RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-CONCEPT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NASARAWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NASARAWA STATE

Self-concept has consistently been identified as an important psychological construct associated with students' learning outcomes, yet empirical evidence from secondary schools in North Central Nigeria remains limited. This study examined the relationship between self-concept and the academic performance of senior secondary school students in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the academic, social, and emotional dimensions of self-concept in relation to students' academic performance. The study was anchored on Marsh's Reciprocal Effects Model. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study population comprised 4,050 senior secondary school students, from which a sample of 346 respondents was selected using a multistage sampling procedure involving proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. A letter of introduction was obtained from the Head of Department (HOD), Department of Educational Foundations, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and presented to the relevant educational authorities and participating schools to facilitate access to respondents. Data were collected using the Self-Concept Scale (SCS), while students' academic records served as the measure of academic performance. The instrument demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (overall Cronbach's α = .872; academic α = .834; social α = .812; emotional α = .847). Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression were employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings indicated that students reported high levels of academic, social, and emotional self-concept, while their academic performance was moderate. The hypothesis tests revealed statistically significant positive relationships between each self-concept dimension and students' academic performance (p < .05). Multiple regression analysis showed that the three self-concept dimensions jointly accounted for 28.4% of the variance in academic performance (R² = .284, F(3, 342) = 45.21, p < .001), with academic self-concept making the strongest unique contribution (β = .38, p < .001). The study concludes that a positive self-concept is closely associated with improved academic performance among senior secondary school students. It recommends that school administrators, teachers, counsellors, and parents implement interventions that strengthen students' academic confidence, social competence, and emotional resilience to promote better educational outcomes. Keywords: self-concept, academic self-concept, social self-concept, emotional self-concept, academic performance, secondary school students, Nigeria.