LIBRARY SERVICES AND THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between library services and academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Southwest Nigeria. The research design adopted for this study was a survey-type descriptive research design. The study population was 748,467 senior secondary students from 2,738 public secondary schools in Southwest Nigeria. The study sample was 2,160 students from 108 public secondary schools selected across Southwest Nigeria. They were selected using the multistage sampling procedure. The research instruments used for data collection were a researcher-designed questionnaire titled ‘Library Services Questionnaire (LSQ)’.and a proforma tagged ‘Student Academic Performance Proforma (SAPP).’ The instruments were validated by specialists in the Department of Educational Management and Department of Tests and Measurement at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti and Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko. The test-retest method was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument, and the reliability coefficient obtained for the LSQ was 0.84. This demonstrated that the instrument was reliable, stable, and useful for data collection. The research questions were answered using descriptive statistics such as percentage and mean, while the hypothesis was tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that the state of library services was unfavorable (x = 2.45); the level of students’ academic performance was high (x = 3.39); and there was no significant relationship between library services and students’ academic performance (r = .147, p > .05). The current state of library services does not enhance the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Southwest Nigeria. Therefore, it was recommended that schools should ensure that their libraries are well-equipped and that students should be notified whenever new books related to their subjects are acquired. Furthermore, e-library services and photocopy services should be embraced so that students can perform excellently in all learning domains.
Keywords:
Library services, library resources, education, students’ academic performance, public secondary schoolsDownloads
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Copyright (c) 2025 Aladetan, Femi Idowu, Ph. D
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