School Academic Achievement Research Articles

Effects of Disaster Management towards Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools in Arusha District

This study investigated the effects of disaster management towards academic achievement in public secondary schools in Arusha District Council, Tanzania. Objectives were to; examine ways of managing disasters in secondary schools and effects of disaster management towards academic achievement of students in public secondary schools. Emergency Management Theory guided the study. Convergent mixed methods design was adopted. Questionnaires, documentary analysis, photo taking and interviews were used to collect data from 105students and 85teachers selected by simple and stratified random sampling techniques. Five school heads and 4 WEOs were purposively selected. Validity was fortified through expert inputs. Reliability employed test-retest technique and reliability index, SQ r=0.735, TQ r=0.827and NTSQ r= 0.761were obtained. Credibility and dependability of qualitative data was established through detailed reporting of the research process. Qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in the SPSS version 23 and results were presented in tables. Findings include provision of fire extinguishers to help in putting off fire outbreaks, enhancing drainage system and raising building foundation to prevent surface runoff from accessing classrooms and offices. Proper use of fire extinguishers to minimize damages caused by fire in schools hence minimal interference to learning process. In conclusion, without a disaster management plan, schools spend more time and resources reacting to a situation instead of planning for the anticipated disaster. Recommendations entailed all institutions to provide fire extinguishers, enhance drainage system and improve students’ discipline as disaster mitigation measures.

고교생의 졸업 후 진로계획 및 대학전공 설정과 학업성취도 간의 관계분석

In this study, we investigated the relationship between high school students’ post-graduation career plans, college major choices and academic achievement. Drawing upon data from the first and second years of the Korean Education and Employment Panel II, we explored the relationship between students' post-graduation career plans, their choice of college major during the second year of high school, and their academic achievement in the third grade utilizing multiple regression approaches.
 The findings revealed a positive correlation between college aspiration during the second year of high school and higher academic achievement in the third year of high school. Students who set specific goals for college admission demonstrated a better academic performance compared to those who did not. Conversely, no statistically significant relationship is observed between college major choices during the second year of high school and their academic achievement in the third 3rd year of high school.
 Based on these results, it is confirmed that the aspiration to pursue college among high school students is positively related to academic achievement, serving as a motivating factor for individuals. Therefore, the findings of this study underscores the significance of goal-setting during the high school years, thereby the importance of career education and counseling. The findings of this research also have policy implications, highlighting the need to prioritize goal-setting among high school students and provide adequate support for students’ career development.

School Attendance and Academic Achievement: Understanding Variation across Family Socioeconomic Status

Studies consistently show the detrimental effect of school absences on pupils’ achievement. However, due to an accumulation of multiple risks, school absenteeism may be more harmful to achievement among pupils from lower socioeconomic status (SES). Using a sample of upper-secondary students from the Scottish Longitudinal Study (n = 3,135), we investigated whether the association between absences (overall, sickness, and truancy) and achievement in high-stakes exams varied by family SES dimensions (parental education, class, free school meal registration, and housing). The findings for overall absences and truancy show no statistically significant differences across SES groups. However, sickness absences were more harmful to the achievement of lower SES students than higher SES students. Differences between the most and least disadvantaged groups were found on all SES dimensions except for parental education.

Capturing the multidimensionality of immigrant students' acculturation patterns in Germany

Acculturation has been shown to be relevant to immigrant students' school adjustment and academic achievement. However, there are methodological constraints to the literature, and only little is known about immigrant students' acculturation patterns as such and their distribution across different demographic groups in Germany. Conceptualizing acculturation as a multidimensional construct, this study aimed to empirically capture acculturation patterns of immigrant students living in Germany considering affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects of acculturation. Latent profile analysis identified six distinct profiles of acculturation evocative of strong assimilation, assimilation, integration, strong separation, separation, and marginalization. Taking the two assimilationist and separationist profiles into consideration, assimilation was most prevalent (41% of the sample), followed by separation (38% of the sample), and integration and marginalization each only accounted for ~11% of the sample. Inspection of demographics showed significant differences between profiles regarding gender, generation status, and ethnic group. Findings from research indicate that careful consideration of the operationalization of acculturation is necessary to draw valid conclusions about its relevance to school-related outcomes for immigrant students. This study can serve as a starting point showing the use of latent profile approaches, which give an expanded perspective on immigrant students' acculturation experiences.

