# Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Senior Secondary School Students' Academic Performance and Self-Concept in Biology and Mathematics in Northwestern Nigeria

G O Abiona, O S Falebita

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G O Abiona, O S Falebita. Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Senior Secondary School Students' Academic Performance and Self-Concept in Biology and Mathematics in Northwestern Nigeria. Journal of the Social Sciences, 2020, 48 (4), pp.2037 - 2051. hal-04613949

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Journal of the Social Sciences

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Journal of the Social Sciences

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# Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Senior Secondary School Students' Academic Performance and Self-Concept in Biology and Mathematics in Northwestern Nigeria

G. O. Abiona, PhD

Department of Science Education (Biology Education)
&

O. S. Falebita, PhD

Department of Science Education (Mathematics Education)

Faculty of Education

Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

## Abstract

The outbreak of covid-19 led to the sudden closure of secondary schools in Nigeria for over 20 weeks. In the study, sample of 1425 students drawn from four States of the Northwestern Nigeria were used. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select samples from the senatorial districts of each State. The three instruments used are Students' Biology Performance Test (SBPT), Students' Mathematics Performance Test (SMPT), and Student Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire (SASCQ). The face and content validity of the instruments were ensured. Reliability coefficients of 0.83 and 0.79 were obtained for SBPT and SMPT respectively using Kudar Richardson 20 (KR20) formula while a reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained for SASCQ using Cronbach Alpha method of testing internal consistency. Three hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and t-test statistics. The results of the findings showed that covid-19 pandemic had significant impact on the academic performance of students in Biology and Mathematics. The result also revealed that there was significant impact of covid-19 on students' academic self-concept. It was recommended that the school, teachers and parents should help in filling the vacuum always created by long vacation in order to prevent academic losses.

**Keywords:** 1. Covid-19 pandemic, 2. School closure, 3. Academic performance, 4. Self-concept, 5. Biology, 6. Mathematics.

## Objective

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of covid-19 pandemic on senior secondary school students' academic performance and self-concept in biology and mathematics in Northwestern Nigeria.

## Methodology

The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for the study comprised all the science students in the senior school three (SSS3) in Northwestern Nigeria. Sample of 1425 SSS III science students were used for the study. Three hundred and seventy five science students were selected using stratified random sampling from fifteen secondary schools in each of Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi and Zamfara States of the Northwestern Nigeria to make a total of 1500 science students and sixty secondary schools. 1425 science students duly completed the instruments used for the study. Three research instruments were developed for the study; Students' Biology Performance Test (SBPT), Students' Mathematics Performance Test (SMPT), and Student Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire (SASCQ).

SBPT and SMPT were designed to measure the performance of students in Biology and Mathematics respectively. The instruments consisted of two sections, A and B. Section A sought information about students' name, school and gender. Section B consisted of 50-multiple-choice questions with four options (A-D). Each question of the tests carries one mark with a total obtainable mark of 50. The students' scores were converted to percentage scores which were later used for data analysis.
SASCQ consisted of two sections; the first section sought information about students' learning experiences during covid-19 pandemic while the second section consisted of 20 items adapted from Reynolds (1988) which focus on how positive students think and talk about their academic abilities. The items were worded and rated on a 4-point Likert scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). The responses were scored 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. The instrument also sought for information about students' learning experiences/activities during the Covid-19 pandemic while waiting to start their SSCE. These were categorized as attending lesson and studying personally, attending lessons only, personal studying only and no time to attend lesson and study. The responses were scored 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively.

The face and content validity of the instruments were ensured. SBPT and SMPT are standardized questions adapted from WAEC past questions. The three instruments; SBPT, SMPT and SASCQ were administered on 40 students outside the study area for the reliability test. The performance score from SBPT and SMPT were analyzed using Kudar Richardson 20 (KR20) and reliability coefficients of 0.83 and 0.79 were obtained respectively. The data from SASCQ were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha method of testing internal consistency and a reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained.

