Self-Efficacy and Social Support as Determinants of Academic Grit among Undergraduate Students in Public Universities in Abia State

Abstract

This study examined self-efficacy and social support as determinants of academic grit among undergraduate students in public universities in Abia State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. A correlational research design was adopted. The target population of the study consists of all the entire 46,701 undergraduate students. The sample of six hundred and fifty (650) undergraduate students were drawn from the population. Three instruments were used for this study. The General Self-Efficacy Scale designed and Standardised by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995) were adapted to measure the respondent’s self-efficacy level. Social support was assessed with Cohen et al. (1985) Short-Grit Scale was adapted for measuring undergradutes’ academic grit. The instruments were face validated by three experts.  Pilot study was conducted with 120 students to establish consistency of the instruments. The data obtained from the pilot study were subjected to Cronbach’s Alpha reliability analysis, and the results yielded coefficients of .89 for the GSES, .91 for the ISEI and .83 for the S-GS. Simple Linear Regression Analysis was used to answer the research question and to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. The study found a strong and significant relationship between social support, self-efficacy and academic grit.  Based on the findings, it was concluded that self-efficacy and social support are significant determinants of academic grit among undergraduate students in public universities in Abia State. The study recommends that universities should implement programmes that enhance students’ self-efficacy, strengthen peer and lecturer support systems, and promote counselling and mentorship services aimed at improving students’ perseverance and academic commitment