Students’ Attention to Lectures: Examining the Influence of Self-Esteem and Locus of Control

Abstract

Observation has revealed that while lecture is going on, rather than paying attention, students engage themselves in irrelevant activities like fiddling with their mobile phones, sneaking out of lecture halls and so on. This study investigated the influence of Self-esteem and Locus of control on attention to lectures among undergraduates of Mass Communication department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. A sample size of 236 students were selected for the study from a population of 577 through simple random sampling method. The samples comprised of 04 (44.1%) males and 132(55.9%) females. Their age ranged from 17-32 years, with mean age of 22 and standard deviation of 2.86. Three scales were administered to the participants, which include Index of Self-Esteem by Hudson (1982), Locus of Control Internal- External scale by Rotter (1966), and Moss Attention Rating Scale by Whyte, Hart, Bode & Male C(2003). Data were collected through survey method and was analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-way analysis of Variance. The study tested three hypotheses, the ANOVA statistics revealed a significant influence of students’ self esteem on attention to Lectures F (1,232)= 5.72, P<.05, and a non-significant influence of Locus of control on attention to Lectures F(1,232)= 1.01, P>.05. These was a non-significant interaction effect of Self-esteem and Locus of control on attention to Lectures F(1,232)= .04,P> .05. Based on the descriptive analysis, it was observed that students who scored high in their Self-esteem measures paid more attention to lectures than those who scored low. The researchers, among others, recommends that lecturers in tertiary institutions should employ teaching methods that will enhance students’ Self-esteem during learning. Keywords: Self-esteem, Locus, Control, Attention, Lectures. DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-16-03 Publication date : August 31 st 2019