STUDENTS’ SOFT SKILLS AS CORRELATES OF THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC SCIENCE

ABSTRACT

This study examined students’ soft skills as correlates of their academic achievement in basic science. The correlational survey research design was employed in the study. The population of the study comprised the 5,721 JSS3 students in public or government owned secondary schools in the five (5) local government areas in Ogoja education zone of Cross River State. A sample of 357 JSS3  students  (168  males  and  189  females) was drawn  for this study using multistage sampling procedure. The study employed two researcher’s developed instruments; Students’ Soft Skills Assessment Scale (SSSAS) and Students’ Academic Achievement Proforma (SAAP) in data collection. Data collected were analyzed using regression analysis (correlation) and t-test statistic. The results based on the research questions showed that: problem solving soft skills with  a  coefficient  of  determination  (r2)  of  .50  (50%)  best-predicted  students’  academic achievement in basic science, followed by teamwork soft skills .44 (44%), then communication soft  skills  .32  (32%),  followed  by time  management  soft  skills  .29  (29%) and  lastly intra- interpersonal soft skills .28 (28%). 63% of variation in students’ academic achievement in basic science (criterion variable) is accounted for by all the dimensions of their soft skills (predictor variables) jointly; and that gender moderated 5% of the variation in students’ academic achievement in basic science in favour of the female than their male counterparts. The findings from the null hypotheses revealed that: the regression/beta coefficients (β) associated with each of the predictor variables; students’ problem solving soft skills (β= .37), teamwork soft skills (β= .24), communication soft skills (β= .19), intra and interpersonal soft skills (β= .10), and time management soft skills (β= .09) in predicting their academic achievement in Basic Science are significant; gender does not significantly moderate the prediction of students’ academic achievement  in  Basic  Science  by  their  soft  skills;  and  lastly,  findings  indicated  that  the regression model for predicting students’ academic achievement in Basic Science by their soft skills was significant. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the findings and conclusions, it was recommended that: students, teachers, parents, education administrators and government should develop, teach and assess, encourage and support programmes that will duly consider students’ development and improvement on relevant soft skills.  Home-related,  school-related   and  cognitive-related  variables  should  be  taken  into cognizance by the different stakeholders in order to create favourable learning and achievement; every teaching and learning situation should be made gender insensitive for adequate learning among students irrespective of gender; and finally, education administrators  and government should encourage and support programmes that will duly consider teaching and assessment of students’ possession of soft skills in other to promote achievement in school and life generally.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Problem

The role of science in the development of modern societies is indispensable especially now  that  the  influence  of  modern  technologies  has  permeated  every  sphere  of  man’s  life. Emphasis is now laid on science and technology globally since the growth of any nation depends largely on its level of advancement in science and technology. Science as a concept deals with knowledge about the structure and behaviour of the natural and physical world based on facts that are verifiable through a systematic process of investigation. According to Afuwape (2012), science helps people to understand the world they live in, in order to interpret the laws and principles that govern it. It blends logic and imagination to explain and predict events through systematic inquiry into natural phenomena. This helps us in understanding and relating better to nature and the universe as a whole on knowledge of facts or evidence.

In Nigeria, the bedrock of the acquisition of useful scientific knowledge and skills or the entry point to the study of science or technology-related courses is through the understanding of basic science (Bukunola & Idowu, 2012). Basic science offers the basic training in scientific skills required for human survival, sustainable development and societal transformation. It is useful to the study of other sciences at the senior secondary school level.

According to Oludipe (2014), basic science (formally known as integrated science) is a core subject in Nigeria junior secondary school curriculum. Basic science is an introductory course to the study of the sciences in the senior secondary school (Omiko, 2016). Basic science involves  the  study  of  elementary  biology,  anatomy,  earth/solar  system,  ecology,  genetics,

chemistry and physics as a single science subject in the Junior Secondary school (Nwafor, 2012).

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In other words, basic science is a subject that prepares the students for the study of core science subjects like physics, chemistry and biology at the senior secondary school level.

However, in view of the fundamental importance of basic science to science learning, its rationale as enshrined in the Nigerian school curriculum according to NPE (2004:28) is to:

      provide  students  at  the  junior secondary  school  level  with  a  sound  basis  for continuing science education either in single science subjects or further integrated science;

    enhance the scientific literacy of the citizenry;

      enable  students  to  understand  their environment  in  its  totality  rather  than  in fragments;

    enable students to have a general view of the world of science;

       serve  as a unifying factor for the various science  subjects  through  integrated approach of learning science.

