Sociální pedagogika | Social Education

ISSN 1805-8825

E: editorsoced@fhs.utb.cz

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The relationship between psychological capital

and academic performance of social work students

Adams Ogirima Onivehu

To cite this article: Onivehu, A. O. (2020). The relationship between psychological

capital and academic performance of social work students. Sociální

pedagogika/Social Education, 8(1), 53–67.

https://doi.org/10.7441/soced.2020.08.01.03

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.7441/soced.2020.08.01.03

Published online: 15 April 2020

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Copyright © 2020 by the author and publisher, TBU in Zlín.

Sociální pedagogika | Social Education

53

volume 8, issue 1, pp. 53–67, April 2020

https://doi.org/10.7441/soced.2020.08.01.03

ISSN 1805-8825

The relationship between psychological capital

and academic performance of social work students

Adams Ogirima

Abstract: The Nigerian society emphasizes the importance of

academic achievement as a major yardstick for measuring

Onivehu

students’ ability and the effectiveness of the educational system.

Thus, the academic performance of social work students has

been the prime tool for admission into higher schools,

employment and even the choice of future career. The present

study investigated the relationship between psychological

capital and academic performance of social work students in

University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. The descriptive survey

research method of correlational type was adopted for the

study. The study population consisted of all students in the

Department of Social Work who were enrolled in the 2018-2019

academic year. The sample included 180 third and fourth year

students, selected by simple random sampling. The research

instrument for the collection of data was the Luthans’s

Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) and a pro forma.

Three research questions were raised and one null hypothesis

was formulated and tested. Data were subjected to frequency

counts, percentage, correlation analysis and multiple regression.

The results of this study showed that there is a significant

positive relationship between the four factors of psychological

capital (resilience, hope, optimism and self-efficacy) with

academic performance. It was recommended that psychological

capital should be incorporated into the social work curriculum in

Contact

Nigerian universities so as to boost the level of students’

University of Ilorin

performance in the social work programme.

Faculty of Education

P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin

Keywords: psychological capital, academic performance, social

Kwara State, Nigeria

work students

Vztah mezi psychologickým kapitálem

a akademickými výsledky u studentů sociální

práce

Correspondence:

Abstrakt: Nigerijská společnost klade důraz na akademické

adamsonivehu@gmail.com

výsledky jako na měřítko schopností studentů a efektivitu

vzdělávacího systému. Proto jsou akademické výsledky studentů

Copyright © 2020 by the author

sociální práce primárním nástrojem pro přijetí na vyšší stupně

and publisher, TBU in Zlín.

This work is licensed under the

škol, do zaměstnání i pro výběr budoucího povolání. Předkládaná

Creative Commons Attribution

studie zkoumala vztah mezi psychologickým kapitálem

International License (CC BY).

a akademickými výsledky u studentů sociální práce na nigerijské

University of Ilorin. Byla zde použita výzkumná metoda

deskriptivního průzkumu korelačního typu. Průzkumným

54

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance…

vzorkem byli všichni studenti katedry sociální práce, kteří se

zapsali pro školní rok 2018–2019. Vzorek obsahoval 180 studentů

třetího a čtvrtého ročníků vybraných jednoduchým náhodným

vzorkováním. Výzkumným nástrojem pro sběr dat byl Luthanův

dotazník psychologického kapitálu (PCQ) a pro forma. Položeny

byly tři výzkumné otázky a byla formulována a testována jedna

nulová hypotéza. Data byla podrobena frekvenčním výpočtům,

stanovení procenta, korelační analýze a mnohonásobné regresi.

Výsledky této studie ukázaly, že existuje významný pozitivní

vztah mezi čtyřmi faktory psychologického kapitálu (odolnost,

naděje, optimismus a osobní výkonnost) a akademickými

výsledky. Bylo doporučeno, aby byl psychologický kapitál

začleněn do osnov oboru sociálních prací na nigerijských

univerzitách za účelem zvýšení úrovně výkonu studentů

v programu sociálních prací.

Klíčová slova: psychologický kapitál, akademické výsledky,

studenti sociální práce

Introduction

The advent of 21 century has significantly changed the level of human development in Nigeria.

