Academic Expectations as Correlates of Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement

Abstract

Students may form expectations, which may influence their academic achievement either positively or negatively. The main objective of the study was to find out if academic achievement was related to academic expectations. The research was guided by the Expectancy Value theory. The participants were 585 students (315 males, 270 females). The participants completed the Academic Expectancy Scale while academic achievement was obtained from the participants’ academic records. The major finding was that academic expectations were significantly correlated to academic achievement. Taking into account that students can form biased academic expectations, the study made recommendations to the stakeholders on intervention measures. They included encouraging and helping students form positive academic related beliefs. The researcher also recommended for further research in the area of academic expectations.