Indirect Influence of Self-Regulation and Motivation on the Relationship between the Learning Engagement and Academic Performance among Colleges of Education Biology Students in Niger State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study investigated the indirect influence of self-regulation and motivation on the relationship between ‎learning engagement and performance among biology pr pre-service teachers in Niger State. Six objectives with corresponding six research questions were raised to guide the study. Similarly, four research hypotheses were achieved at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational design. The study focused on 4,020 NCE II students from the School of Sciences within a larger population of 97,479 College of Education students during the 2022-2023 academic session. Using a multi-stage sampling approach, 351 biology students were ultimately selected. A self-designed instrument called the Self-Regulation and Motivation Inventory Questionnaire (SMIQ) was used to collect data, with a reliability score of 0.7 (Cronbach's alpha). Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation, alongside scatter plots, were employed to answer the research questions, while regression analysis tested the hypotheses. The study found a high level of self-regulation among biology students at the College of Education in Niger State, with mean scores ranging from 4.19 to 4.52. The results indicated that biology students at the College of Education in Niger State are motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically, with mean scores ranging from 3.26 to 4.59. The analysis revealed a slight positive association between learning engagement and academic performance among biology students. Similarly, a positive relationship was found between motivation and academic performance among Colleges of Education students. The study did not find significant evidence at p>0.05 to support the mediating influence of self-regulation on the relationship between learning engagement and academic performance among College of Education students. This suggests that self-regulation may not play a substantial mediating role in translating engagement into academic success in this context. And the analysis did not reveal a significant mediating effect at p>0.05 of motivation on the relationship between learning engagement and academic performance.