Resultantly, Nigeria, which is undoubtedly the most populous black nation in the world has recorded

significant improvements in various spheres, such as science and technology, medicine, literature,

peace, human resource development, international co-operation and socio-economic development.

Nonetheless, the spate of development in Nigeria is worrisomely below expectation due to a myriad

of contemporary social problems such as terrorism, ethno-religious conflicts wars, internal

displacement, massive corruption, human trafficking, electoral violence, kidnapping, child abuse,

poverty, inequality, unemployment, drug abuse, cybercrime among others (Omilusi, 2016; Osemeke,

2011; Shuaibu, Salleh, & Shehu, 2015; Uzorma & Nwanegbo-Ben, 2014). In order to effectively address these social problems in Nigeria, there is no doubt that education has a great role to play. To this end,

university education, which is a germane component of the Nigerian tertiary education system is key

and as such, a plethora of academic programmes have been approved by the Nigerian Universities

Commission (NUC) for various public and private universities that are spread across the length and

breadth of Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that the theory and practice of most academic

programmes which includes social work is tailored towards dealing with pressing societal issues

(Kraimer & Altmeye, 2018).

Hence, social work students in Nigerian universities are exposed to various learning experiences that

are designed to enable students acquire the requisite skills, knowledge and competence for the

effective practice of social work in various areas such as personal and family development, community

development, policy formulation and development, health promotion, law and social service and a

host of others in the future (Uche, Uche, Eme, & Ebue, 2014). To this end, it goes without saying that

the extent to which the diverse objectives of social work education are being achieved in Nigeria is

primarily a function of the level of students’ academic performance. However, the academic

performance of social work students could be attributed to a complex interplay of some variables that

might be personal, social, academic and institutional in nature (Adegunju, Onivehu, Odetunde, &

Oyeniran, 2017; Bamidele & Bamidele, 2013; Onivehu, Adegunju, Ohawuiro. & Oyeniran, 2018;

Onivehu & Ohawuiro, 2018).

Therefore, it is integral to understand the relationship between psychological factors or resources and

the academic performance of social work students. In this sense, psychological capital is increasingly

55

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

being investigated as a prime determinant of students’ academic performance. Thus, studies have

revealed that the psychological capital components of hope, self-efficacy, optimism and resilience had

a positive influence on the students’ academic performance (Luthans, Luthans, & Jensen, 2012;

Mwangi, Okatcha, Kinai, & Ireri, 2015; Vanno, Kaemkate, & Wongwanich, 2014). Therefore, this study focused on the relationship between psychological capital (self-efficacy, hope, optimism and

resilience) and academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria with

a view to foster the success of the social work education programme in Nigerian universities.

1

The theoretical framework

The main focus of this section to explain some relevant concepts and theoretical underpinnings that

are related to the focus of the study.

1.1 Concept of psychological capital

Psychological capital is a positive organizational behaviour construct that emanated from the field of

positive psychology. Essentially, positive psychology stresses that the quality of our lives depends both

on what we do and how we experience what we do. According to Carr (2004), it encompasses the

psychological or mental state of an individual. Psychological capital is a broad term which defies a

singular definition. Luthans, Youssef and Avolio (2007) defined psychological capital as an individual’s

positive state of development. Psychological capital entails having confidence (self-efficacy) to take on

and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks; making positive attributions (optimism)

about succeeding now and in the future; persevering toward goals and, when necessary, redirecting

paths to goals in order to succeed when beset by problems and adversity (hope) and sustaining and

bouncing back and even beyond (resilience) to attain success (Lunnbrg, 2010; Luthans et al., 2007).

Furthermore, Luthans and Youssef-Morgan (2017) posited that PsyCap comprises of four psychological

resources (hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) which interacts in a systematic and synergetic

manner. Similarly, Kutanis and Oruc (2014) opined that psychological capital refers to the external

resources (optimism and resilience) and internal resources (self-efficacy and hope) required by a

person to live a fulfilled and happy life.

