CULTURAL VALUE ORIENTATION AND SELF-EFFICACY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOUTHERN EDUCATION ZONE OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

: The main purpose of the study was to find out if cultural value orientation have any influence on self-efficacy with reference to social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, language self-efficacy and moral self-efficacy. Literature review was done according to the variables under study. The ex-post facto design was adopted for the study. A sample of 1,586 students was randomly selected from the public secondary schools in Cross River State for the study. A questionnaire titled “Cultural Value Orientation and Self-Efficacy (CVOSEQ) was the instrument used for data collection. The face validity of the instrument was determined by three other research experts educational psychology and measurement and evaluation from the department of Educational Foundations, University of Calabar while the reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. The data collected were analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the analysis revealed that cultural value orientation has a significant influence on social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, moral self-efficacy and overall self-efficacy. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that parents should educate the children about their cultural heritage. They should be encouraged to communicate in their local language, dress in their cultural outfits and take part in cultural activities. The school should lay emphasis on promotion of cultural heritage and values so that the child can have an understanding of his origin.

particularly in the context of secondary school students.Cultural value orientation refers to the deeply rooted beliefs that individuals hold regarding societal values, norms, and traditions within their cultural context.These orientations are shaped by factors such as family, community, religion, and education.Different cultural value orientations can be categorized into dimensions, such as individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinityfemininity (Fatehi, Priestley &Taasoobshirazi, 2020;Jang, Shen, Allen,& Zhang, 2018).Self-efficacy, on the other hand, is an individual's belief in their own capability to successfully perform specific tasks or achieve desired outcomes (Cherry, 2023).It plays a significant role in motivation, goal-setting, and academic achievement.High self-efficacy is associated with greater effort, perseverance, and resilience in the face of challenges, while low self-efficacy can lead to decreased motivation and self-doubt (Cassidy, 2015).Self-efficacy is also regarded as a context or domain specific construct (Britner andPajares 2006, Zimmerman andCleary 2006) and its predicative roles may vary across sociocultural contexts.The secondary school period is a critical phase of adolescent development, during which students undergo significant cognitive, emotional, and social changes.Cultural values and self-efficacy can greatly influence students' academic performance, psychological well-being, and overall development during this period.Research examining the relationship between cultural value orientation and self-efficacy among secondary school students can provide valuable insights into how cultural factors shape students' beliefs about their abilities and impact their educational experiences.However, the role of moral, religious, and social value orientations in shaping students' selfefficacy across different domains of self-efficacy, have been explored by (Bekomson & Amalu, 2019, Bekomson, Abang & Ntamu, 2021, Bekomson, & Ntamu, 2019).Cultural values can affect students' perceptions of competence and expectations for success in various areas, leading to variations in self-efficacy beliefs (Gamage, Dehideniye, e'tal, 2021).Research show that students' selfinfluenced by their cultural background with the increasingly globalized world in which students have more opportunities to engage in culturally diverse programs.(Khine andNielsen, 2022, Fackler &Malmberg, 2016) The researchers observed that most students manifest poor self-efficacy in areas such as reluctance to engage in cultural activities, limited participation in group discussions or events related to their cultural background, and a lack of confidence in expressing their cultural identity, and also avoid situations that involve crosscultural interactions or challenges.Understanding the relationship between cultural value orientation and self-efficacy among secondary school students can inform the development of culturally sensitive interventions and educational strategies.Based on the above, Bekomson, (2019) recommended that character education should be emphasized at all levels of education in Nigeria.By recognizing and addressing the influence of cultural values on students' selfefficacy, educators and policymakers can create supportive learning environments that enhance students' confidence, motivation, and academic achievement.Cultural value orientation has been defined differently by different researchers.Wang, Newman and Shell (2016) defined cultural value orientation as a reflection of