Study of Relationship of Self-Concept and Academic Performance of Distance Learners

Abstract

Current research explored correlation between distance learners’ self-concept and academic performance at post graduate level (M.A Education). The purpose of this research was to find out relationship between self-concept of students and their academic achievement. This was a quantitative study which used questionnaire as main tool of data collection along with the analysis of end of term result of students. To achieve the purpose of the study, distance learners (240) of Master in Education (M.A.) of AIOU were randomly selected by employing table of random numbers for sample selection. The study was delimited to Islamabad region and Rawalpindi region respectively. Data was collected through “Self-Concept Scale” developed by researchers. National language (Urdu) was used in the scale to make it more understandable for the respondents. The prototype of the scale was also content validated. In this regard, opinions of five educational experts were sought and their suggestions were incorporated in the final version of prototype. Data collection process was done through mail. Academic achievement was measured in three courses’ results 0512, 0652 & 0655. For data analysis, Pearson correlation was used. Analysis of results showed statistically significant positive relationship between self-concept of distance learners and their academic achievement. It was recommended that the future research and development studies may be conducted to design training programs for distance learners to enhance their self-concept.