Marital status and gender as predictors of undergraduate academic performance: a United Arab Emirates context

Justin Thomas,Monique Raynor,Amal Al-Marzooqi

doi:10.18538/lthe.v9.n2.80

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is attempting to move towards a knowledge-based economy. A greater understanding of the determinants, predictors and barriers to academic success are vital to this goal. Previous research within the region has found female gender, and being married to be positive predictors of academic performance. This study explores the influence of gender and marital status on cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) across all undergraduate students presently attending a multi campus federal university within the UAE. Anonymous data were extracted from the institution’s information management systems. The data extract included all current students (N =3676), their gender, CGPA, age and marital status. Age was positively correlated with CGPA. Females had significantly higher cumulative CGPAs than males, even after controlling for age. This was true for all majors with the exception of Information Technology, where no significant difference was observed. Married students (males and females) had higher CGPAs than their unmarried counter-parts, however this difference was not statistically significant after controlling for age. Being married appears not to have any obvious detrimental effect on academic performance as indexed by CGPA. Mature students tend to perform slightly better, and females significantly outperform males.

Highlights

There is a considerable international body of literature exploring the predictors and determinants of undergraduate academic performance (Barrow et al, 2009; Betts & Morell, 1999; Cohn et al, 2004; Smith & Naylor, 2001)
The present study aims to explore both gender and marital status as determinants of academic performance across the entire student body of a large multi campus federal university in the UAE (Zayed University)
Females accounted for 90.2% of the sample; for location, Abu Dhabi campus accounted for 50.5% of the sample; and for marital status 2.8% of students were recorded as being married

Summary

Introduction

There is a considerable international body of literature exploring the predictors and determinants of undergraduate academic performance (Barrow et al, 2009; Betts & Morell, 1999; Cohn et al, 2004; Smith & Naylor, 2001). The predictor variables explored encompass a full biopsychosocial spectrum, from familial socio-economic status, to institutional class sizes. Two of the most immediately accessible factors for exploration are gender and marital status. While these proposed predictors of academic performance have been widely explored across many nations, relatively little work has been undertaken within the Gulf region (Harb & El-Shaarawi, 2007). It is likely that region-specific socio-cultural factors will affect how, and to what extent, gender and marital status influence academic performance. Given that many of the Gulf nations are presently attempting to develop knowledge based economies, such research may inform the development of undergraduate educational strategy and policy

Methods

Results

Conclusion