1.2

Concept of hope

Hope is one component of PsyCap that is future oriented and considered to be multidimensional by

most researchers. It is an affective variable that motivates action and affects the thoughts and

behaviours of people. The conceptualization of hope construct is closely linked with Snyder, a clinical

psychologist. Snyder et al. (1991) based their theory of hope on three key mental components, namely

goals, willpower (agencies), and way power (pathways). Hope according to Snyder, Rand and Sigmon

(2002) is described as a cognitive construct that is based on a reciprocally derived sense of successful

goal-directed determination (agency) and planning (pathways) to meet the envisaged goals. Thus,

hope theory begins with envisioning goals as a major component that influences human behavior

(Snyder et al., 2002). It suggests that goals on their own do not produce behavior but people’s outlook

of themselves. Goals are understood as something that individuals want to obtain (such as an object)

or attain (such as an accomplishment) (Badran & Youssef-Morgan, 2015).

Applying the concept of hope to the academic environment, the willpower (agency) enables learners

to recognize and set goals that lead them to achieve intended performance outcomes (Luthans, Avey,

& Patera, 2008). Likewise, when learners possess the ability to generate multiple pathways to attain

goals and solve problems relating to academic performance, they become more aware of their

environments (Snyder et al., 2002). Students with high hope benefit immensely academically. When

such students are faced with challenging situations, they do not give up but rather maintain a positive

outlook and expect a positive outcome. As a result of the positive outcome expected, the individual is

motivated to forge ahead despite the setbacks (Santilli, Nota, Ginevra, & Soresi, 2014; Sharabi, Sade,

56

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

& Margalit, 2016). Also, as observed by Froman (2010) hopeful people persistently try to attain what they set out to accomplish even in difficult times and consequently find satisfaction when they

eventually achieve their goals.

1.3

Concept of optimism

An optimist is generally viewed as a person who sees every cloud as possessing a silver lining and

affirms that good will always come by him no matter the difficulties. Hayes and Weathington (2007)

posited that optimism is a general expectation that the future will be good, as against pessimism which

is the generalized expectancy that the future will be bad. In other words, an optimist generally wields

a positive disposition when faced with challenges and expects events to turn out well at the tail end.

Likewise, optimistic thinking motivates individuals to continually persist and work hard to find

solutions irrespective of the odds. Optimism can be temperamental, that is, some people by nature

are more positive about life, but at the same time it can also be learned with the right type of

experiences. According to the concept of learned optimism, proposed by Seligman (1991), optimism

can be enhanced in an individual by the selection of achievable goals.

Optimism has numerous benefits. Firstly, optimism has the natural tendency of promoting positive

mood, and this in turn helps to ward off depression and anxiety in people. Secondly, optimism also

encourages greater persistence in the face of obstacles, which consequently result in greater success.

Moreover, Kleumper, Little and DeGroot (2009) from their investigation on the effects of optimism

realized that it predicted to a large extent how students perform in a given task and their committal

level in seeing that the task is well performed. Also, there is evidence that optimistic people actually

look healthier than pessimistic people (Thomson, Schonert-Reichl, & Oberle, 2015).Extant literature

indicates that higher levels of optimism facilitated the way students in having more positive

expectations of outcomes in the academic environment (Kapikiran, 2012; McIntosh, Stern, & Ferguson,

2004). Hence, students who take an optimistic approach to difficult situations will be better able to

adjust and overcome challenges that accompany distant education, because their positive

expectations will help them react better and give in their optimum best to realize academic gain

despite the setbacks.

1.4

Concept of self-efficacy

The etiology of the concept of self-efficacy could be traced to the pionerring work carried out by Albert

Bandura, which resulted in the formation of the socio-cognitive theory of human behavior. As a high-

order construct of PsyCap (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007) with a state-like structure, this

PsyCap asset can be developed in learners. Self-efficacy can be defined according to Bandura’s social

cognitive theory as self confidence in being able to perform specific tasks successfully or meet the

challenges that may arise. It is seen as an enthusiastic and independent concept closely linked with

work-related performance (Luthans, Luthans, & Luthans, 2004). Stajkovic and Luthans (1998) defined self-efficacy as the personal confidence an individual has on his or her ability to maximally mobilize

motivation, cognitive resources or courses of action in order to successfully complete a specific task.

