Lecturer-Student Relationship and Its Influence on Students' Academic Performance among Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of lecturer-students relationship on students' academic performance at Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State. To guide the study, four research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. This study employed the expost-facto type of correlational research design. The population of the study consisted of all undergraduates in Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State. The sample of the study consisted of 100 undergraduates from the university. The instrument used for this study was questionnaire titled ‘Lecturers-Students Relationship Questionnaire' (LSRQ). This instrument was made up of three sections. Section A consisted of ten (10) items on teacher's level of commitment on a five-point Likert scale of: Very High (VH), High (H), Moderate (M), Low (L) and Very Low (VL).SectionB also consisted of ten (10) items on students' attitude and academic performance on a five-point Likert scale of: Often Like Me (OLM), Like Me (LM), Partially Like Me (PLM), Unlike Me (UM) and Never Like Me (NLM) while section C solicited students' last academic session's GPA which was used to measure their academic performance. The instrument was validated by three experts; one in the field of Measurement and Evaluation and the other two from Counselling Psychology. They ascertained the face and content validity of the instrument. The test-re-test method was used to establish the reliability of section B of the instrument and it was found to have a reliability index of 0.72 using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The data collected were analyzed using the descriptive statistics of mean and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Statistics. The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between lecturer-students relationship and students' academic performance; there was a significant relationship between lecturer job commitment and students' academic performance and there was a significant relationship between students' attitude and students' academic performance in Benson Idahosa University, Benin City. It was, therefore, recommended that lecturers, in universities should have good and appropriate relationship with their students since it was revealed that this relationship facilitated improvements on the students' academic performance.  Schoolcounsellors should encourage the students to change their attitude towards learning so that they would be able to achieve their maximum potential in life.