Since basic science provides students at the junior secondary school level with a sound basis  for continuing science education  either in single science  subjects or further integrated science, it then implies that for a student to be able to study any single science subjects at the senior secondary school level and beyond successfully, such a student must have been well- grounded  in  Basic  Science  at  the  junior  secondary  school  level.  To  achieve  this,  parents, teachers, and the government have made different efforts. Most parents have provided the basic needs for their children’s education (Omiko, 2016). Also, in a bit to promote the teaching and learning of basic science, teachers have adopted innovative methods of teaching like discovery, problem-solving, open-ended field trips and laboratory methods among others (Omiko, 2016). On the part of the government, as noted in the National Policy on Education, special provisions are made for educational expenditure in science and technology learning in Nigerian schools

(FRN, 2004). Such expenditures are provision of school infrastructures, instructional materials, laboratories and laboratory equipment (Omiko, 2016). These efforts are all aimed at enhancing the  teaching  and  learning  process  generally,  and  the  academic  achievement  of  students  in particular.

Academic  achievement of students entails  their learning outcomes or the scores  they obtain  in  a  test  or  examination.  This  shows  the  extent  to  which  a  learner  (student)  has accomplished specific learning objectives. According to Adeyemi (2008), academic achievement is the scholastic standing of a student at a given moment. Maphoso and Mahlo (2014) viewed academic achievement as the result of successful completion of school task(s) or programme, as well as the extent to which stakeholders in education enterprise have realized educational goals. In the opinion of Adeyemo (2001), the fundamental role of the school is to work towards the achievement  of  academic  excellence  by  students.  Adeyemo  also  observed  that  students’ academic achievement attracts high expectations by all the stakeholders in the education sector. Academic achievement in the context of this work entails results or scores of students in both internal and external examinations.

Despite   concerted   efforts   by   government,   teachers,   parents   and   other   relevant stakeholders in the education industry to enhance the teaching and learning of basic science, academic  achievement  of  students  in  the  subject  remain  consistently  poor  (Nasiru,  2013). Previous studies have shown that academic achievement of students in both internal and external examinations in science subjects, specifically basic science has been declining. In this respect, literature (Njoku, 1994; Ali & Anekwe, 1997) revealed that there is an inconsistent trend in students’ achievement in the sciences at various levels of Nigerian education system. In the same light, poor achievement in sciences at different levels of Nigerian education was evidenced in some empirical studies (Betiku, 2001; Omole, 2003; & Ferdinand, 2007).

In  the  same  vein,  Adeyemi  (2008)  noted  that  grades  that  candidate’s  had  in  the examinations  in both primary and junior secondary schools external examinations (Common entrance and Junior Secondary School Certificates Examination, JSSCE) indicates that majority of the  students  achieve  below  average  in  Basic  Science.  Bukunola  and  Idowu  (2012)  also reported that students’ academic achievement in Basic Science have been very poor. It is noteworthy that poor academic achievement of students in Basic Science may in turn affect their academic achievement in science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology at the senior secondary. Also their aspirations about choosing a career in the sciences may be affected since Basic Science lays the foundation for the learning of science at senior secondary and beyond. This has become a source of worry to all stakeholders in the education sector.

According to Onuka and Durowoju (2015), factors such as low socio-economic status of parents,  poor  foundational  knowledge  and  inadequate  teachers  are  responsible  for  the poor academic achievement of students. Other factors according to Olorundare (2014) include poor funding, lack of basic infrastructure, lack of teaching/learning materials, lack of motivation and poor attitudes by both teachers and students. Olorundare also mentioned that learners’ poor study habits  or lack of adequate  preparation  for examination,  examination  phobia or anxiety,  and emotional instability account for the decline in students’ academic achievement in examinations across  Nigeria. Omole, (2003) was of the opinion  that poor academic  achievement in basic science is due to teacher’s use of ineffective methods and strategies in science teaching. Thus, necessary efforts at improving students’ academic achievement in basic science have focused on positive improvement of these factors mentioned by researchers, yet students’ achievement in the subject remains poor (Olorundare, 2014). Also, Omebe and Omiko (2015) observed that in spite of efforts made by stakeholders in education, the results of the students in the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) in basic science have not been encouraging.

