obtained was 0.93 and 0.71 respectively. Simple linear regression associated with ANOVA was used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that self-efficacy predicted academic achievement for both male and female students significantly. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the self-efficacy of students should be improved by the subject teachers and parents in other for students to be confident in the ability to perform better. Keywords: Self-efficacy and Academic Achievement *Corresponding Author: Love Nwamadi, Department of Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Rumuolumeni, Rivers State, Nigeria