Examining students' academic motivation for studying programming languages

AbstractBackgroundThe degree to which Computer Science (CS) and Information Communication Technology (ICT) students are motivated to learn greatly impacts their study habits, academic achievement in school and ultimately their job prospects. In recent times, skills in programming languages have become vital in searching for employment.ObjectiveThis study sought to examine the academic motivation of students to study programming languages and their pursuit of job prospects in the software development field.MethodsThe study adopted the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) to measure students' motivation. Data was collected from 244 CS and ICT students at different levels of study at Ho Technical University (HTU) who responded to an online questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability analysis, independent samples t‐test and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted using IBM statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and IBM analysis of moment structure (AMOS), respectively.Results and ConclusionsThe results showed no significant difference in students' motivation to study programming languages in the university between those who had prior programming languages and those who had none. Also, the results showed no significant difference in the motivation of students to study programming languages between those with and without working experience. The results showed a significant difference between those who want to and do not want to pursue a career in software development and their study motivation of programming languages.TakeawayCourse instructors should emphasize connections between course goals and future employment opportunities.

The effect of fractional order mathematical modelling for examination of academic achievement in schools with stochastic behaviors

Academic achievement is very important, as it enables students to be well-equipped for professional and social life and shapes their future. In the case of a possible academic failure, students generally face many cognitive, social, psychological, and behavioral problems. This problem experienced by the students has been addressed with the mathematical model in this study. This mathematical model will be handled with the help of the fractional operator, and the existence, uniqueness, and positivity of the solutions to the model equation system will be examined. In addition, local and global stability analyses of the equilibrium points of the model are planned. Numerical simulations are performed with different values of fractional orders and densities of randomness. This study is very important in terms of its original and multidisciplinary approach to a subject in the field of social sciences.

Teacher Accountability and Student’s Academic Achievement in Mission Secondary Schools in Anambra State, Nigeria: An Appraisal of Market- Based Accountability Model in Education

This study investigated teacher accountability and students’ academic achievement in mission secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria: an appraisal of market-based accountability model in education. The study adopted the correlational survey method, covering all principals, teachers and students’ result in the senior school certificate examination (SSCE) in mission secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select 500 principals and teachers, and 500 students’ SSCE result from 50 schools. The Teacher Accountability, Students’ Academic Achievement Questionnaire (TASAAQ) and Students’ Academic Checklist (SAAC) were used to collect data from respondents. Data collected were analyzed using percentages, means scores, standard deviation, Pearson’s product moment correlation co-efficient and T-test. Findings revealed that the market-based accountability model is not fashionable for teacher accountability in mission secondary schools in mission schools, students’ academic achievement was high, teacher accountability has positive correlation with students’ academic achievement and both principals and teachers agree that teacher accountability is necessary for students’ academic achievement. Study recommended that important tenets of market-based accountability model should be adopted to bring teachers to accountability and increase chances of students’ academic achievement.

