Date of Degree

12-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Education

Advisor

Noah Kasraie

Advisor

Solomon Nfor

Advisor

Ron Washington

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships between some of the variables most cited in literature and the overall achievement level of Nigerian Americans in four Texas cities—Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Specifically, this study investigated the variables that significantly affected and predicted overall achievements. The Nigerian American questionnaire (NAQ) was used to gather the data for this study. The NAQ survey instrument was developed using some questions from previously validated survey instruments. These instruments included COPE, CASE, SWLS and JSS, which were used to extract relevant variable-related questions for the present data. The variables covered by the extracted questions included coping skills, spirituality, job satisfaction, social media, parental influence and English proficiency among others.

The NAQ instrument was sent to all Nigerian Americans in the target population using both the traditional paper method and the online method. The research questions were addressed by performing the Pearson correlation, simple and multiple regression, the Kruskal-Wallis, the Mann-Whitney U test, and logistic regressions. The data was analyzed using the statistical software SPSS and R.

Results of the study indicated that coping skills, English proficiency, social media were individually, positively and significantly correlated with overall achievement. Spirituality was found to be significantly but negatively correlated with achievement. Additionally, the regression analysis showed that these variables were significant predictors of achievement. Coping levels and the use of social media were also found to significantly differ based on the field of study and gender. The logistic regression results indicated that the probability of obtaining a graduate degree was influenced by parental level of education and spirituality. There is a need for the results of the study to guide future government policies on Nigerian American migration as well as serve as a guide for future Nigerians panning to settle in the United States of America in understanding factors that affect their achievements in America.

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