Effect of pre-entry attributes on academic persistence in science and technology in Burkina Faso: A survival analysis

Abstract

Academic persistence is a challenge in Burkina Faso. Based on Tinto's (1997) model, this research assesses the effect of pre-entry attributes (father's occupation, gender, age at first enrollment in the university, place of birth, Grade Point Average [GPA], field of study in high school, time to first enrollment in the university, cohorts) on academic persistence in STEM in Burkina Faso. Using Kaplan and Meier (1958) survivor function, log rank test (Mantel & Haenszel, 1959) and Cox (1972) regression with 14 cohorts of freshmen (n = 13,891), findings reveal that less than 40% of students of a cohort were enrolled in the bachelor's degree. Father's occupation, gender, age at first enrollment, GPA and cohorts are predictors of academic persistence. Results seem to validate the use of Tinto's model in Burkina Faso. Findings will help education stakeholders (ministry of education, faculty members) to provide support aiming to improve academic persistence in STEM.