The instruments were administered on the respondents through the help of research assistants. The data gathered from theretrievved SBPT, SMPT and SASCQ were scored and the scores were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.The range of scores of the respondents in the SASCQ fell between 21 and 84 while SBPT and SMPT scores is between 0 and 100%.

## Study Area

The Northwestern region of Nigeria is native homeland of Hausa people with the second largest tribe being Fulani.It offers a wide range of Islamic beauty and culture from the seat of Caliphates in Sokoto to the land of equity to the free trade zone in Jigawa. It was formed from parts of the old northern region. This area of the country covers six States such Jigawa which covers a total of 322,410sqkm land area, Kaduna which covers 48,473.2sqkm land area, Katsina which occupies a total of 24,192km land areas, Kebbi which covers about 36,800sqkm, Sokoto which has a total land area of about 32,000sqkm, and Zamfara which has an area of 38,418sqkm.

## Introduction

The outbreak of a deadly disease named Covid-19, caused by a virus known as coronavirus was spreading around the nations of the world at the beginning of the year 2020. The outbreak of covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11th March, 2020. The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced an adaptive and transformative challenge in the economy and system of education, one for which there is no predetermined approach that revealed accurate responses. The widespread of COVID-19 among the nations of the world has propelled the implementation of measures that limit the number of people gathering in public places by governments. These measures have interrupted the normal operation of schools.

The pandemic led to the closure of schools including primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Nigeria. In response to the pandemic the Federal Ministry of Education approved school closures; the directive was aimed at curtailing the spread of this deadly disease called covid-19 knowing fully that the maintenance of social distance proves to be effective since there were no vaccines to curb its spread. The lockdown measure enforced by the government does not only affect the education system of the country but also negatively impact the economy of the nation. This brought more negative impact on disadvantaged children and their families; it causes among others outright interrupted learning, malnutrition and childcare problems. UNICEF (2020) revealed that millions of students could not have
access to online lessons due to digital divide. It was suggested that home lesson could be the solution to learning during the lockdown due to covid-19 pandemic.

The secondary schools in Nigeria were under total closure for a period of 20 weeks (5 months) due to the pandemic which has gone beyond the duration for any form of holiday normally experienced by the students and teachers. What happened to students' learning when kept away from the four-wall of the school for such a lengthy period has raised concerns among researchers and stakeholders in the education sector. At the end of the 20th week of school closure, the senior secondary school three (SSS 3) students who were supposed to have written their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) were asked to resume in order to commence this final examinations in the following week (after a week) of resumption.

It is widely known that biology as a branch of science that studies life is a core subject for the senior secondary school students in the science class. The rationale behind the learning of biology is to help the students gain appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge that will help them understand many of today's contemporary issues, and to become aware of the interconnections between science, technology and society. Biology subjugates a distinctive position in the senior secondary school curriculum due to its importance as science of life. In Nigeria, the secondary school Biology curriculum is designed to continue students' investigation into natural phenomena, to deepen students' understanding and interest in Biological sciences, and also to encourage students' ability to apply scientific knowledge to everyday life in matters of personal, community, health and agriculture among others (Federal Ministry of Education, 2009).

Biology is an essential science subject that stands as the bedrock upon which many other science courses like Medicine and surgery, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Biochemistry, Agricultural Science, Genetics, among others are based and are of great economic importance to the nation. Besides, the importance of Biology to mankind as science of life, it appears to be the preferred science subject among senior secondary school students because it involve less calculations unlike Physics and Chemistry hence, it has high student enrolment in the SSCE than Physics and Chemistry (Opara, 2011; Ogunbanwo, 2014). However, there has been consistency in the poor performance of students in Biology over the years. Below is a highlight of this unimpressive performance in Biology in WAEC examination between 2016 and 2019.