Adeyemo and Agokei (2010) described the self efficacy as an individual's belief in his/ her ability to

perform successfully in a given course. It therefore follows that academic self-efficacy refers to a

learner’s effort and persistence that brings about achievement. In lieu of this, cognitive sources,

motivation and the form of behaviour necessary to succeed in the given task must be mobilized and

harnessed accordingly by learners (Luthans et al., 2007). This is pertinent because a learner’s level of

self-efficacy governs the amount of effort he/she will put in to complete a task even when faced with

unexpected impediments (Ogunmakin & Akomolafe, 2013; Ouweneel, Le Blanc, & Schaufeli, 2012).

Bandura (1997) classified self-efficacy ashigh and low. Thus, students with low self-efficacy are

generally considered to be academically at risk (Ofole & Okopi, 2012).

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Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

1.5

Concept of resilience

Most researchers view resilience as a multifaceted and strength-based construct that focuses on

providing protective factors that enhance success in individuals (Schunk & Zimmerman, 2008; Luthar,

Lyman, & Crossman, 2014). The American Psychological Association (2017) defined resilience as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources

of stress such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial

stressors. Likewise, resilience is a broad set of cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses to acute

or severe adversities which might be usual or unusual in nature. Luthans (2002) also opined that resilience is a positive psychological capacity that enables a person to rebound or bounce back from

adversity, uncertainty, conflict, failure, or even positive change, progress and increased responsibility.

In other words, resilient individuals forge ahead even after encountering strong oppositions or events

such as personal adversity, conflict and/ or set backs. Consequently, resilience is essentially based on

the strength of the individual and his or her coping resources to successfully resolve and/or manage

challenging situations (Baumgardner & Crothers, 2010).

Martin and Marsh (2009) also pointed out that resilience could also be viewed as a student’s capacity

to overcome acute or chronic adversities that are seen as major setbacks in the pursuit of academic

goals. For instance, social work students might be faced with work pressures, time constraints, stressful

and other negative factors. These setbacks might negatively affect the academic performance of social

work students. Thus, the students’ capability to overcome these academic setbacks, stress and other

forms of challenges associated with university life by implementing internal and external protective

factors is a function of resilience (Mwangi et al., 2015). Examples of such protective factors include

cognitive abilities, temperament, positive self-image, emotional stability and sense of humour

(Karmalkar & Vaidya, 2018; Peterson, Luthans, Avolio, Walumbwa, & Zhang, 2011). Specifically, internal protective factors mostly encompass the personality or dispositional attributes of the

individual while external protective factors are majorly attributes that are subsequently developed by

individuals and supports from people around them (Rahat & Ihan, 2016).

Youssef and Luthans (2007) also differentiated resilience from other psychological capital components

by arguing that resilience is both reactive and proactive in nature. By reactivity, it means the potential

destructive impact that setbacks, traumas, and even positive but overwhelming events have on even

the most hopeful and optimistic individuals cannot be whisked away. Rather resilience encourages

individuals to recognize and acknowledge such impact and provides time, energy and resource

investment for the individual to recuperate, rebound and return to a balanced point. Proactively,

resilience also allows individuals to use setbacks as ‘springboards’ or opportunities to foster growth

beyond that balance point.

1.6

Psychological capital and students’ academic performance

Extant literature is replete with a plethora of studies on the relationship between psychological capital

and students’ academic performance. For instance, Luthans et al. (2012) found a significant and

predictive relationship between the PsyCap of undergraduate business students and GPA results

explaining 7% of the variance. Vitanya, Wannee and Suwimon (2014) investigated the relationship

between academic performance, perceived group PsyCap, and individual PsyCap of Thai

undergraduate students and found that academic performance has positive direct effect on students’

PsyCap. Feldman and Kubota (2015) investigated the relationship among hope, self-efficacy, optimism

and academic achievement and found that hope predicted academic-specific hope and academic self-

efficacy, both of which then predicted GPA. Likewise, Saeed and Murad (2015) examined the

relationship between psychological capital, educational self-regulatory and intelligence beliefs with

students’ academic performance in the University of Applied Sciences in Abdanan County, Iran and

found that between psychological capital, educational self-regulatory and intelligence beliefs with

students’ academic performance in University of Applied Sciences of Abdanan County and found that

58

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

there is a significant positive relationship between the four subscales of psychological capital (hope,

resilience, optimism and self-efficacy) with academic performance.

