IMPACT OF LEARNING ATTITUDE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

Literature-in-English is a subject that requires students to develop critical thinking, creativity, and appreciation of literary works. However, many students have negative attitudes towards literature-in-English, such as lack of interest, motivation, and confidence. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of learning attitude on students’ academic performance in Literature-in-English in secondary schools in Lagos state. A descriptive survey research design was adopted with Two hundred and forty (240) teachers and students from randomly chosen Senior Secondary schools in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State. Four (4) teachers and twenty (20) Literature-in-English students in ten (10) Public Senior Secondary schools were randomly chosen using random sampling technique. The instrument used for this study is self-structured questionnaire using 4 points Likert rating scale to elicit information. The instrument was subjected to content and face validity by experts in measurement and evaluation and Cronbach co-efficient was adopted for reliability. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was r=0.88, which indicates that the instrument is reliable. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square statistical method of analysis. The findings show among others there are factors that influence the learning attitude of secondary school students towards Literature-in-English in Lagos State; there is significant relationship between learning attitude and academic performance in Literature-in-English among secondary school students in Lagos State and there is significant effect of learning attitude on students' motivation, interest, and engagement in Literature-in-English within the study area.  It was therefore recommended among others that there is a need to encourage students to develop a positive and growth-oriented learning attitude towards Literature-in-English.