Rural and Urban Differential in Student’s Academic Performance among Secondary School Students In Ondo State, Nigeria

This study investigated the difference between the academic performance of students from rural environment and students from urban environment. A descriptive research design of survey type was adopted for the study. The population for this study comprised all public secondary school students in Ondo State. The sample consisted of 240 students from six randomly selected schools. A questionnaire tagged ‘Academic Performance Questionnaire’ was used to collect data. Expert judgements were used to ensure face and content validity. Test-retest method was used to determine the reliability and a reliability coefficient of 0.72 was obtained. Data collected were analysed by using t-test. The result revealed that there is no significant difference in the academic performance of students from rural environment. It can be concluded from the result that, all else equal, rural students do not suffer disadvantage in their academic performance simply as the result of their residence in rural areas or their attendance at rural schools. It was recommended, among others that rural deficit model should be further examined as educators take a new and more objective look at the performance of the many different types of rural students. Also, parents and students should not feel that they must attend metropolitan schools in order to achieve success. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v4n3p213