Academic performance and secondary school students' disposition: Imperatives for sustainable development solutions for the africa we want

This paper focuses on understanding the different attitudes exhibited by secondary school students in Lagos state and their influence on their academic performance. The survey design method was adopted using an online google questionnaire circulated via social media platform (WhatsApp) to elicit secondary school students' responses. 224 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics for the presentation of results. Findings showed that secondary school students pay less attention to their studies, especially at the beginning of the new term. They have less interest in the daily schedule for study, which implies that students only read for the sole purpose of passing an exam and not for knowledge acquisition; hence, the reason for poor performance in their academics with implications on the SDGs' quality education goal. Based on the findings, certain policy recommendations that will motivate students and encourage positive attitude toward their studies, leading to academic success were made. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.