Achievement In Primary School Research Articles

Influence of Boards of Management Practices on Teachers Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya: A Case of Manga Sub-County Nyamira County, Kenya

The purpose of the Basic Education Act No. 14 of 2013 is to increase professionalism in the administration of public elementary schools by establishing Boards of Management. The purpose of this research is to analyse the effect that Boards of Management policies have on student achievement in public primary schools in the Manga sub-county of Kisii County, Kenya. The study set out to answer several questions about the impact of various factors on students' academic success, including the availability of instructional resources, the quality of the school's physical environment, the quality of the teaching staff, and the effectiveness of the school's management's efforts to motivate its employees. The research was based on the open systems theory and the Path Goal Leadership Theory. The study used a variety of research strategies. Concurrent triangulation, a research strategy that blends quantitative and qualitative data, was used for this investigation. Principals, BOM members, and the Sub County Director of Education made up the study population. Sampling was performed using a stratified random sampling technique. Strata were designated as learning environments. Questionnaires and interview scripts were used to compile the data. The researcher piloted the surveys with two elementary schools in Manga Sub County that have certain demographic and social characteristics with the study area. Pearson's Product Coefficient was used to verify reliability. Co-efficient. If the dependability co-efficient was lower than 0.7, then the instruments would need to be improved. The instruments' validity and reliability were established by having them crafted under the watchful eyes of the supervisors and by consulting with subject-matter experts. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to analyse the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the quantitative approaches. Descriptive statistics included measurements of central tendency and dispersion, such as means and standard deviations. Chi-square tests and spearman rank order correlations were used for inferential statistics. Analysing qualitative data required making sense of the responses and contrasting them with prior research. Frequency tables, percentages, and other numerical were used. Ethical considerations were taken into account during the investigation. The vast majority of respondents agreed that their schools' ability to provide necessary teaching and learning resources was facilitated by adhering to a schedule of events. The majority of respondents said that BOM members are capable of accurately forecasting and budgeting for physical infrastructure on their own. All respondents said that those working in BOM were trustworthy because of their moral rectitude and upright character. The research concluded that the Ministry of Education should institute safeguards to guarantee that only qualified individuals serve on public elementary school governing boards. It is imperative that steps be taken to guarantee the exchequer allocates sufficient funds for the purchase of physical infrastructure for public elementary schools

Influence of Teacher’s Professional Development on the Learner’s Competency Achievements in Public Primary Schools in Suna West Sub-County, Migori County

Education is considered as the key to success in many countries. As a result, in Kenya most parents take pride in their children when they perform well in educational matters. This study aimed at investigating the influence of teachers’ professional development on learner’s competency achievement in public primary schools. This study was grounded on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. It adopted a descriptive survey design. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used in data collection. The population of the study comprised of 54 headteachers, 432 teachers, 4 curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) and 1 Sub County Director of Education (SCDE). Krejcie and Morgan table was used to sample 24 headteachers and 190 teachers while purposive sampling was used to 4 Curriculum Support Officers and 1 SCDE. The study sample comprised of 24 head teachers from a target population of 54 public primary headteachers in the sub county, 190 teachers from a target population of 432 teachers in the sub county, the Sub County Director of Education and 2 CSOs. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was done with the assistance of supervisors are experts. Reliability was done by using test re- test methods which yielded alpha of 0.67. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21 was used to analyse quantitative data where descriptive such as frequencies and percentages were used to describe the data. While Pearson correlation was used to test hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Qualitative data from interview schedules and documents were analysed using thematic analysis and results were triangulated with quantitative data. The study found out that teachers professional development (r= 0.555, p=0.015) had a positive correlation with learners competency achievement. This implied that this variable had a significant influence on learner’s competency achievement. It was therefore recommended that teachers’ professional development programmes should be enhanced in schools.