Construct Validation and Prediction of the School Psychological Capital in Two Chinese Cultural Contexts

Psychological Capital (PsyCap) has received much attention in industrial-organizational research because it is linked to a broad spectrum of adaptive work-related outcomes. However, few studies have been conducted on PsyCap in non-Western school contexts, especially in the ethnic minority areas of Mainland China. The present study aims to validate the school PsyCap scale, examine the latent mean differences of school PsyCap across Dai and Han groups, and verify the correlation between school PsyCap and academic engagement, achievement emotions, and academic achievement in a sample of 769 Chinese school children (Han students = 249, Dai students = 520) in the seventh and eighth grades. Results demonstrated that the Chinese version of the school PsyCap scale had excellent psychometric properties. Besides, there were no significant differences in the mean level of school PsyCap between the two cultural groups of Chinese Dai and Han. However, the multi-group second-order CFA model showed that the mean level of Dai students’ resilience was lower than that of Chinese Han. The findings also showed that school PsyCap has positive predictive effects on optimal academic outcomes (i.e., academic engagement, enjoyment, and academic achievement) but negatively affect boredom. This study enriches the understanding of school PsyCap from a cross-cultural perspective. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Relationship of Academic Procrastination Behavior to School Burnout, Psychological Well-Being, and Academic Achievement

The Relationship of Academic Procrastination Behavior to School Burnout, Psychological Well-Being, and Academic Achievement

Ethnic-Racial Socialization, Teacher Discrimination, and Black Youth’s School Engagement and Achievement

Ethnic-racial socialization is one strategy Black parents use to support their children’s school engagement and academic achievement given the occurrence and toxic effects of discrimination. Egalitarianism and preparation for bias socialization messages have yielded mixed evidence of promotive and protective effects for Black youth's school outcomes, and effects may vary according to ethnicity. Thus, this research examined associations between ethnic-racial socialization messages and school engagement and achievement, and whether these messages protected against teacher discrimination effects on academic achievement transmitted through school engagement, among a nationally representative sample of Black adolescents who participated in the National Survey of American Life Adolescent supplement study. Ethnic-racial socialization message content and the frequency of communication about race demonstrated different associations with engagement (i.e., school bonding, aspiration-expectation discrepancy, and disciplinary actions) and achievement (i.e., grades) for African American and Caribbean Black youth. However, the benefits were not sufficient to combat the adverse effects of teacher discrimination on school engagement and, in turn, achievement. These findings highlight the utility of integrating ethnic-racial socialization into prevention programs to support Black youth’s school experiences; demonstrate the importance of attention to heterogeneity within Black youth; and underscore the critical need for prevention programs to address teacher discrimination.

Prospective associations between child screen time and parenting stress and later inattention symptoms in preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Child attention skills are critical for supporting self-regulation abilities, especially during the first years of life. On the other hand, inattention symptoms in preschoolers have been associated with poor school readiness, literacy skills and academic achievement. Previous research has linked excessive screen time with increased inattention symptoms in early childhood. However, most research has only focused on TV exposure and did not investigate this association during the COVID-19 pandemic. This atypical context has increased screen time in children worldwide, including preschoolers. We hypothesize that higher levels of child screen media and parenting stress at age 3.5 will be associated with higher child inattention symptoms at age 4.5. This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers' screen media use during the pandemic (N = 315, 2020). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 264). Analyses using multiple linear regression, revealed a positive association between child screen time at age 3.5 and inattention symptoms at 4.5 years. Parental stress was also positively associated with child inattention symptoms. Associations were observed above individual (child age, inhibitory control, and sex) and family (parent education and family income) characteristics. These results confirmed our hypothesis and highlight that preschooler screen use and parenting stress may undermine attentional skills. Since attention is a crucial component for children development, behavior and academic outcomes, our study reinforces the importance for parents of adopting healthy media habits.

School absenteeism and academic achievement: Does the timing of the absence matter?

A large body of research demonstrates that school absenteeism is detrimental to learning, academic achievement and educational outcomes. However, questions remain whether this relationship varies according to the timing and reasons of absenteeism. Using time-stamped administrative school attendance data among 62,841 students enrolled in secondary education, this study examined whether the association between school absenteeism and student's examination results at the end of the school year varies with the timing and reasons of absenteeism. The findings show that unexcused absenteeism, sickness absenteeism and school exclusion all have a negative impact on student's academic achievement. In addition, the findings suggested that unexcused absenteeism is more harmful at the beginning of the school year and at the end of the school year. Sickness absenteeism seems also more harmful at the end of the school year. In the discussion I elaborate on the implications of these findings for policy and practice.

