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Predictors of Overall Personal Achievements of Nigerian American Graduates Living in Four Texas Cities University of the Incarnate Word The Athenaeum Theses & Dissertations 12-2019 Predictors of Overall Personal Achievements of Nigerian American Graduates Living in Four Texas Cities Amos Obiefuna University of the Incarnate Word, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Other Education Commons Recommended Citation Obiefuna, Amos, "Predictors of Overall Personal Achievements of Nigerian American Graduates Living in Four Texas Cities" (2019). Theses & Dissertations. 369. https://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds/369 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Athenaeum. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Athenaeum. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PREDICTORS OF OVERALL PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF NIGERIAN AMERICAN GRADUATES LIVING IN FOUR TEXAS CITIES by AMOS OBIEFUNA A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the University of the Incarnate Word in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD December 2019 ii Copyright by Amos Obiefuna 2019 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the result of the unconditional love, support, and encouragement of my friends, family, and colleagues. I am grateful to all of you. I owe my journey to my late father, Mr. Godwin Obiefuna and Mrs. Victoria Obiefuna who laid the solid foundation that provided the opportunity for me to reach this height. Thanks for all the support and prayers. To my siblings: Ebere, Akonam, Ejike, Onyinye, Ubaka, Uju, I wholeheartedly appreciate all your kindness, love and prayers. I thank my uncle, Rev. Dr. Paul Anekwe, who made my relocation and settlement in America, smooth. I also want to extend my love to Ogechi and Uche, my beautiful daughters that always put smiles on my face. To other relations and friends who were not mentioned but assisted in one way or the other, I say thank you. I also want to use this opportunity to formally acknowledge my dissertation committee members; Dr. Noah Kasraie, dissertation chair, Dr. Solomon Nfor, and Dr. Ron Washington. I thank you all for the guidance and support throughout the journey. I thank you, Dr. Kasraie in particular for your thorough supervision that made the journey smoother. Thank you Dr. Nfor for the uncommon assistance. I remain eternally grateful. I could not have done this without all of you. Thanks, and know that your labor of love will not go unrewarded Amos Obiefuna iv DEDICATION Dedicated to my late father, Mr. Godwin Obiefuna, who fought tenaciously and gallantly to see that all his children had the best of education in spite of the overwhelming odds. v PREDICTORS OF PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS FOR NIGERIAN AMERICAN GRADUATES LIVING IN FOUR TEXAS CITIES Amos Obiefuna, PhD University of the Incarnate Word, 2019 The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the linear relationship between pairs of spirituality, coping skills, frequency of social media use, parental influence, and English proficiency among Nigerian Americans living in four Texas cities-San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Besides, it examined the effects of these variables on the achievement levels of Nigerian American graduates in these four cities. The variables were systematically selected and were some of the most cited in the literature. Participants (N= 421) were recruited using emails, and other social media platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook) and each participant was requested to complete the Nigerian American Questionnaire (NAQ) which contained questions from some previously validated survey instruments. Pearson correlation, simple and multiple regression, the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann- Whitney U test, and logistic regressions were used to address the five chosen research questions. The data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS, and R. Results of the study showed that coping skills, English proficiency, social media were individually, positively, and significantly correlated with overall achievement. Spirituality was found to correlate significantly but negatively with achievement. Additionally, the regression analysis showed that all the variables were significant predictors of achievement. Coping levels and the use of social media were also found to differ significantly by field of study and gender. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: DEMOGRAPHY OF NIGERIAN AMERICANS ...................................................1 Nigerian American Population and Education ....................................................................1 Culture and Spirituality ........................................................................................................3 Statement of Problem ...........................................................................................................5 Income disparity.......................................................................................................5 Lack of quantitative data ..........................................................................................6 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................7 Research Questions ..............................................................................................................8 Summary of the Methodology .............................................................................................8 Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................................10 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................12 Definition of Terms............................................................................................................13 Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................17 Chapter Organization .........................................................................................................17 Nigerian Community in America: Background .................................................................17 vii Table of Contents—Continued Education ...............................................................................................................17 Where most Nigerian Americans are found ...........................................................18 Nigerian American income ....................................................................................19 Nigerian groups and associations...........................................................................19 Dependent Variables ..........................................................................................................19 Academic success ..................................................................................................20 Financial success ....................................................................................................26 Career success ........................................................................................................27 Independent Variables .......................................................................................................28 Religion and spirituality .........................................................................................28 Coping skills ..........................................................................................................34 Parental influence, education, and wealth..............................................................39 English proficiency and accent barrier ..................................................................42 Social media ...........................................................................................................46 Globalization and the impact of social media ........................................................48 Choice of career path .............................................................................................49 Adaptation, education, and curriculum issues .......................................................50 Family size .............................................................................................................51 Summary and Conclusion ..................................................................................................52 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................54 Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................54 viii Table of Contents—Continued Research questions .............................................................................................................55 Research design .................................................................................................................55
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