Efficacy of Systematic Desensitization Therapy on Academic Boredom among Adolescents in Edo State Secondary Schools

Abstract

An individual experiences boredom when an activity is neither entertaining nor conducive. Academic boredom and its negative influences include dissatisfaction and low arousal in school activities, depression, high school dropout, lack of academic goal orientation, abusive behaviours as well as poor academic performances among students. The study sought to investigate the efficacy of Systematic desensitization on academic boredom among students in Edo State Secondary Schools. The research used quasi experimental design adopting the pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group experiment. The population for the study consisted of One thousand, five hundred and eighty-two (I,582) SS2 students from Seven (7) public schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The sample for the study was made up of two intact classes comprising of 91 (Ninety-one) SS2 students. The instruments used for the study is Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS), developed by Farmer and Sunberg, adapted from Obisanya with a test retest reliability co-efficient of 0.792. The findings of this study showed that Systematic desensitization was effective in reducing academic boredom. It was also more effective than the control group (non-attention). It is therefore recommended that reciprocal inhibition can be used to desensitize the students by counsellors. In the classroom, the teacher should note individual differences, engage students in classroom activities, use real life situations and also make learning interesting.