School climate, student engagement and academic achievement across school sectors in Australia

Driven by the focus on standardised assessment and performance-driven accountability, a considerable body of literature has documented differences in students’ academic achievement across school sectors, both internationally and in Australia. However, few studies have to date explored the potential mechanisms underlying such differences, particularly through the lens of school climate and student engagement. And despite extensive literature on school climate and student engagement, including their relationships with achievement, the differences in these patterns across school sectors remain under-studied. In this paper, we leverage nationally representative data from a large-scale longitudinal survey in Australia with linked administrative data on student achievement to reveal different patterns of school climate and student engagement across government, Catholic and independent sectors. Employing multivariable regression analyses, we identify unique school climate and student engagement facets that are associated with improved achievement in each of these sectors, offering important pointers for educational policies.

공간헤도닉모형을 이용한 일반고 교육성취 특성 및 지역 매개효과에 따른 주택가격 영향

This study empirically analyzed the effect on housing prices according to the academic achievement of general high schools and the regional mediating effect using the spatial hedonic model. The main empirical analysis results are as follows. First, accessibility to general high schools had a positive effect on local apartment prices regardless of the type. It was found that the preferred high school type, which had the highest college entrance rate, had a greater influence. Second, a prestigious high school was more preferred when it comes to the type of high school closest to the apartment. This result seems to be due to the recognition that consumers in the local housing market place high value on the status of local prestigious high schools, and that there are many students with excellent grades in prestigious high schools. Consequently, there may be less incidence of juvenile delinquency, creating a positive effect on the residential environment around the school. Third, it was found that in an area where the regional effect on housing price is high, the closer an apartment is to a prestigious high school, the higher the apartment price can get. Through these results, this study confirmed that the characteristics of general high school academic achievement have a clear influence on apartment prices and that these influences appear differentially by region.

Impact of Poverty on Secondary School Academic Achievement among Girls in District Faisalabad, Pakistan; A cross sectional study

One of the most fundamental and obvious human rights in all countries is the right to an education. However, poverty has continued to be a stumbling block for the majority of people in achieving this fundamental right. Objective: To investigate how poverty affects academic performance of girls in secondary school. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 students of schools in District Faisalabad, Pakistan. The questionnaire designed for this study is self-designed, multi-section survey i-e. Demographic information including age, sex, educational level, family financial status. The (SPSS) version 22.0 was used to examine the data that had been gathered. Results: According to the current study, there were 100 total respondents, and all of them were women. About 39% of respondents' fathers were illiterate or had just a middle level of education, 28% had graduated, 21% had a middle to metric level of education, and only 12% had a high level of education. About 54% of respondents' moms were illiterate or had just a middle level of education, 21% had graduated, 17% had a middle to metric level of education, and only 8% had a high level of education. Conclusion: The study comes to the conclusion that poverty is a growing problem today and that the number of individuals living in poverty is always rising. The research also showed a strong correlation between children's academic success and their parents' socioeconomic level.

Urban secondary students' explanations for the school climate‐achievement association

AbstractThis phenomenological qualitative study describes students' experiences and counter‐stories of school climate and how school climate matters for their academic achievement in an urban school district. The study uses a critical race perspective to help understand contextual influences on school climate. Data were collected through eight focus group interviews comprised of students conducted in middle and high schools in a large Midwest urban school district. Themes emerged within each school climate domain: teacher support, teacher expectations, safety, and peer social and emotional competence. The study results describe how students experience and understand school climate—perception of safety in schools with a mix of safe and unsafe home‐community climate—and demonstrate how students acknowledge the relationship between school climate and academic achievement. Urban secondary students are observant of the social‐emotional learning of their peers and maintain awareness of group differences as expressed in their counter‐stories. The findings advanced our understanding of school climate in urban contexts where social‐contextual‐struggles experienced by people of color affect their school experiences. The discussion includes practical implications for educators and administrators and directions for future research.

