Peer influence and self-esteem towards exam malpractice. Correlates of Secondary School students attitude

Akademische Arbeit aus dem Jahr 2018 im Fachbereich Soziologie - Arbeit, Beruf, Ausbildung, Organisation, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (Department of Educational Foundations), Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The paper deals with the question how peer influence and self-esteem of secondary school students relate to their attitude towards examination malpractice in Anambra State. A total of 1300 SS2 students from the population of 8,978 SS2 students in the 174 co-educational public secondary schools in Anambra State made up the sample for the study. The correlation survey is adopted for the study. Data are analyzed and hypotheses tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Examination malpractice a reoccurring decimal in Nigerian education system has often been blamed on peer influence and self-esteem which in one or the other play role in shaping the attitude of students. Report released by Exam Ethics Marshal International (2013) that Anambra State ranked 3rd state in the south-east zone and 13th state in Nigeria with the highest rate of examination malpractice. These days, the situation seems to be that majority of the students in Anambra State irrespective of age, gender, family background and school environment indulge in one form of examination malpractice or the other. This could imply that they seem to lack the virtue and value of hard work in terms of study. It is no longer news that students skip lessons at will, lack effective study habits, goal setting and time management skills and consequently they violate examination rules and regulations at unprecedented rates in order to make academic ends meet. Some of them vandalize principals‘ offices to mutilate results, get suspended or expelled from school, and end up as societal nuisance.