INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND STUDENTS' PERSONAL VARIABLES ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATES: IMPLICATIONS FOR UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Several factors impede students' academic achievement in university education especially with respect to their performance in research and statistics-related courses. The factors of major concern are their gender and personality variables. This study investigated the influence of gender and students' personal variables on academic achievement among undergraduates in the federal university Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. The study employed the survey research design. The population of the study consisted of all undergraduate students in the federal university Oye-Ekiti. In all, five-hundred and seventeen (517) undergraduate students constituted the study sample. Questionnaires were used for data collection, which was analysed using regression and the t-test. Results revealed that the significant differences among undergraduate students’ academic achievement are due to their ability to maintain and improve on some personal variables such as positive thinking, attitude, time management, concentration, note-taking, revision, and anxiety, regardless of their gender. Implications for university management were highlighted.