Education support services for improving school engagement and academic performance of children and adolescents with a chronic health condition.

Education support services for improving school engagement and academic performance of children and adolescents with a chronic health condition.

Developing Students' Mathematical Communication Skill in Junior High School with Various Level of Mathematics Achievement through Generative Learning Model

Mathematical communication skill was the missing piece of the mathematics education failure puzzle for centuries despite its central role in learning activities. Built on top of other process skills, the skill was the tool to construct a more comprehensive conceptual understanding by learning math from different perspectives, sharpening other cognitive skills, and providing important feedback about students' understanding. This study observed how the students' mathematical communication skill was correlated with the application of the generative learning model and how this correlation was influenced by various level of the school's academic achievement in mathematics. It employed a fractional 2x2-factorial design, careful non-probability sampling combined with simple random sampling to pick 171 students, and a validated and reliable scoring system to measure communication skills. Based on the results, the students' mathematical communication skill significantly correlates with the application of the generative learning model. The use of factorial design revealed that this correlation was more determined by applying the generative learning model, not by the level of schools' or students' mathematics achievement. Teachers should be more optimistic about using generative learning models to improve mathematical communication skills, even in classes with lower mathematics achievement levels.

The relationship between student's perceptions of their school environment and academic achievement.

Research within an educational context has demonstrated the importance of variables such as socioeconomic status, gender and school attendance as predictors of academic achievement, however research investigating the role of the physical learning environment on academic achievement is more limited and what research has been conducted often focuses on objective characteristics such as temperature, air quality and noise. In contrast this study measures students' subjective perceptions of their physical school environment and explores how these perceptions along with socioeconomic status, gender and school attendance relate to academic achievement. In addition, we also examined a range of other important variables that could be potential mediating factors between environmental perceptions and academic achievement. The study was conducted with 441, S5 students in five secondary schools in Scotland. Students completed a questionnaire that measured their perceptions of their school environment, their behavior in school, and their learning goals. In addition, data on student academic achievement, attendance and socioeconomic status was provided by the Local Authority. Regression analysis indicates that students' subjective perceptions of their physical school environment, along with attendance, socioeconomic status and gender are all significantly related to academic achievement. In addition, subsequent analysis indicates that the relationship between students' subjective perceptions of their physical school environment and academic achievement is mediated by important "in-school behaviours," namely engaging behavior and environmental difficulty. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the direct and indirect relationship between student perceptions of their school environment and their academic achievement.

Disentangling the Association Between the Big Five Personality Traits and Student Achievement: Meta-Analytic Evidence on the Role of Domain Specificity and Achievement Measures

Students’ academic achievement is a central predictor of a long list of important educational outcomes, such as access to higher education and socioeconomic success. Prior studies have extensively focused on identifying variables that are related to academic achievement and an important variable in this context appears to be students’ personality. Notably, although findings from more recent studies suggested that the association between student achievement and personality varies by the subject domain (language vs. STEM) and the type of achievement measure (grades vs. test scores), systematic meta-analytical evidence is still lacking. To address this gap in the educational research literature, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 78 studies, with 1491 effect sizes representing data from 500,218 students and 110 samples from elementary to high school. We used a random-effects model with robust variance estimation to calculate mean effect sizes and standard deviations. We found moderating effects of measure or domain for all five personality traits, with differences in the direction of the effects. Our results highlight the importance of the domain and measure when examining how personality traits relate to academic achievement in school. The combination of subject domain and achievement was also found to be relevant for some of the traits. These findings emphasize that subject domains and types of achievement measures should be explicitly considered when investigating the personality saturation of student achievement. We discuss implications for future research, highlighting that there is no “best” or “more objective” achievement measure but, instead, that achievement measures should be chosen based on the research question of interest.