JOURNAL OF HUMAN KINETICS & HEALTH EDUCATION PEDAGOGY

SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN EKITI STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was carried-out to investigate social adjustment and academic performance among first-year university students in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A descriptive research design was employed in this study. The research population for this study were male and female first-year students from two randomly selected universities in Ekiti State. Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was used to evaluate students' social adjustment to university and the academic performance questionnaire was used to measure academic performance. Responses in the JISC online tool were downloaded and the data were analysed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS® statistics version 24). Moreover, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to analyse the relationship between academic performance and social adjustment at P= 0.05 level of significance. Findings of this study revealed that 41% of the respondents were male students, a moderate negative significant correlation between the social adjustment and academic performance (r = -0.36, n = 281, p<0.05). Moreover, the result revealed that there was no significant relationship between the social adjustment of first-year university students and their academic performance in Ekiti state. A thorough orientation and transitioning programme are proposed to enhance prompt social adjustment as well as positive academic performance among first-year university students in Ekiti State and beyond.