Apart  from improving on  the aforementioned  factors  which have  yielded  little or no result with respect to improvement in students’ achievement, the students’ hard and soft skills have been thought of as strong determinants of their academic achievement in any given subject if adequately utilized. In this regard, Onuka and Durowoju (2015) stated that students’ cognitive abilities also called the “hard skills” and the affective skills also known as the “soft skills” could act as basic determinants of their academic achievement. The hard skills are cognitive based and deal  with  a  person’s  mental  abilities,  capabilities,  knowledge  and  technical  know-how  that enable the individual to execute cognitive related task(s). The hard skills are said to produce minimal result if the soft skills are not effectively utilized to complement them. Essentially, soft skills are products of the affective domain (Durowoju & Onuka, 2014). Soft skills are personality attributes, personal qualities and personal behaviour of individuals (Shaheen, Zhang, Shen, & Sati,   2012).   According   to   these   authors,   soft   skills   include   certain   abilities   such   as communication,  problem-solving,  self-motivation,  decision-making,   and  time  management skills.  Similarly,  Aworanti  (2012)  viewed  soft  skills  as  abilities  and  traits  that  pertain  to personality, attitude, and behavior exhibited in decision making, problem solving and self- management  rather than  formal or technical knowledge.  Soft skills  according  to  Onuka and Oyegoke (2015) are a cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication skills, language, personal habits, friendliness and optimism that characterizes relationship with other people.

Soft skills also include leadership potentials, time management skills, interpersonal skills, behavioural competencies, people’s skills or personal attributes that enable them to relate well in the society, perform excellently on-the-job, and career prospects (Kechangias, 2011). IIangko (2013)  stated  that  soft  skills  such  as,  communication,  time  management  and  intra  and interpersonal  skills  as  well  as  good character  and  morals  complement  academic  excellence, successful employee and future undertakings as they are closely related to the marketability of

the students in the world of works. In this respect, most employers will like to deal with people who  have  good  communication  and  time  management  skills  and  those  who  are  of  good character, honest, kind, reliable or trustworthy, loving, empathetic and sociable. IIangko believes that with adequate utilization of soft skills, the hard skills will be complemented since education is geared towards producing complete  (all-round) individuals  who are found worthy both in character and learning.   That is to say, possession or acquisition of soft skills is expected to mould positive changes in students’ character building, and learning or academic achievement. In this study, students’ soft skills are defined as affective competencies that complement their mental abilities to promote favourable living and achievement in life generally.

According to these researchers (Kechagias, 2011; Aworanti, 2012; & IIangko, 2013), soft skills are of different dimensions. These dimensions include communication, intra and interpersonal relationship, teamwork, problem solving, time management, decision making, leadership and self-management soft skills as well as good morals or character. Among these dimensions, the present study will focus on communication, intra and interpersonal, teamwork, problem solving and time management soft skills as they relate more to school activities and are mostly required for academic tasks than others. Though other dimensions may be required for schooling, they relate  more to people’s  morals and  general functional  living. However, the researcher’s  interest  also  informed  the  choice  of  the  variables.  Besides,  all  the  soft  skills variables cannot be exhausted in this work.

Among the variables of interest, communication soft skills are fundamental to teaching and learning. Communication soft skills are individual’s skills to verbally articulate opinions, listen actively, to be assertive, receive and convey messages meaningfully to others using verbal and non-verbal means (Taylor, 2000). Schultz (2008) stated that communication soft skills or competencies are the abilities to communicate in socially acceptable way, which involves the

speaker’s interaction with others, the audience perception about the speaker in terms of vocal presentation, message control, command of language, physical appearance and so on. According to Pratt and Richards (2014), clearly written communication  and verbal communication, and active listening are soft skills that may enhance academic performance. In a related opinion, Osborn and Pearson (2000), noted that competencies in oral and written communication  are the prerequisite for students’ academic, personal, and professional success. In the same vein, Azizi, and  Nordin  (2006)  observed  that  a  student  who  lacks  communication  skills  will  not  only experience  problems  communicating    with  others  but  also  during  the  learning  process  as discussion forms the very basis of today’s teaching and learning process. In essence, communication soft skills help in communicating successfully with others; asserting one’s own opinion, expressing ideas and concepts clearly and paying attention in group interaction or discourse whether in school or at home.

