Effects of Emotional Intelligence Training and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy on Academic Cheating Potential and Study Habit Problems among Secondary School Students in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of emotional intelligence training and rational emotive behaviour therapy on academic cheating potential and study habit problems among secondary school students in Ogun State, Nigeria. It adopted a pre-test post-test control group quasi-experimental design. A sample of 240 Senior Secondary Two students was randomly selected from six schools using multistage sampling technique. Instruments used for data collection included Examination Reaction Scale (ERS) and Study Habit Inventory (SHI). Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were used to analyze the formulated hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. Results revealed that there was no significant effect of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Emotional Intelligence Training, and control on participants’ academic cheating potential and study habit problems (F(4,418) = 2.319, p > .05. Nevertheless, there was a significant main effect of treatments on participants’ academic cheating potential (F (2,211) = 4.460; p <.05), and rational emotive behaviour therapy appeared to be a better strategy. Also, school type moderated theeffect of treatments on the participants’ academic cheating potential and study habit problems (F (4,418) = 5,586; p< .05). Finally, it was recommended that governments’ educational parastatals, school administrators, teachers,counsellors, and other educational stakeholders should fully embrace rational emotive behaviour therapy and emotional intelligence training to combat academic cheating behaviour and study habit problems among students.