2

Methodology

The research design employed in this study was a correlation study. The study population for the study

comprised all social work students in University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria while the target population was

all 215 third and fourth year students. The sample included 180 third and fourth year students,

selected by simple random sampling. The decision to choose third and fourth year students was due

to the fact that they are nearing the point of graduation. The respondents were randomly selected

across the academic levels totaling 180 students for this study. The instrument used in this study was

a self-developed questionnaire which consisted of three sections (A, B and C). Section A elicited

students biographic information. Section B contained a pro forma that was used to collect students’

Grade Point Average (GPA). Section C elicited information on the psychological capital of the

respondents. The items in the section were 24 which were adapted from Luthans et al. (2012)

Academic Psychological Capital Scale. Specifically, the scale consists of Hope: items 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12;

Efficacy: items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Resilience: items 13R, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18; and Optimism: items 19, 20R,

21, 22, 23R, 24. Sample items on the A-PCS include: 1. “ I feel confident analyzing a long-term problem

to find a solution concerning my studies“; 2.“ I feel confident in representing my ideas concerning my

group work in the classroom“. Section C was patterned in Likert scale format of Strongly Agree (SA) =

6 points, Agree (A) = 5 points, Somewhat Agree (SWA) = 4 points, Somewhat Disagree (SWD) = 3 point,

Disagree (D) = 2 points and Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1 point. Thus, respondents who scored 24-71

points were considered as having a low level of psychological capital, the respondents who scored 72-

96 points were adjudged to have an average level of psychological capital while respondents who

scored 97-144 were taken as social work students with a high level of psychological capital.

The current CGPA of respondents were collected and scored as follows; high academic performance =

3.5 – 5.0 average academic performance = 2.5 – 3.49 and low academic performance = 1.5 – 2.49. The

validity of the scale was determined by using face and content validity where five experts in the Faculty

of Education were required to assess the items on the scale before their application to this study. To

ascertain the reliability of the scale, a pilot study was carried out on a random sample of 20

undergrduates (10 males and 10 females) from the Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin. This

sample was not included in the main study. Thus, the reliability of the instrument was ascertained

using test re-test method. Specifically, the internal consistency of the for each of the dimensions was:

hope (.62); self-efficacy (.65); resilience (.60); and optimism (.61). Finally, the Cronbach’s Alpha

reliability coefficient of .67 was obtained for all dimensions, which is slightly above the thereshold of

.60, which is considered as a limit of acceptable reliability. Thus, the scale was found to be moderately

reliable to be used for the present study. Data were subjected to frequency counts, percentage,

correlation analysis and multiple regression.

2.1 Research questions and hypothese

The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between psychological capital and

academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study

was guided by the following research questions:

RQ1: What is the level of psychological capital of social work students in University of Ilorin,

Ilorin, Nigeria?

RQ2: What is the level of academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin,

Ilorin, Nigeria?

RQ3: What is the relationship among hope, optimism, self-efficacy, resilience and academic

performance among social work students in University of Ilorin, Nigeria?

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Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

The hypothesis tested withinn this study is as follows:

H1: Hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience influence academic performance of social

work students in University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

3

Results

Table 1 shows respondents’ gender, out of 180 respondents that were sampled, 85 (47.22%) of the

respondents were males while 95 (52.78%) were females. Table 1 also indicates that 100 (55.56%) of

the respondents are third year students while 80 (44.44%) of the respondents are fourth year students.