However, daily communication  processes or social interactions  with oneself, between individuals or group of individuals depends largely on intra and interpersonal  soft skills or competencies possessed and utilized by them. Intra and interpersonal soft skills are affective attributes that enable an individual to interact with self and with other people (Weiner, 2000). According to Wood (2005), people need to have effective intra and interpersonal soft skills to enable  them  understand  themselves,  and  others’  behaviours,  cope  with  circumstances,  and control any situation(s) they find themselves in. This is why Editor and Bash (2013) noted that intra and interpersonal Skills are skills used by a person to properly interact with themselves and others. This implies that intra and interpersonal soft skills help people to clarify ideas, reflect on issues, concentrate on task at hand, and ensure good rapport, and a smooth interdependent relationship with others. It is important to note that the possession and utilization of  these  skills  vary  amongst  students  due  to  differences  that  exist  among  them,  which

consequently create variations in their academic achievements, and their sense of cooperation or teamwork.

The term teamwork can be defined as the activity of working together well as a group. Team work involves people working collaboratively in small groups (teams) for a common goal (Ivanova-stenzel & Kubler, 2005). Afolakemi and Joshua (2013) defined team work as work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of whole. By implication, tasks are accomplished at a faster pace when performed by a team rather than an individual. Moreover, an individual will definitely take more time to perform, if he or she is single-handedly responsible for everything. Team work requires that students be involved in small groups in which they work actively together to maximize learning and gain from each other on specific tasks. According to Zhang (2012), that is why institutions and schools are shifting their pedagogical approaches from passive to active learning in and outside  the  classroom  which  encourages  learning  in  groups  or  teams  and  enhancement  of problem solving skills.

Problem solving soft skills involves taking series of actions in the process of seeking to bridge the gap between a problem status and the anticipated goal. Problem solving soft skills comprises all action steps taken by a person or learner to reach anticipated goal when faced with a task (Adesoji, 2008). According to Adeyemi (2008), problem solving soft skills are skills employed when engaging in a task for which the solution is not known in advance. That is why, Ifamuyiwa and Ajilogba (2012) pointed out that, problem solving soft skills helps in finding solutions  to  identified  problems  by  carrying  out  sets  of  action.  Such  skills  include;  the willingness  to engage  in  a task, one’s  potential as a constructive  and reflective  individual, critical and analytic thinking, creativity, self confidence, motivation, curiosity and perseverance

(Programme for International Students’ Assessment- PISA, 2012). These skills were pointed out as those that can enhance learning and necessary for accomplishment of task(s).

Another variable is time management soft skills. Time management soft skills are individuals’ abilities to use time efficiently in order to accomplish well defined tasks (Dalli,

2014). According to Zulauf, Blodg and Gortner (2015), time management soft skills include setting goals and priorities, as well as using time well. Time management is the art of arranging organizing, scheduling and budgeting one’s time for the purpose of generating more effective work and achievement (Lakein, 2003). It can be deduced from Misra (2000) view that an in- school adolescent who spends his time on irrelevant things instead of concentrating on studies may end up having poor academic performance. Thus, individuals with poor time management soft skills could ineffectively utilize their time and as a result, many tasks will be left undone thereby resulting to a feeling of failure, frustration and unhappiness which may in turn affect individual’s achievement negatively.

Based  on  the  forgoing,  communication,  intra  and  interpersonal,  teamwork,  problem solving and time management soft skills are perceived or thought by   researchers as possible determinants of achievement in life generally, and school in particular. However, the claim that students who possess ample amount of these soft skills are likely to complement their learning and consequently improve their academic achievement is still in doubt since students who are lacking in the dimensions of soft skills mentioned above are still likely to excel in their academic pursuit, and the other way round. Moreover, the dimension of students’ soft skills that contribute more to their academic achievement is yet to be made explicit by researchers. More so, since students differ in many ways especially in the area of gender, studies are yet to establish how gender in relation to soft skills account for variations in students’ academic achievement or the variation in academic achievement that is predicted by soft skills due to gender. Hence, there is a

need to carry out a study to ascertain the amount of variation in students’ academic achievement that can be predicted by the various dimensions of their soft skills and the moderating influence of gender in the prediction.