<table><caption>Performance Mean Score and Standard Deviation of students in SSCE Biology</caption><thead><tr><td>Year</td><td>No of Registered Candidates</td><td>Mean Score</td><td>Standard Deviation</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2016</td><td>1,087,921</td><td>31</td><td>10.91</td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>1,087,921</td><td>31</td><td>11.92</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>1,087,884</td><td>30</td><td>9.00</td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>1,086,449</td><td>31</td><td>9.43</td></tr></tbody></table>

Source: West African Examination Council, 2016 – 2019 Examiners' Report

From the table above, the consistency of poor performance of students in SSCE Biology was revealed; over the years, there has been fluctuation in the performance of students, showing no noteworthy improvement in the performance. These poor performances were recorded at times when the academic activities within the school were not abated; at a time when both the teachers and the students were available in school and have the whole time to interact for learning purposes without the barrier of congregating. This consistent poor performance has raised concern among researchers, examiners and other stakeholders in the educational system. Akiri and Nkechi (2009) opined that the problem of poor performance in Biology could be traced to ineffective classroom interaction between the teacher and the learners. They further stressed that the ways learners learn affect their academic performance in Biology. Dinah (2013) concluded that, students' dispositions, feelings and thinking contribute significantly to the
performance of students in Biology examination. The problem associated with students' performance and disposition might also extend to other science or compulsory subjects.

Mathematics as the science of numbers, measurement and generalization is the root to success in science and technology. It is essential for logical reasoning and resources management; no matter how little it maybe, the knowledge of Mathematics is important to man progress. It is a fundamental subject that must be passed at credit level before any advancement in academic pursuit in Nigeria. Mathematics is a core subject offered at both primary and secondary school that is associated with more academic and career opportunities (Popoola, 2014). This compulsoriness of Mathematics at the primary and secondary level of education in Nigeria goes with the notion that the knowledge of the subject is essential for all members of our society. Mathematics competence is a critical determinant of the courses available to students in tertiary institutions and career options.

With the level of relevancy of Mathematics, it was observed that there has been fluctuation in the performance of students in Mathematics over the years especially in the SSCE; sometimes when slight improvement is noticed in the performance, the next year there may be drastic fall in the percentage pass of students in the examination at credit level. No stakeholder in the educational system has been spared of receiving blames each time poor performance of students in Mathematics is recorded. Some of the factors identified as contributor to poor performance include; lack of confidence in the subject by both students and teachers; ineffective methods used by teachers; low interest in the learning of Mathematics; poor attitude towards the teaching and learning of Mathematics and environment among others (Oginni&Owolabi, 2012; Obinna, 2012; Adegun&Adegun, 2013; Popoola, 2014; Popoola&Falebita, 2016).

The Teacher appears to have a vital influence on students' academic performance and the development of students' mathematical ability. The teachers are ultimately responsible for translating policy into action and principles based on practice during interaction with the students; effective teaching and learning of Mathematics appears to depend more on the teacher (Popoola&Falebita, 2016). Opara&Uwah (2018) identifies vacation/holiday as an environmental factor which associates with the performance of students. During scheduled long vacation which usually last for 6 to 7 weeks, the students are out of school and might not be connected with academic activities that could make them learn academic contents. This break usually disrupts learning rhythm and could lead to losses in skills and knowledge. This long break from school usually contribute negatively to students' academic performance when being observed except for cases where the services of teacher is being employed to keep the student connected to learning academic content (Moore, 2010; Alexander, Entwisle& Olson, 2012; Opara&Uwah, 2018). The long break might also contribute to students' self-perception of their academic abilities.

Academic self-concept is the belief in and feelings or perceptions of one's own intellectual and/or academic skills and performance formed through interaction with the environment (Khalaila, 2015). Yara (2010) views academic self-concept as the perception or feeling that students have about their level of education, level of knowledge and awareness of the happenings around and opportunities for advancement. They further stressed that self-concept builds students' confidence in carrying out academic task and equally stimulate their pursuit for academic excellence. Academic self-concept focused on what an individual students think they are; what they think they can do and how best they can do it. It is a kind of self-perception, which could be high or low that is negative or positive (Adebule, 2014). Ude (2017) opined that the model of self-concept covers self-esteem, stability and self-efficacy. They further stressed that with self-esteem one makes judgments about their worth, while stability helps in the organization and continuity of one's self-concept and self-efficacy produces confidence in one's abilities. Academic performance and self-concept has bidirectional relationship; there is agreement on the impact on the learners' self-concept and their academic performance (Marsh and Martin, 2010). This is an indication that self-concept (learning input) could determine students' performance (learning outcome) and the students' performance (learning input) could determine their self-concept (learning outcome).
When students have developed to the point of identifying or recognizing their academic capabilities i.e. knowing what they can do and cannot do academically, then they can make the most of the learning outcomes (Huitt, 2004). Ude (2017) in their study on the relationship between academic self-concept and senior Secondary students' achievement in Biology found a positive relationship exist between students' academic self-concept and achievement in biology. They further stress that students' academic self-concept significantly influences their SSCE biology achievement. Khalaila (2015) also indicated that a high academic self-concept directly enhances academic performance of students. Also, Yara (2010) in their study on students' self-concept and Mathematics achievement in some secondary schools in Southwestern Nigeria found that students' self-concept contribute to their performance in Mathematics. On the contrary, Adebule (2014) in their study on self-concept and academic performance in Mathematics among secondary school students in Ekiti State showed that self-concept did not influence academic performance of students.

**Statement of the problem**

The academic activities within the four-wall of the school were truncated by the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic, this led to the closure of schools with the aim of curtailing the spread of the virus (coronavirus) responsible for the deadly disease (Covid-19). This unforeseen school closure started at a time when the SSS 3 students were supposed to commence their Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) and lasted for a period of 20weeks. For complete 20weeks, students were cut-off from learning from the four-wall of the school without prior preparation for this abrupt break. The academic learning experience of individual student during the abrupt break varies from student to student since they could no longer congregate in the school premises. At the end of the 20th week, the SSS 3 students were asked to resume back to school with an obligation to start their SSCE a week after the resumption. At the time when the students were out of school, their involvement in academic learning activities that could prepare them for the examinations were uncertain. These SSS 3 students were welcomed back to the school only to write their Pre-SSCE (Mock) and the SSCE; it appears that there is no enough time for revision or adequate preparation for the examinations which implies that the academic learning activities involved in during the long break might determine the students' academic performance and self-concept. This study thus examined the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic performance and self-concept in Biology and Mathematics in Northwestern Nigeria.

**Research Question**

1. What is the impact of school closure due to covid-19 pandemic on students' academic learning in Biology and Mathematics?

**Research Hypotheses**

$H_0_1$: There is no significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic performance in Biology and Mathematics.

$H_0_2$: There is no significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic self-concept.

$H_0_3$: There is no significant difference in the performance of students between the groups of academic self-concept in Biology and Mathematics.

**Results**

**Research Question**

What is the impact of school closure due to covid-19 pandemic on students' academic learning in Biology and Mathematics?

The data collected on students' involvement in academic/learning activities during covid-19 pandemic were analyzed as presented in table 1.
<table><caption>Table 1: Level of students' involvement in academic/learning activities during school closure due to covid-19 pandemic</caption><thead><tr><th>Academic/Learning Activities during pandemic</th><th>N</th><th>Percentage (%)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Attending lessons and personal study (ALPS)</td><td>214</td><td>15.0</td></tr><tr><td>Attending lesson only (AL)</td><td>431</td><td>30.2</td></tr><tr><td>Personal study only (PS)</td><td>406</td><td>28.5</td></tr><tr><td>Not Involved (NI)</td><td>374</td><td>26.3</td></tr><tr><td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td><td><strong>1425</strong></td><td><strong>100</strong></td></tr></tbody></table>

The result on table 1 shows that 214 (15.0%) of the students engaged in lessons and personal study while 431 (30.2%) participated only in lesson. Also, 406 (28.5%) of the students engaged in personal study throughout the pandemic while 374 (26.3%) were not involved in any form of academic/learning activities during the pandemic. This finding attests to the fact that most students might take a break from academic/learning activities with the teacher when the school is closed for a long period and in particular when the closure is due to pandemic.

## Hypotheses Testing

H01: There is no significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic performance in Biology and Mathematics.

<table><caption>Table 2: ANOVA Summary of Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic On Students' Performance in Biology and Mathematics</caption><thead><tr><th>Subject</th><th></th><th>Sum of Squares</th><th>df</th><th>Mean Square</th><th>F</th><th>p</th><th>Result</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="3">Biology</td><td>Between Groups</td><td>264963.408</td><td>3</td><td>88321.136</td><td rowspan="3">19621.051</td><td rowspan="3">.000</td><td rowspan="3">Significant</td></tr><tr><td>Within Groups</td><td>6396.412</td><td>1421</td><td>4.501</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>271359.820</td><td>1424</td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3">Mathematics</td><td>Between Groups</td><td>178531.423</td><td>3</td><td>59510.474</td><td rowspan="3">378.608</td><td rowspan="3">.000</td><td rowspan="3">Significant</td></tr><tr><td>Within Groups</td><td>223356.139</td><td>1421</td><td>157.182</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>401887.562</td><td>1424</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

P<0.05*

Table 3 shows that, for biology F(3, 1421) = 19621.051, p = 0.000 is statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance while for Mathematics F(3, 1421) = 378.608, p = 0.000 is also statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. Hypothesis one is thus rejected. This shows that there is significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic performance in Biology and Mathematics. In order to investigate the source of impact observed, Scheffe multiple comparisons post-hoc analysis with mean difference was carried out.

<table><caption>Table 3: Summary of Scheffe Multiple Comparisons Post-Hoc Analysis of Students' Academic Performance</caption><thead><tr><th>Academic/Learning Activities during pandemic</th><th>N</th><th>x̄</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Attending Lessons and Personal Study (ALPS)</td><td>214</td><td>48.617</td><td>0</td><td>14.424*</td><td>26.814*</td><td>40.486*</td></tr><tr><td>Attending Lesson only (AL)</td><td>431</td><td>34.193</td><td></td><td>0</td><td>12.390*</td><td>26.062*</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td>Personal Study only (PS)</td><td>406</td><td>21.803</td><td></td><td>0</td><td>13.672*</td></tr><tr><td>Not Involved (NI)</td><td>374</td><td>8.131</td><td></td><td></td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td><td><strong>1425</strong></td><td><strong>25.989</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Attending Lessons and Personal Study (ALPS)</td><td>214</td><td>40.112</td><td>0</td><td>11.657*</td><td>23.858*</td><td>32.532*</td></tr><tr><td>Attending Lesson only (AL)</td><td>431</td><td>28.455</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>12.201*</td><td>20.875*</td></tr><tr><td>Personal Study only (PS)</td><td>406</td><td>16.254</td><td></td><td>0</td><td>8.673*</td></tr><tr><td>Not Involved (NI)</td><td>374</td><td>7.580</td><td></td><td></td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td><td><strong>1425</strong></td><td><strong>21.251</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>

* The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

Table 3 reveals that 214 ALPS students had performance mean score of 48.617 and 40.112 in Biology and Mathematics respectively, while their 431AL counterparts had performance mean scores of 34.193 and 28.455 in Biology and Mathematics respectively. The PS Students were 406 with performance mean scores of 21.803 and 16.254 in Biology and Mathematics respectively while the NI students were 374 and had performance mean scores of 8.131 and 7.580 in Biology and Mathematics respectively. Also, the performance mean scores of the 1425 students in Biology and Mathematics are 25.989 and 21.251 respectively.

