Self-Esteem and Academic Success of Secondary School Students in Calabar Metropolis of Cross River State, Nigeria and Counseling Interventions

The essence of this research was to investigate the influence of self-esteem on students' academic success in Calabar metropolis of Cross River State of Nigeria. Two hypotheses were raised to guide the study. Literature review was carried out accordingly based on the variables of the study. The random sampling technique was adopted which sampled three hundred and forty-five (345) students who were drawn from fifteen secondary schools which represented all the public secondary schools in the area of study. The Self-Esteem and Academic success questionnaire (SEASO) and Achievement Test in mathematics and English Language (ATMEL) were used to collect data. The independent t-test analysis was used to test the hypotheses of the study. The findings showed that there is a significant difference in the academic success of students with positive self-esteem than those with negative self-esteem. This implies that self-esteem significantly influences students' academic success. Based on findings of the study, it was recommended that students should boost their self-esteem as it is an important factor that strengthens the prediction of academic success in Mathematics and English Language. There should be school counseling intervention in improving self-esteem among students. Students should be trained on how to improve greatly in their self-esteem and academic efficacy.