According to Yang (2010), gender can be viewed as social attributes and opportunities associated with being a male and a female and the relationships between women and men, girls and boys. This implies that gender differences are defined by the society based on its norms and values.  As observed  by  Mlambo  (2011),  gender  differences  do  exist  in  students’  academic performance depending on the subject matter. Zembar and Blume (2011) also indicated that on average, girls do better in art subjects than boys, while boys do better in sciences as compared to girls. Similarly, a standardized achievement test shows that females are better at spelling and perform better on tests of literacy, writing, and general knowledge (National Research Council- (NRC), 2011). According to NRC, an international aptitude test administered to fourth graders which is equivalent to primary four in Nigeria in 35 countries, for example, showed that females outscored males on reading literacy in every country. Hence, researchers (Abubakar & Oguguo,

2011; Abdu-Raheem, 2012; & Igbo, & Ihejiene, 2014) considered gender as a reasonable determinant or predictor of students’ academic achievement in any subject. Therefore, one can reasonably attempt to ascertain the moderating influence of gender in the correlation between the dimensions of students’ soft skills and their academic achievement.

Correlation in this context concerns establishing relationships between two or more variables (Leedy & Ormrod 2010). Correlational studies generally measure the relationship between  two or more  variables  (predictor (independent  variable(s))  and criterion  (dependent variable(s)))  to  determine  the  amount  of  variation  in  the  criterion  variable(s)  that  can  be attributed  to  the predictor  variable  (Kappe,  Boekholt,  Rooyen  &  Flier, 2009).  Correlational studies make use of correlation statistical methods such as Pearson product moment correlation,

Spearman   rank  order  correlation   coefficient,   Kendall’s   coefficient   of  concordance,   and regression analysis. Accordingly, Nworgu (2015) noted that correlational-based statistical techniques specifically the regression analysis are employed for making predictions. According to Nworgu, regression analysis is a tool for predicting one variable from one or more variables

based  a  regression  equation  and  the  coefficient  of  determination  (r2).  The  coefficient  of

determination is the amount of variation in the criterion variable (dependent variable) that can be attributed to the predictor variable(s). Therefore, correlation is useful to this study since it sought to ascertain the extent to which students’ soft skills correlate with their academic achievement in basic science.

Statement of the Problem

There is an increasing rate of poor academic achievement of students in science related subjects. Precisely, the continuous poor academic achievement of students in basic science at the junior secondary school has become an issue of great concern to stakeholders in the educational industry in recent years. This is because it has negative effects on the study of science subjects at the  senior secondary  and  future career aspirations  in  sciences. Thus,  science  educators  and researchers had anchored most of their researches on factors accountable for the poor academic achievement of students in science subjects. Consequently, efforts at promoting the academic achievement of students  in basic  science have  been  focused  on teaching  methods, effective utilization of appropriate  instructional materials, and other teacher-related factors revealed  in literature as key determinants. Such efforts have produced little or no improvement on students’ achievement  in  the  subject.  On  this  note,  more  efforts  towards  improving  the  academic achievement of students have demanded  that affective  dimensions  of the students should be explored to ascertain whether significant improvement can be made on students’ achievement in the subject.

However,  students’  soft  skills  have  been  mentioned  by  some  researchers  as  good predictors  or  determinants  of their  academic  achievement,  but  it  is  not  yet  clear  about  the contribution of the dimensions of students’ soft skills to their academic achievement in basic science. Moreover, the separate and joint contribution of the dimensions of soft skills has not been made explicit by any research work. In addition, the dimension of students’ soft skills that contribute more to their academic achievement is not yet clear in literature.

Nonetheless,  gender has been considered by many studies as a significant factor that account for students’ academic achievement in any given subject, but the moderating influence of  gender  on  students’  soft  skills  and  their  academic  achievement  has  not  been  clearly established by researchers. Hence, this research work was interested in ascertaining the amount of variation in students’ academic achievement in Basic Science that is predicted by their soft skills  (communication  soft  skills,  intra  and  interpersonal  soft  skills,  teamwork  soft  skills, problem solving soft skills and time management soft skills) and the amount of variation in students’ academic achievement that is attributed to the moderating influence of gender on the predictor variables.