From Table 1, it could be deduced that male social work students and their female counterparts in

University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria participated in the study. Similarly, Table 1 indicates that third year

students and their counterparts in the fourth year participated in the study. On the whole, it could be

concluded that this sample fairly represents a cross-section of social work students in the University of

Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Table 1

Demographic distribution of respondents by gender and academic level

Variable

Frequency

Percentage (%)

Gender

Male

85

47.22

Female

95

52.78

Academic Level

Third year of study

100

55.56

Fourth year of study

80

44.44

RQ1: What is the level of psychological capital of social work students in University of Ilorin, Ilorin,

Nigeria?

Table 2 shows that 108 (60.00%) of the respondents rated themselves within the high level of

psychological capital, 47 (26.11%) of the respondents had average levels of psychological capital while

25 (13.39%) of the respondents had low levels of psychological capital. Thus, it could be inferred from

Table 2, that about 86.11 % of the respodents had a moderate level of psychological capital. This

finding might be attributed to the importance of a moderate level of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and

resilience in an academic environment that is characterised by several academic stressors and

challenges. For instance, social work students in the University of Ilorin require a moderate level of

hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilence to stay motivated and focused in their academic pursuit for

four years. Furthermore, the level of psychological capital among social work students in the University

of Ilorin could be as a result of the supportive roles of lecturers, staff advisers, level advisers, Student

Union executives, religious organizations, the Students Affairs Unit and the University’s Counselling

and Human Development Centre, as well as the social support of family members, intimate partners,

classmates, hostel mates and significant others in the university community.

Table 2

Distribution of respondents by levels of psychological capital

Variable

Frequency

Percentage (%)

Levels of psychological capital

High

108

60.00

Average

47

26.11

Low

25

13.89

60

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

RQ2: What is the level of academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin, Ilorin,

Nigeria?

Table 3 presents the level of academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin,

Nigeria. Hence, 94 (52.22%) of the respondents were categorized as being high in academic

performance, 56 (31.11%) of the respondents were categorized as being average in academic

performance while 30 (16.67%) of the respondents were categorized as being low in academic

performance. The results presented in Table 3 could be attributed to the importance attached to a

high level of academic performance in the Nigerian university system. Given that this set of respodents

are third and fourth year students nearing the point of graduation, it would be expected that all efforts

would be put in place by such students in order to graduate with a good CGPA or a high class of degree

that would be appreciated by the employers of labour in a highly competitive labour market.

Nonethless, it should noted that the level of academic performnance of the respodents was collected

through a self-report, and as such it might be possible that some of the respondents were biased in

their responses with regards to the level of academic performnance.

Table 3

Distribution of respondents by levels of academic performance

Variable

Frequency

Percentage (%)

Levels of academic performance High

94

52.22

Average

56

31.11

Low

30

16.67

RQ3: What is the relationship among hope, optimism, self-efficacy, resilience and academic

performance among social work students in University of Ilorin Ilorin, Nigeria?

Table 4 indicates the relationship among hope, optimism, self-efficacy and academic performance of

social work students in University of Ilorin. There was a significant positive correlation between

academic performance and all of the predictor variables (hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience)

with the exception of self-efficacy which was negatively correlated with academic performance.

Likewise, self-efficacy had a negative correlation with all of the other predictor variables, which in turn

had a positive correlation with each other. Table 4 also indicates the descriptive statistics for the

relationship among the variables in the present study. Thus, the highest mean was observed in the

self-efficacy scores (M = 16.73), whereas the lowest mean was found in the optimism scores (M = 9.53).

In a like manner, the standard deviation score of 3.01 of self-efficacy scores was the highest while

optimism scores had the least standard deviation of 2.02.

This finding implies that the mean difference was in favour of the social work students with a high level

of self efficacy, with higher scores indicating that social work students in the University of Ilorin are

confident and motivated enough to harness cognitive resources in order to successfully carry out

several academic-related tasks such assignments, field works, personal study, tests and examinations.

Thus, the general and academic self-efficacy of social work students in University of Ilorin should be

enhanced through effective psychosocial interventions and programmes.

