Interest and Absenteeism as Predictors of Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Economics

This study examined the influence of Interest and Absenteeism on senior secondary students’ achievement in Economics. Three research questions were raised and answered in this study. Three instruments duly validated were used for data collection in this study. They are Students’ Interest Inventory (SII) [r-value 0.72], Students’ Absenteeism Scale (SAS) [rvalue 0.75] and Economics Achievement Test (ECAT) [r-value 0.68]. A total of 180 senior secondary II students drawn from five co-educational schools in Ijebu-North Local Government Area of Ogun State responded to the three instruments that were used for the study. The results of the test reveal in terms of the specific contributions of the predictor variables, Absenteeism contribute the highest (8.5%, R = 0.291) and Interest (4.8%, R = 0.219). The predictor variables jointly and significantly predict students’ achievement in Economics, contributing 11% of the total variance observed in the achievement. The educational implications of the results to Economics teachers, students, parents as well as government were discussed.