Locus of control, risk taking behaviors and academic performance among secondary school students : a case study of Nakwaya Secondary School

Abstract

The study was aimed at examining relationships between variables of locus of control, risk taking behaviors and academic performance among secondary school students. The study hypotheses were; Locus of control and Academic performance are not significantly related. There is no significant relationship between risk behaviors and academic performance. There is no significant relationship between Locus of control and risk taking behaviors. The study was guided by the following objectives: To find out the relationship between locus of control and risk taking behaviors among secondary school students; To examine the relationship between Locus of control and academic performance; To find determine the relationship between risky behaviors and Academic performance. The study adopted a quantitative research design with a sample size of 48 respondents from a population of 55 students Questionnaires were used to collect data. Validity of data collection tools was achieved through consultation with research experts and reliability of data collection instruments of this study was determined using the co efficient alpha (also known as Cronbach’s alpha) before the actual collection of data. The data collected was analyzed using the frequencies, percentages and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient.