Academic Overload and Help-Seeking Behaviour as Predictors of Academic Performance of Biology Undergraduates in Tai Solarin University of Education

Abstract

Academic overload may be a major obstacle to academic attainments of students and inability to manage it may have negative impact on the education system. This study was designed to investigate academic overload and help-seeking behaviour as predictors of academic performance of Biology undergraduates in Tai Solarin University of Education. Simple random sampling was adopted in selecting two hundred Biology undergraduates from 100-400 level. Adopted help-seeking behavior scale and academic overload were used as research instrument. The demographic data of the respondents were analysed using percentages while the formulated hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression. The results showed that there was no significant relationship (r= 0.108; p=0.130; F=2.31) between academic overload and academic performance; help-seeking behaviour did predict (r=0.195; p=0.006; F= 7.79) academic performance of students in Biology. There was a composite significant effect of academic overload and help-seeking behaviour on academic performance of Biology. Results implied that academic overloads did not determine the academic performance of Biology students; help-seeking behavior did predict the academic performance of biology students in Tai Solarin University of Education. Based on findings, it was therefore recommended that students should have positive attitude towards help-seeking and also be confident in handling tasks at hand and upcoming ones. The university management should encourage students to seek help when they are overwhelmed by academic tasks