individual's cultural preferences, as he encounters influences imported from an outside culture, such as western values, while he is still in the midst of his native people and culture.Xue (2002), lamented that cultural value orientations are challenged when individuals in their own society tend to absorb new cultural values and attitudes from outside their society.Xue, Newman, Shell and Fand (2005), maintained that cultural orientation describes the changes experienced by an individual's cultural values due to exposure to foreign culture.Oettingen and Zosuls,(2006) stressed that adolescents efficacy beliefs vary from culture to culture.Culture however, affect social institutions like family, and school, shape individual's efficacy beliefs especially in modern cultures, where norms have failed to play a major role in guiding actions.Grigorenko and O'keefe (2004) opined that adolescent development of competencies and abilities in solving developmental task is rooted in their cultural orientation, which shapes them to be able to align with the demands of the prevailing culture.This could be the reason why they act in line with what is expected from them culturally, and what is necessary for their physical and mental wellbeing.Wawrose and Jurasek, (2021) using the multivariate method Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), investigated the predictive effect of cultural intelligence (CQ) on self-efficacy using a sample of 190 university students also tested for how this relationship is moderated by two categorical variables: work experience abroad and gender, and found out that cultural intelligence is a predictor of intercultural self-efficacy in communication.Salili, Chui and Lai (2001), observed that Hong Kong students scored lower on self-efficacy than their European Canadian counterparts.According to them, the difference in the level of efficacy results is because Hong Kong high schools set very high standard of achievement and only praise the brightest and highest achievers, while poor performance is constantly rebuked without any form of encouragement, which has resulted in the display of poor self-efficacy among students.This implies that cultures that place little importance on selfreliance may have individuals display poor selfefficacy.Pintrick (2003), stressed that cultures where much emphasis is on task value will help adolescents show a higher level of engagement in learning, and employ more effective problemsolving and learning strategies.Eccles and Wigfield (2002) describe task value as students' perception of the interest, usefulness, importance and cost of task.Students who place high value on their tasks will put in their best to succeed.Neuville, Frenay, and Bourgeois (2007) in a study to examine the relationship between task value and self-efficacy, used 184 first year Belgain psychology students comprising of 154 females and 30 males, using a correlational stepwise multiple regression and MANOVA.The results indicated that there is a direct relationship between task value and self-efficacy.This means that task value affect all learning behavioural outcome of students.Eccles (2004) opined that values are important factors in the promotion of adolescent's ability to carry out task, arising from school.They maintained that the way and manner adolescents interpret their experiences in school, shape their academic related thoughts and behaviours.The effect of culture is revealed in its ability to determine the efficacy beliefs of adolescents, by affecting the systems and institutions that are very important avenues for the transmission of culture from one generation to the other (Oettingen, et al, 2006).He pointed out that children from different cultures show disparities in the mean levels of self-efficacy and engagement in school activities.This is because culturally based differences in academic self-efficacy are rooted in their origins and respective cultural values, stemming from historical, socio-political and economic influences.Goel and Goel, (2005) identified the root cause of many problems encountered by youths nowadays to be failure of the society to give them orientation on cultural values.According to them, lack of cultural value orientation weakens the traditional support and cultural structures.They stated categorically that urbanization breaks down cultural structures, thereby causing the youths to face problems coping with societal change and new set of values promoted by the media.The authors stressed that schools should impart life skills, education with sound cultural values as the most important ingredients of improving self-efficacy.They pointed that cultural values, aesthetic values are factors for perfection of human beings.Shell, Newman, & Fang, (2010) in their study on the influence of cultural orientation, alcohol expectancy and self-efficacy of adolescents drinking behaviour, used 1020 high school students from Beijing as study sample.The subjects responded to the Chinese adolescent alcohol expectancy, cultural orientation and selfregulation/self-efficacy questionnaire.The study revealed that higher negative expectancy and higher self-efficacy significantly reduced drinking habits, higher positive expectancy, increased the