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which students’ soft skills predict their academic achievement in Basic Science and the moderating influence of gender in the prediction. Specifically, the study ascertained the:

1.    amount of variation  in students’ academic achievement in Basic Science that can be attributed to each of the dimensions of their soft skills;

2.    amount of variation  in students’ academic achievement in Basic Science that can be accounted for by all the dimensions of their soft skills jointly.

3.    amount of  variation in the prediction of students’ academic achievement in basic science by their soft skills that is moderated by gender;

4.   regression model that can be used in predicting students’ academic achievement in basic science based on their soft skills;

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is viewed from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Theoretically, this study will provide necessary evidence to explain and support existing theories in this area. Specifically, the findings of this study will support and explain Goleman’s theory of emotional  intelligence  which  believes  that  emotional  intelligence  provides  the  basis  for emotional competencies that in turn promote social and personal skills in individuals for better performance, and this will enhance better understanding of the theory.

From the practical perspective, it is expected that the result of this study will be of great benefits  to students,  teachers, parents,  education  administrators,  government  and  researchers alike. In this sense, the findings will enable the students to be adequately informed about the soft skills inherent in them, thus learn how to utilize soft skills that are capable of enhancing their academic achievement.

The findings of this study will be of great value to the teachers. Teachers’ knowledge of the  influence  of  students’  soft  skills  on  their  academic  achievement  will  enable  them  to restructure their teaching pedagogies and adopt favourable leadership styles to meet the learning needs of the students. This will in turn help in enhancing effective teaching and learning.

Also, findings of this study will serve as a source of information to parents. Parents will become fully aware of the influence of soft skills on their children’s academic achievement, thereby creating  a favourable  home environment  that will enable them develop, exhibit and improve on soft skills necessary for their academic success.

More so, the findings of this study will help educational administrators in the educational system to formulate and implement different kinds of educational programmes that will duly consider  students’  development  and  improvement  in  soft  skills.  In  addition,  having  the knowledge of students’ soft skills and how they relate to their academic achievement will help educational administrators in designing the curriculum that will integrate relevant soft skills into the content to  compliment  the hard skills  which  the curriculum basically considers, thereby enhancing students’ learning and academic achievement in basic science.

Notwithstanding, the result of this study can inform the government on the significance of soft skills to students’ academic achievement, thereby funding and supporting an educational system  that  is capable  of producing  school  leavers  and  graduates  that are  found  worthy  in character and learning.

The regression model that will be obtained from this study can serve as a model for predicting student academic achievement in basic science based on the knowledge of their soft skills, and also in relation to gender differences.

Finally, the findings of this research work will be of great benefit to future researchers and  scholars  in  education  enterprise,  especially  in  the  area  of  academic  achievement  and students’ soft skills. This is because relevant materials and information will be made available to them.

Scope of the Study

This study focused on the relationship between students’ soft skills and their academic achievement in Basic Science. The study was limited to JSS3 students in Ogoja Education Zone of Cross River State. The dimensions of students’ soft skills investigated in the study included; communication  soft skills, intra and interpersonal  soft skills, teamwork  soft skills, problem solving soft skills and time management soft skills. Also, the moderating influence of gender on these dimensions of students’ soft skills and their academic achievement in Basic Science was

ascertained. The average score for three consecutive end-of-the term’s examination results for

2014/2015   academic   session  were  used  as  a  measure  of  the  Basic  Science  academic achievement level of the students in this study.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1.   Which of the dimensions of students’ soft skills best-predict their academic achievement in

Basic Science?

2.   How much of the students’ academic achievement in Basic Science can be accounted for by all the dimensions of their soft skills jointly?

3.   How much variation in the prediction of students’ academic achievement in Basic Science by their soft skills is moderated by gender?

4.   What regression model can be used in predicting students’ academic achievement in Basic

Science based on their soft skills?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho1: The regression model for predicting Students’ academic achievement in Basic Science by their soft skills is not significant.

Ho2:  The  regression  coefficients  associated  with  the  predictor  variables-(students’ communication,   intra   and   interpersonal,   teamwork,   problem   solving   and   time management soft skills) in predicting their academic achievement in Basic Science are not significant.

Ho3: Gender does not significantly moderate the prediction of students’ academic achievement in Basic Science by their soft skills.

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