The table also shows a significant difference between the performance of the ALPS and the AL students in favour of the ALPS in both Biology and Mathematics, there was also significant difference between ALPS and PS students with the ALPS favoured in both Biology and Mathematics, the significant difference between the ALPS and NI also favours ALPS in both Biology and Mathematics. Significant difference was also revealed between AL and PS which favours AL, between AL and NI, AL was also favoured while the significant difference between the PS and NI favours PS all in both Biology and Mathematics.

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1: Students' Performance Means Score based on involvement in Academic/Learning Activities during pandemic</figcaption></figure>

The chart in figure 1 also attests to the fact that the performance of students was poor in both Biology and Mathematics. It appears that this observed poor performance was due to the long break that students took from academic/learning activities within the school as a result of school closure due to covid-19
pandemic. It also appears that students perform better in Biology than Mathematics at all level of involvement in academic/learning activities.

H₀₂: There is no significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic self-concept.

<table><caption>Table 4: ANOVA Summary of Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Students' Academic Self-Concept</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>Sum of Squares</th><th>df</th><th>Mean Square</th><th>F</th><th>p</th><th>Result</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Between Groups</td><td>52318.946</td><td>3</td><td>17439.649</td><td rowspan="3">79.505</td><td rowspan="3">.000</td><td rowspan="3">Significant</td></tr><tr><td>Within Groups</td><td>311700.632</td><td>1421</td><td>219.353</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>364019.578</td><td>1424</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Table 4 shows that, F(3, 1421) = 79.505, p = 0.000 is statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. Hypothesis two is thus rejected. This shows that there is significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic self-concept. In order to investigate the source of impact observed, Scheffe multiple comparisons post-hoc analysis with mean was carried out.

<table><caption>Table 5: Summary of Scheffe Multiple Comparisons Post-Hoc Analysis of Students' Academic Self-Concept</caption><thead><tr><th>Academic/Learning Activities during pandemic</th><th>N</th><th>X&#772;</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Attending Lessons and Personal Study (ALPS)</td><td>214</td><td>51.999</td><td>0</td><td>1.259</td><td>4.784*</td><td>15.586*</td></tr><tr><td>Attending Lesson only (AL)</td><td>431</td><td>50.740</td><td></td><td>0</td><td>3.525*</td><td>14.327*</td></tr><tr><td>Personal Study only (PS)</td><td>406</td><td>47.215</td><td></td><td></td><td>0</td><td>10.802*</td></tr><tr><td>Not Involved (NI)</td><td>374</td><td>36.413</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td><td><strong>1425</strong></td><td><strong>46.164</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

The result presented in table 5 shows that the ALPS students had academic self-concept mean score of 51.999, the AL students had 50.740 and the PS students had 47.215 while the NI students had the self-concept mean score of 36.413. The table further reveals no significant difference between the academic self-concept of the ALPS and the AL students while significant difference was found in the academic self-concept of ALPS and PS students with the ALPS favoured, the significant difference in academic self-concept of the ALPS and NI also favours ALPS. There was a significant difference between the academic self-concept AL and PS students in favour of AL and between AL and NI, the significant difference favours AL while the significant difference between the PS and NI favours PS.
<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2: Students' Academic Self-Concept Means Score based on involvement in Academic/Learning Activities during pandemic</figcaption></figure>

The chart in figure 2 indicates that the Students' Academic Self-Concept was generally low and the lowest comes from students who were not involved in any form of academic/learning activities during the pandemic. It seems that the observed low academic self-concept was as a result of the sudden long break from school academic/learning activities or experiences within the school due to covid-19 pandemic.

