Abstract

The study sought to determine the extent to which “parental achievement orientation” predicts “academic self-efficacy” of “in-school adolescents” in Enugu State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The design was a correlation survey. The population consisted of 11,268 senior secondary class two (SSII) students (4,296 male and 6,972 female) in public co-educational schools in Enugu State during the 2013-14 academic session. The sample was 1,160 students, proportionately drawn from the schools selected, and the instruments used for data collection were two researcher-developed questionnaires: “Parental Achievement Orientation” Scale (PAOS) and “Academic Self-Efficacy” Scale (ASES). The internal consistency estimates of PAOS and ASES, established through Cronbach Alpha Procedure, were .81 and .92, respectively. The findings indicated that parental achievement orientation significantly predicted academic self-efficacy of in-school adolescents, while the achievement orientation of parents predicted 45% of the in-school adolescents’ self-efficacy. Gender did not significantly predict self-efficacy of in-school adolescents. A major educational implication of the finding is that the work ethics of parents significantly impact the emergent self-belief systems of in-school adolescents. The authors recommend that parents should be educated on the importance of an exemplary work ethic, as it has the potential to influence young people to value excellence and accomplishments in important areas of life, beginning with excellence in the classroom.