61

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

Table 4

Correlation matrix for the relationship among hope, optimism, self-efficacy, resilience and academic

performance among social work students in University of Ilorin

Variable

1

1

3

4

5

1. Academic Performance

1

2. Hope

.74**

1

3. Optimism

.42**

.48**

1

4. Self-efficacy

-.57**

-.75**

-.43**

1

5. Resilience

.28**

.23**

-.26**

-.33**

1

Mean

17.22

10.34

9.53

16.73

10.57

SD

3.23

2.05

2.02

3.01

2.08

Note: ** = Significance at p < .01

H1: Hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience influence academic performance of social work

students in University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Table 5 indicates that the calculated F-value is 68.35 with significant probability value of .000 which is

less than alpha value of .05. Since the probability value is lesser than the alpha value, the null

hypothesis was rejected. By implication, hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience can predict

academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin. To examine the contributions of

the independent variables (hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) to the model (academic

performance), R-square was computed and the output reveals thus:

Table 5

Regression analysis of tested hypothesis

Sum of

Mean

Calculated

Model

squares

Df

squares

F-value

Sig.

Decision

Regression

3736.021

4

3427.015

Residual

1556.623

175

43.140

Rejected

Total

5292.644

179

68.35*

.000

Notes: Critical level of sig. = .05; Independent variables: Hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience; Dependent

variable: Academic performance

Table 6 revealed that the independent variables (hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) together

explain R-square .360 representing 36.0 % of the variance in the academic performance of social work

students, which is highly significant as also indicated by the F-value (68.35). By implication, 64.0 % of

the total variance of the dependent variable (academic performance) was not accounted for by the

combination of the four independent variables (hope, optimism, self-efficay and resilience). In other

words, it is possible that there are some other salient factors apart from psychological capital that

could influence the academic performnance of social work studnets in the University of Ilorin. For

instance, Ilorin is the capital city of Kwara State, Nigeria. Hence, social work students in the University

of Ilorin have access to various social activities in a broad spectrum of entertainment spots, night clubs,

sports betting centres and football viewing centres that are located within and outside the school

environment. More so, it is possible that the phenomenon of multitasking with various mobile devices

such as Smartphones, Tablet Pcs and Laptops for non-academic purposes during study or lecture

periods could be responsible for the reported level of academic performance among social work

students. Thus, some of these offline and online social activies might distract some students from

focusing on their studies, thereby influencing the level of students‘ academic performance.

Furthermore, other factors that might influence the academic performnance of social work students

might include psychosocial variables such as achievement motivation, emotional intelliegence, self-

esteem, locus of control, subjective wellbeing as well as home-related factors such socio-economc

status and family type.

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Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

Table 6

Contributions of the independent variables on the dependent variable

Unstandardized

Standardized

Model summary*

Coefficients

Coefficients

t-value

Sig.

B

Std. Error Beta

(Constant)

45.372

.444

73.128

.000

Hope

5.350

.736

.721

8.420

.000

Optimism

.0624

.672

.591

7.371

.000

Self-Efficacy

.115

.050

.312

3.285

.004

Resilience

.051

.68

.530

4.034

.000

Note: * Multiple R = .549; Multiple R2 = .360; Multiple R2 (adjusted) = .216; Standard error estimate=

.621.

In order to examine the contributions of each of the independent variables, Beta weight were

computed and output revealed that hope contributed beta weight of 5.350 and .721. It is followed by

optimism which contributed Beta weight of .624 and .591. Likewise, the Beta weight of self-efficacy

was .115 and .312 while the Beta weight of reslinece was .051 and .530 respectively. This implies that

hope is the most significant of all the independent variables that contributed more to dependent

variable (academic performance). In a like manner, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy contributed

in various dimensions to the academic performance of social work students in University of Ilorin.

Nonetheless, self-efficacy contributed less to the dependent variable (academic performance).

4

Discussion

Extant literature has focused on the relationship between psychological capital and academic

performance in other countries as well in other academic disciplines, however, little is known about

the relationship between psychological capital and academic performance of social work students in

the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. Hence, the research

aimed to determine the relationship between psychological

The results indicated that

capital and academic performance of social work students

there is a significant positive

in the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. Based on the

relationship between

research questions answered and hypothesis tested, it was

revealed that the psychological capital of social work

psychological capital

students in the University of Ilorin was moderate. This

(resilience, hope, optimism

could be attributed to the data obtained from the field that

the students sampled had 60% high psychological capital.

and self-efficacy) and

In the same vein, they had 52.22% high level of academic

academic performance of

performance. This finding is in agreement with Saeed and

social work students.

