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Effect of Academic Advising on Students’ Academic Performance among Accounting Education Students in Nigerian Polytechnics

Abstract

Academic performance is an important indicator of students’ educational progress and success in higher institutions. Among Accounting Education students, satisfactory academic performance requires effective engagement with accounting concepts, practical exercises, examinations, assignments, and other academic activities. However, some students in Nigerian polytechnics may experience academic difficulties arising from challenges such as poor study habits, difficulty understanding accounting courses, inadequate academic guidance, course-selection challenges, limited awareness of available academic support, and difficulties adjusting to the demands of tertiary education. Academic advising provides structured academic guidance through interactions between students and academic advisers concerning course planning, academic progress, study strategies, course requirements, academic challenges, and educational goals. Effective academic advising may help students make appropriate academic decisions, identify learning difficulties early, improve their study practices, and make better use of available academic resources. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of academic advising on students’ academic performance among Accounting Education students in Nigerian polytechnics. The study will be anchored on Social Cognitive Theory, Student Involvement Theory, and Self-Determination Theory. Social Cognitive Theory explains how students’ academic behaviour may be influenced by interaction between personal factors, academic environment, observation, feedback, and self-efficacy. Student Involvement Theory emphasizes the importance of students’ active participation in academic activities and institutional support in promoting educational outcomes. Self-Determination Theory emphasizes autonomy, competence, and relatedness as important factors that may influence students’ motivation and engagement in learning. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how academic advising may influence the academic performance of Accounting Education students. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The population will comprise Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian polytechnics. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, polytechnics, departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible students. Academic advising will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of adviser-student meetings, accessibility of academic advisers, individual academic consultations, course-registration guidance, course-selection guidance, academic-progress monitoring, examination guidance, study-skills guidance, assignment guidance, practical-course guidance, identification of academic difficulties, referral for academic support, feedback on academic progress, academic goal setting, academic planning, orientation activities, availability of advising information, adviser responsiveness, quality of academic guidance, clarity of advice, timeliness of advice, follow-up activities, student participation in advising sessions, academic counselling, and adviser-student communication. Students’ academic performance will be assessed using indicators such as semester grade point average, cumulative grade point average, scores in accounting courses, examination performance, continuous assessment scores, assignment performance, practical accounting performance, course completion, academic progression, pass rates, failure rates, course repetition, academic standing, and overall academic achievement. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, academic advising records, students’ academic records, course results, continuous assessment records, examination records, and relevant departmental documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students’ characteristics, exposure to academic advising, advising experiences, and academic performance. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of academic advising on students’ academic performance. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, students’ academic performance before and after participation in academic advising may be compared with that of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that academic advising has a significant positive effect on students’ academic performance among Accounting Education students in Nigerian polytechnics. Students who receive regular and effective academic advising are expected to demonstrate improved academic performance compared with students who receive limited academic guidance. Academic consultation may help students identify their academic strengths and weaknesses. Course-registration guidance may reduce inappropriate course choices and registration errors. Course-selection guidance may help students understand course requirements and make suitable academic decisions. Academic-progress monitoring may enable advisers to identify students experiencing academic difficulties at an early stage. Study-skills guidance may help students develop more effective approaches to reading, revision, note-taking, time management, and examination preparation. Examination guidance may improve students’ preparedness for tests and examinations. Assignment guidance may help students understand academic requirements and improve the quality of submitted work. Practical-course guidance may support students in managing accounting practical activities and assignments. Academic-difficulty identification may facilitate timely intervention and support. Referral activities may connect students with appropriate academic support services when necessary. Feedback on academic progress may help students understand their performance and areas requiring improvement. Academic goal-setting activities may encourage students to establish realistic educational targets. Academic planning may help students organize their courses and learning activities more effectively. Orientation activities may improve students’ understanding of academic regulations, departmental requirements, and institutional expectations. Accessible advising services may encourage students to seek assistance when facing academic challenges. Adviser responsiveness may improve students’ willingness to communicate about academic difficulties. Clear and timely academic guidance may support better academic decision-making. Follow-up activities may help advisers monitor whether recommended academic strategies are being implemented. Student participation in advising sessions may strengthen students’ involvement in their own academic development. Academic counselling may provide students with opportunities to discuss learning difficulties and academic concerns. Effective adviser-student communication may strengthen students’ understanding of academic expectations. These factors may contribute to improved semester GPA, cumulative GPA, accounting-course scores, examination performance, continuous assessment performance, assignment performance, practical accounting performance, course completion, academic progression, pass rates, and overall academic achievement. Academic advising may also reduce failure rates, unnecessary course repetition, and academic difficulties by providing students with timely academic support. However, the effectiveness of academic advising may be constrained by inadequate numbers of academic advisers, large student populations, limited adviser availability, irregular advising meetings, inadequate adviser training, poor record keeping, weak communication between advisers and students, limited institutional support, students’ reluctance to seek academic guidance, insufficient awareness of advising services, heavy academic workloads, limited time for individual consultations, and inadequate monitoring and follow-up mechanisms. The study therefore expects accessible, regular, student-centred, timely, and well-structured academic advising to contribute significantly to improved academic performance among Accounting Education students in Nigerian polytechnics. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on academic advising, academic performance, Social Cognitive Theory, Student Involvement Theory, Self-Determination Theory, accounting education, student academic support, academic counselling, course planning, academic progress monitoring, study skills, examination preparation, student engagement, academic achievement, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to polytechnic administrators, National Board for Technical Education, Accounting Education departments, academic advisers, lecturers, student-support units, curriculum planners, educational policymakers, and other stakeholders regarding strategies for improving students’ academic outcomes. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening academic advising services in Nigerian polytechnics, increasing the accessibility and availability of academic advisers, improving adviser training, establishing regular adviser-student consultations, strengthening academic-progress monitoring, providing timely academic interventions, improving course-registration and course-selection guidance, integrating study-skills and examination guidance into advising activities, strengthening academic records and follow-up systems, increasing students’ awareness and participation in academic advising, and developing student-centred advising practices that support the academic success of Accounting Education students.

Keywords: Academic advising, academic performance, Accounting Education students, academic achievement, student support, academic counselling, academic guidance, academic progress, student engagement, study skills, Nigerian polytechnics, accounting education, Nigeria.