H0₃: There is no significant difference in the performance of students between the groups of academic self-concept in Biology and Mathematics

<table><thead><tr><th>Subject</th><th>Level</th><th>N</th><th>X&#772;</th><th>SD</th><th>df</th><th>t-cal</th><th>p</th><th>Result</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2">Biology</td><td>High</td><td>880</td><td>29.272</td><td>12.989</td><td rowspan="2">1423</td><td rowspan="2">11.963</td><td rowspan="2">.000</td><td rowspan="2">Significant</td></tr><tr><td>Low</td><td>545</td><td>20.688</td><td>13.439</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Mathematics</td><td>High</td><td>880</td><td>24.692</td><td>17.004</td><td rowspan="2">1423</td><td rowspan="2">10.174</td><td rowspan="2">.000</td><td rowspan="2">Significant</td></tr><tr><td>Low</td><td>545</td><td>15.694</td><td>14.882</td></tr></tbody></table>

P<0.05*

The result on table 5 shows that, for Biologytcal = 11.963, p=0.000 is statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. This implies there is significant difference in the performance of low and high academic self-concept students in Biology. The table also reveals that for Mathematics, tcal=10.174, p=0.000 is statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance. This also implies that there is significance difference in the performance of low and high academic self-concept studentsin Mathematics. Hypothesis three is rejected. Hence, there is significant difference in the performance of students between the groups of academic self-concept in Biology and Mathematics. This difference favours the high academic self-concept students in both Biology and Mathematics; the high academic self-concept students had 29.272 and 12.989 as the performance mean score and standard deviation respectively in Biology while their counterparts had performance mean score and standard deviation of 20.688 and 13.439 respectively. In Mathematics, the difference between the groups also favours the students with high academic self-concept they were found to have performance mean scores of 24.692 and a standard deviation of 17.004
while the students with low academic self-concept had 15.694 and 14.882 as the performance mean scores and standard deviation respectively.

## Discussion

The result of findings of this study revealed that the covid-19 pandemic had negative impact on students' academic performance in Biology and Mathematics. This was in agreement with Opara&Uwah (2018) who stressed long vacation contributes significantly to students' performance. This comes from the fact that the students tend to be disconnected from activities that encourages the learning of academic contents which much later lead to academic losses. This could also affirms the fact that the more a student stay away from school without alternative learning measures the more such student losses memory of academic contents learnt.

Also the result of findings on hypothesis two which states that there is no significant impact of Covid-19 pandemic on students' academic self-concept is in consonance with Alexander, Entwisle& Olson (2012) who found that students who experience their long vacation as academically stimulating had better academic perception than those without academic stimulating experiences. This is an indication that the longer a student take break from academic/learning activities, the more they drop in the development of academic self-concept that is such student has higher chances of having lower academic self-concept.

The results of the findings further show that there is significant difference between the performance of students with high academic self-concept and those with low academic self-concept. This was in agreement with students Ude (2017), Marsh and Martin (2010) and Yara (2010) who all found concluded that students' academic self-concept contribute significantly to their academic performances. This implies that positive self-perception and confidence would bring about better performance. However, the finding is in contrast to the findings of Adebule (2014) who indicated that self-concept did not impact academic performance of students.

## Conclusion

It can be concluded base on the findings of the study that the covid-19 pandemic which led to the long break and school closure negatively contributes to the performance of students in Biology and Mathematics. It was also concluded that students drop in or develop low academic self-concept when not engaged in academic/learning activities for a long period of time or after long vacations. Students with high level of academic self-concept perform better than those with low academic self-concept in Biology and Mathematics. In other words, students' academic self-concept could immensely affect their academic performance in Biology and Mathematics.

## Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made:

1. The school should fill the learning vacuum created every time by long vacations through the development of academic programs and activities that will keep the students learning during this period.

2. Teachers should make conscious effort in helping students recover from the academic losses caused by long vacation before exposing them to examinations.

3. Students should not relent in involving in academic/learning activities during long vacations.

4. Parents should be more committed to their children's academic well-being during long vacation so as to avoid academic losses and to improve the students' self-concept.
References

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13. Opara I. M. &Uwah I. V. (2018). Effect of long term vacation on Mathematics academic performance of secondary school students in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Nigeria. *International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development*, 5(9), 21-27.

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Correspondence E-mail: godwin.nwogu@fuoye.edu.ng
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