CULTURAL VALUE ORIENTATION AND SELF-EFFICACY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
likelihood of drinking, and lowered self-efficacy.Whereas, higher levels of western cultural orientation lowered self-efficacy.This means that students who were less oriented towards traditional cultural values and more oriented toward western cultural views in China, had a significantly low self-efficacy.The results also showed that males who were oriented towards cultural values had poor self-efficacy.Oettingen (1995) in a cross cultural perspective on selfefficacy, in Bandura (Ed), supports this finding as he opined that cultural differences might promote different self-efficacy appraisals.He argued that male children in masculine societies face stiff performance competitions, which make them sensitive to other peoples' performance, than in their own self-efficacy.Erez, and Israel (1980), conducted a study to investigate the impact of value orientation incongruence between physical education teachers and an externally designed curriculum.The study sample consisted of two hundred and sixty two (262) high school teachers who responded to mailed questionnaires.They found that teacher's cultural activities are affected by their value orientation.The teachers who had high value orientation were those mostly involved in five groups of school activities.Tuncel (2015), studied the relationship between self-confidence and learning Turkish as a foreign language.The study sample was made up of 53 students attending A1 level Turkish as a foreign language in Aristotle University Thessaloniki.He employed two different tools to collect data.The statistical tools used were simple percentages and all ratings were subjected to SPSS software analysis.The results revealed that those who had higher self-confidence, were more successful in learning Turkish than those who had lower selfconfidence.It was also concluded that speaking more than one language affects learning.Razmjoo, and Movahed, (2009) investigated the relationship between language proficiency and socio-cultural factors among the Iranian MA students registered and entered at Shiraz University in 2008 and found a moderate significant relationship between the participants' language proficiency among various cultural factors.
In another development, Akerson, Carry, Buzzelli and Donnelly (2008) carried out a study on early childhood teachers' view of nature.The study aimed at finding out the influence of intellectual levels and cultural value orientation and teachers view of nature.The result revealed a significant relationship between cultural value orientation and the view of teachers on nature.The implication of this is that teachers' view of nature is determined by their intellectual levels and cultural orientation.Although poor self-efficacy can present challenges in relation to cultural value orientation, it's important to consider that cultural contexts themselves can influence and shape an individual's self-perception.It therefore means that a person's perceived lack of selfefficacy may be a reflection of societal expectations rather than an inherent personal limitation.

METHODOLOGY:
The research design for this study was the expost facto design.The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire titled Cultural value Orientation, and Self-efficacy Questionnaire (CVOSEQ).To ascertain the face validity, the topic, purpose of the study, research questions, research hypotheses and instrument were given to the supervisors and 4 other professionals with specialty in Educational Psychology and Measurement and Evaluation from Faculty of Education.
The researchers visited each of the selected schools and administered copies of the questionnaire to the 1,543 subjects.In each school, the researchers first obtained permission from the principal and got help from some class teachers and two research assistants.The data collected were coded for analysis using a developed key The One-way Analysis of Variance was used in testing each of the null hypotheses formulated to guide the study which was tested at .05 level of significance.

Presentation of results
In results presentation, the hypothesis was tested at .05 level of significance.

Hypothesis;
Cultural value orientation does not significantly influence students' self-efficacy.The independent variable in this hypothesis was cultural value orientation categorized into three (low, moderate and high), while the dependent variable was selfefficacy with four sub-components, namely, social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, language self-efficacy, moral self-efficacy and overall self-efficacy.The One-way Analysis of Variance was used in testing this hypothesis, and the results of the analyses were as presented in Tables 1and 2. The result as presented in Table 2 show that Fratios of 17.277, 13.261, 16.221, 4.097 and 19.236 for social self-efficacy, academic selfefficacy, language self-efficacy, moral selfefficacy and overall self-efficacy respectively are each significant at 2 and 1526 degrees of freedom and .05level of significance.By implication, the null hypothesis that cultural value orientation does not significantly influence students' self-efficacy was rejected for all the various dimensions, and overall self-efficacy.These results imply that cultural value orientation significantly influenced students' self-efficacy.Given the significant F-ratios, a post hoc analysis was conducted using the Fishers' Least Significant Difference (LSD) multiple comparison test to check for the source of the difference.The result is presented in Table 3.An examination of the results in Table 3 show that, the subjects who have low level of cultural value orientation had significant lower mean in social self-efficacy when compared with those who have moderate level of cultural value orientation (MD=.77;p<.05) and those who have high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-1.14;p<.05).Other pair wise comparison between the subjects who had moderate and high level of cultural value orientation, produced a mean difference that was not statistically significant (MD=-.37;p>.05).For academic self-efficacy, the subjects who had low level of cultural value orientation, had significant lower mean when compared with those who have moderate level of cultural value orientation (MD=-.49;p<.05) and they also had a significantly lower mean in academic selfefficacy, than those who had high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-1.48;p<.05).Other pair wise comparison shows that the subjects who had moderate level of cultural value orientation had a significantly lower mean score in academic self-efficacy when compared with those who had high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-.99;p<.05).Furthermore, for language self-efficacy, the result show that the subjects who had low level of cultural value orientation had a significant lower mean score than those who had moderate level of cultural value orientation (MD=-.87;p<.05) and they also had a significant lower mean score when compared with those that have high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-1.77;p<.05).

