Predicting Preservice Teachers’ Interest in Biology Through Academic Resilience and Its Dimensions

Abstract

The study examined the predictive influence of academic resilience on preservice teachers’ interest in Biology courses, applying a predictive research design. 388 preservice Biology teachers in the Department of Science Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria, obtained using proportionate stratified random sampling technique were the respondents. Academic Resilience Scale (ARS) and Biology Interest Scale (BIS) were employed for data collection. The adapted instruments (ARS and BIS) yielded reliability coefficient values of 0.74 and 0.89, established using Cronbach alpha. Data collected, and analyzed using regression analyses, revealed that academic resilience and its dimensions positively and significantly contributed to preservice teachers’ interest in Biology, individually and jointly, except perseverance which although positively contributed, but the contribution was statistically insignificant. Given the findings, it was suggested that counselling sessions, sensitization and orientation programmes be organized, by university counselling unit, for students to intimate them on techniques that can be adopted to foster academic resilience.