Abstract
Low academic achievement and the need to search for factors influencing performance, explanations such as poor teacher quality, resources, low level of teacher motivation and commitment, poor supervision, discipline, political interference, lack of parental support have been advanced. Little if any attention has been given to personality factors such as self-concept. Previous research has demonstrated a positive and significant correlation between emotional selfconcept and academic achievement and that of emotional self-concept and school type, location and type of attendance. It was the objective of this study to investigate the possible contribution of moderator variables-gender, age, grade/form, and school location type, type of attendance to learner academic achievement in secondary schools. In particular the study sought to find out the extent to which the moderator variables contributed to differences in learner emotional selfconcepts and academic achievement in secondary schools. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used for the study involving 1281 high and low performers in secondary schools. Results showed that age, school type and type of attendance accounted for significant differences in both academic achievement and emotional self-concepts. School location and grade/form contributed to difference in emotional self-concepts only while gender accounted for no differences at all. The study concluded that the current practice by some parents to send their children to boarding schools and transfer from one school to the other better school was wise and beneficial for the academic and emotional welfare of their children. Instilling better attitudes towards school work at an earlier age was likely to have long term benefits for the child’s education. Gender accounted for no differences in either emotional self-concepts or academic achievement. Further research is required in different subjects and overall with a larger sample in different locations.
Highlights
The Zimbabwe 2012 Ordinary level examination results were released in early February, 2013
Considerable debate ensued with outcries of falling standards of education, proliferation of untrained teachers in the schools, poor resources, low level of teacher commitment due to poor working conditions, poor quality teachers poor supervision, extra lessons which yielded nothing but poor results, poor discipline, political interference, lack of parental support for children’s learning, inappropriate curriculum among other reasons. (Education, National News, 6/02/2013)
A total of 1281 junior (Form 1 & 2) and (Form 3 & 4) secondary school male and female learners participated in the study
Summary
The Zimbabwe 2012 Ordinary level examination results were released in early February, 2013. Considerable debate ensued with outcries of falling standards of education, proliferation of untrained teachers in the schools, poor resources, low level of teacher commitment due to poor working conditions, poor quality teachers poor supervision, extra lessons which yielded nothing but poor results, poor discipline, political interference, lack of parental support for children’s learning, inappropriate curriculum among other reasons. The myriad of reasons advanced by many in our society emphasizes the gravity of the learners’ achievement rate and the seriousness with which education is viewed by people in the country. Others passed very well under the adverse conditions It is imperative to continue the search for causes of low academic achievement to enable more and more children to achieve higher and better results. From the information outlined above, it is clear that low pass rate has been attributed to school and out of school factors and very little if any to learners’ personality factor. Research has documented the importance of personality factor, self-concept for academic achievement.
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