CULTURAL VALUE ORIENTATION AND SELF-EFFICACY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
Other pair wise comparison shows that the subjects who had moderate level of cultural value orientation had a significant lower mean on language self-efficacy when compared with those who had high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-.90;p<.05).
Concerning moral self-efficacy, the result show that the subjects who had low level of cultural value orientation had a lower mean score when compared with those who were moderate, but the mean difference was not statistically significant (MD=-.16;p>.05) but they had a significant lower mean when compared with those who had high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-.97;p<.05).Other pair wise comparison shows that the subjects who had moderate level of cultural value orientation had a significant lower mean on moral self-efficacy when compared with those who had high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-.81;p<.05).
Finally, for overall self-efficacy, the result show that the subjects who had low level of cultural value orientation had significant lower mean when compared with their counterparts who were moderate (MD=-2.28;p<.05), and high (MD=-5.36;p<.05) level of cultural value orientation.
Similarly, the subjects who had moderate level of cultural value orientation, had a significantly higher mean in overall self-efficacy when compared with those who had high level of cultural value orientation (MD=-3.07;p<.05).

Discussion of findings:
The results of the study revealed a significant influence of cultural value orientation on selfefficacy.The significant influence of cultural value orientation on self-efficacy is assumed to be due to the fact, that cultural value orientation exposes individuals to cultural values outside their own society.The fact that individuals have to imbibe other people's culture, enables them to co-exist peacefully with people of diverse cultures, changes the cultural pattern of the family, school and the community which in turn affects the individual through the process of socialization.This could influence the self-efficacy.The significant influence of cultural value orientation on self-efficacy could be explained to be that since cultural values have historical, and socio-political influences on the child's learning.It could be that the children are exposed to their cultural norms and values especially for communities where child education is advocated for.It could be that parents place so much importance and lay emphasis on educational attainment for proper future development.The present result is in line with the findings of Wawrose eta'l (2021) who discovered in their study that cultural intelligence is a predictor of intercultural self-efficacy in communication.Akerson et al., (2008) also supports the findings of the present study that there is a significant relation on the teachers' intellectual levels, and cultural value orientation with regard to teachers' view on nature.The significant influence of cultural value orientation on self-efficacy could be that, an understanding of cultural signs and symbols could enhance English Language proficiency.Individuals who are culturally oriented tend to learn historical signs and symbols which are ingredients for effective essay and story writing.Thus, consistent writing of essays and stories could boost language self-efficacy.
This finding is supported by the study of Razmjoo, (2009) who found a moderate significant relationship between the participants' language proficiency among various cultural factors.
The implication of this could be that, in cultures where much emphasis is placed on morality, children could positively be influenced, thereby boost their ability to act in accordance with the cultural values upheld.This finding is supported by the work of Shell et al., (2010) who discovered that higher negative expectations and higher selfefficacy significantly reduced drinking habit.A further exploration revealed that higher positive expectancy increased the likelihood of drinking and lowered self-efficacy.This reveals a negative influence of cultural value orientation on moral self-efficacy.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The present study further concludes that cultural value orientation significantly influences social, academic, language and moral self-efficacy.Parents should educate the children about their cultural heritage.They should be encouraged to communicate in their local language, dress in their cultural outfits and take part in cultural activities.The school should lay emphasis on promotion of cultural heritage and values so that the child can have an understanding of his origin.
The research area for the study is Cross River State, Nigeria.It is one of the states in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.