Attitude Of Students Toward Learning Psychology And Communicative English As Predictor Of Academic Achievement: The Case Of Ambo University Fresh Students

Abstract

This study was intended to investigate students' attitudes towards learning Psychology and Communicative English as predictors of academic achievements’. To explore the students' attitudes towards Psychology and Communicative English common courses, a descriptive research method was used. To collect data from fresh students’, questionnaires and interviews were employed. The major populations of this study were all freshman students at Ambo main campus and Hachalu Hundessa Campus in 2013 –E.C.In doing so, the researcher employed a sequential explanatory mixed research approach (i.e. both quantitative and qualitative approaches) was used to achieve the stated objective with stratified cluster and purposive sampling methods that employed to recruit a total of 1,997 participants. To collect the primary data, quantitative data was collected using adopted questionnaires such as the attitude of students with learning psychology and Communicative English, while qualitative data were collected by interviews method. The quantitative data were analyzed using mean, t-test, and multiple regression supported by SPSS version 20.00 software, and the qualitative data were analyzed by thematic analysis. The student questionnaire used a 5 point Likert scale ranging from strongly agrees to strongly disagree. The findings from the respondent result showed that the level of attitude of students towards learning P&E (328(98.8 %) and 328(98.8%)) respectively was high and positive attitudes for learning Psychology and Communicative English course at freshman program. And it’s a significant on students’ attitude towards Psychology and English within Ambo University between genders, (p=0.018 and p=0.00) respectively. While insignificant between stream (Natural and social) students on attitude towards learning Psychology and English (p=0.078 and p=0.162) respectively. Whereas the Multiple regression analysis revealed that 52.1%of the variation in academic achievement was explained by the value of students’ attitudes towards learning P&E. This implies that, variables other than these considered in this study accounted for 48.9% of the variability in students’ academic achievement was explained by other variables not considered in this study. Based upon these findings the researcher had recommended that teachers and the stockholders of educational sectors should assist their students, give awareness to students’ families on the application of P&E to real lif