Effects of Insurgency on Senior Secondary School Students’ Attitude and Achievement in Geography in Maiduguri, Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria

This study explored the effects of insurgency on senior secondary school geography students’ attitude and achievement in in Maiduguri Borno State, Northeastern Nigeria. The study design was survey. The sample consisted of 337 geography students drawn from 20 sampled schools cutting across 98 public and private schools in the study area. Data for the study was collected using Students’ Attitudes towards Geography Scale (SATGS) and students Geography Achievement Test (GAT). The reliability coefficients of SATGS (computed using Cronbach Alpha method) and GAT (computed using Pearson r method) were 0.87 and 0.80 respectively. Data was analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean scores and Chi Square at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that insurgency had instilled negative attitude in students towards Geography, resulting to students’ devotion of little and insufficient time to the study of the subject. The study further revealed a significant relationship exists between students’ attitude and achievement in Geography. More so, Students’ decision to pursue future careers in Geography did not relate significantly to their grades in the subject. It was concluded that insurgency was the reason for students’ negative attitude towards Geography. Therefore, it was recommended that government should adapt measures to guarantee security of teachers, students and schools’ facilities to improve students’ attitudes and achievement in Geography, and teachers to work hard to restore the status of the subject by adapting innovative instructional methods. Students were encouraged to work extra time at home in studying Geography to cover time lost for school due to insurgency.