Murad (2015) who observed that relationship there is a

significant positive relationship between psychological

capital (hope, resilience, optimism and self-efficacy) and academic performance of students in the

University of Applied Sciences in Abdanan County, Iran. Similarly, this finding is in support of Feldman

and Kubota (2015) who found that hope and academic self-efficacy significantly predicted students’

GPA. Supporting this finding, Luthans, Luthans and Jensen (2012) found a significant and predictive

relationship between the psychological capital and the Grade Point Average (GPA) of undergraduate

business students. Furthermore, the findings indicated that hope is the most significant predictor of

academic performance among social work students in the University of Ilorin. This finding could be

attributed to the findings of some studies which indicates that students with a high level of hope tend

to expect positive outcomes from challenging situations in the academic environment (Santilli et al.,

2014; Sharabi et al., 2016).

63

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

5

Conclusion

Based on the data collected, analyzed and interpreted, it could be concluded that social work students

in the University of Ilorin had 108 (60%)of the social work students in University of Ilorin had a high

level of psychological capital while 94 (52.22%) of the respodents had above average level of academic

performance. It is the submission of the researcher based on the data collected, analyzed and

interpreted that psychological capital is a good determinant of academic performance among social

work students in the University of Ilorin. In the course of this study, it is also ascribed that hope as a

sub-component of psychological capital influenced students’ academic performance by contributing

significantly to the academic performance of social work students in the University of Ilorin.

5.1 Recommendations

Since psychological capital had a positive significant relationship with the academic performance of

social work students in the University of Ilorin, the following recommendations are proffered:

1. Curriculum experts could develop and integrate psychological capital in university education

curriculum especially social work education.

2. Newly admitted social work students should be give orientation on how to integrate the concept

of psychological capital into their day to day activities so as to enhance high level of academic

performance among social work students.

3. There should be periodical sensitization workshops/seminars for university administrators,

lecturers and social work students in an attempt to manage and improve psychological capital

of social work students.

5.2

Limitations of the study

It is important to note some limitations of the present study. First, the present study was cross-

sectional, thereby limiting the ability of the researcher to determine causality or temporality. Thus, it

would be helpful for future studies to test the relationship between psychological capital and academic

performance of social work students by using causal or prospective designs.

Secondly, the reliability of the scale used for the present study seems to be too low in relation to what

is obtainable in some similar studies in developed countries. The relatively low reliability of the scale

might indicate some measure of imperfection that could be attributed to the specificity of the students

used for the pilot study. Thus, future studies should endeavour to use a more reliable scale or develop

a culturally sensitive scale that would be peculiar to the Nigerian environment.

The third limitation of this study, concerns its sample, which consists of social work students from a

Federal University in North-Central Nigeria. It is unknown to what extent the results would generalize

to other groups such as graduate social work students or social work students in the State and private

universities in other geo-political zones of Nigeria. A last limitation is that the GPA of the students was

obtained through self-report, which potentially introduce social desirability bias. Nonetheless, the

present study offers a germane evidence of the relationship between psychological capital and

academic performance of social work students in Nigeria.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the many students who participated in the study. I am also grateful to the

anonymous reviewers of the work for your insightful suggestions and corrections.

64

Onivehu / The relationship between psychological capital and academic performance …

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Adams Ogirima Onivehu is a postgraduate researcher in the Department of

Social Sciences Education, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria, where he

specializes in the field of Educational Psychology. His diverse background and

field experience in the fields of Educational Technology and Psychology, along

with a gnawing curiosity, have resulted in a series of interdisciplinary research

interests, which is reflected in several articles published by national and

international outlets. He has attended many national and international

conferences.

Table of Contents

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Shuaibu, Salleh, & Shehu, 2015; Uzorma & Nwanegbo-Ben, 2014).

(Kraimer & Altmeye, 2018).

(2007)