Self-esteem and parental counselling as predictors of academic achievement among students with hearing impairment in Oyo state

This study evaluated gender as a moderator and looked at self-esteem and parental counseling as predictors of academic achievement among secondary school children with hearing impairments in Oyo State, Nigeria. 150 purposefully chosen students from three integrated and special secondary schools participated in a correlational descriptive survey. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (r = .85), a modified Parental Counseling Scale (r = .81), and the students' English, math, and basic science exam results from the most recent term were used to gather data. Multiple regression, the independent t-test, and Pearson product-moment correlation were used for data analysis. The findings showed a strong positive correlation between academic accomplishment and parental counseling (r =.383, p =.001) and self-esteem (r =.287, p =.009). Academic achievement did not significantly differ by gender (t = -1.390, df = 148, p =.168). The results corroborate Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory by showing how environmental (parental counseling) and personal (self-esteem) factors interact to affect behavioral outcomes (academic achievement) in students with hearing impairments. The study concludes that academic achievement is significantly predicted by both parental counseling and self-esteem, and that gender has no moderating effect on this relationship. Adoption of gender-neutral academic assistance policies, systematic self-esteem development programs in schools, and mandated biannual parental counseling seminars are among the recommendations.