School Adjustment and Dispositional Optimism as Correlate of Academic Achievement among Undergraduate Students in Nigeria

This research work investigated school adjustment, dispositional optimism as Correlate of academic achievement among undergraduate students in Nigeria. The study used survey design. The population of the study consisted of 14,756 undergraduate students out of which 378 subjects were sampled from seven conventional universities of the region (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970). They consisted both male and female drawn from the faculties of Arts and Sciences. The School Adjustment Scale and Dispositional Optimism Scale were deployed to measure each of the variables, while academic achievement was obtained via students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient (PPMC) was used to test the hypotheses. Three research hypotheses were formulated and tested. The study did find significant relationships between school adjustment and academic achievement, dispositional optimism and academic achievement as well as school adjustment and dispositional optimism. The study recommended that school administrators should provide necessary school plant to assist students to adjust to the school environment, among others. This could be achieved through counselling, teaching, games and sporting activities.