Incentivizing Textbooks for Self-Study: Experimental Evidence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract We designed and randomly evaluated the impact of a textbooks for self-study scheme in eastern DRC targeting student achievement in primary schools. Students in treatment schools were seven percentage points more likely to pass the national exam, and those who passed obtained higher scores. We also evidence higher scores on a French language test. The effects are primarily driven by student interest in textbooks, frequency of doing homework and motivation to go to school and continue education. Student achievement can thus be improved by intensified and diversified use of existing learning materials in poor and fragile settings.

The Influence of Technology Users in Learning Towards Increasing Student Achievement in Primary School

Education in Indonesia is currently facing the fourth industrial revolution known as Industrial Revolution 4.0. Education 4.0 is education that is characterized by the use of digital technology in the learning process or known as a cyber system. This research aims to find out how digital technology is used in PAI subjects at Bina Sejahtera Elementary School in Medan, what is the learning achievement in PAI subjects at Darul Hikam Elementary School in Bandung, and how much influence the use of digital technology has in PAI subjects at Bina Sejahtera Elementary School in Medan. The method used in this research is a descriptive analysis method with a quantitative approach. The statistics use correlation analysis, simple linear regression analysis, and coefficient of determination and t test. The population in this study were 5th grade students at Bina Sejahtera Elementary School, Medan, totaling 103 students. The research sample was taken as many as 50 students. The data collection technique was carried out by means of an online questionnaire, interviews and documentation of the 2019/2020 odd semester PPKN report scores. Based on the research results, it was concluded that the influence of the use of digital technology on student learning achievement in Civics subjects is in the high category with a correlation coefficient of 0.701 and the contribution of the influence is 49.1% and the remaining 50.9% of learning achievement is influenced by other variables. There is a significant influence of the use of digital technology in Civics subjects on student learning achievement with a significance value of 0.000. This finding is very important, especially for Civics teachers so they can use and apply digital technology in the teaching and learning process because this media can improve students' learning achievement. For students, it is hoped that by implementing learning using digital technology, the learning achievements obtained by students can increase even higher.

The Influence of Organizational Factors on the School’s Achievements

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the most significant organizational factors on primary school achievements, with a note that the achievement of the school is expressed through the quality of outcome knowledge. The research was conducted on a sample of 460 employees, from 21 primary schools, of which 439 are professionals and 21 are principals in the South Bačka County, Republic of Serbia. The collected data were processed using the Gretl software and AMOS for modelling structural equations. More precisely, the research is based on the application of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A neural network based on a standard multilayer perceptron model was used in the paper to test the validity of the obtained results of the AMOS model. The results of the research show that school management is the most important factor in school achievement and that this influence is most pronounced through teaching staff and school infrastructure. The results, also show that teachers’ competencies have the strongest direct influence on the quality of outcome knowledge. The results obtained indicate that decision-makers and creators of social policies must pay special attention to the selection of school principals as well as their professional education, while school principals to the selection of teachers. Future researchers are recommended to use the Sobel test to precisely determine the indirect influences of school management on school achievement.

Am I a math person? Linking math identity with students’ motivation for mathematics and achievement

AbstractBased on the expectancy-value perspective on identity and identity formation, this paper explores the relationship between math identity (MI) and the dimensions of motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived competence) and math achievement in primary school. An additional aim of our research was to explore these relationships in different cultural contexts and investigate potential gender and grade differences concerning MI. The participants were 11,782 primary school students from Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Portugal and Serbia. All predictors from the motivation spectrum were significant for students’ MI across the examined countries and had a stronger association with MI than math achievement. Among the motivational dimensions, intrinsic value had the strongest association with students’ MI. Boys had significantly more positive math identities than girls in Estonia, Finland, Norway and Portugal. The results showed that the grade 4 students perceived themselves less as “math persons” than their grade 3 peers in all countries.

An Investigation of Teachers’ Perception on Parental Involvement in Teaching and Learning Mathematics

Parental involvement is the foundation stone of academic success. When parents interact with teachers and with their children to encourage mathematics learning, it builds a positive relationship that leads to better teaching and learning. Previous studies indicated that parental involvement affects learners' achievement. However, less is known about the effects of teacher perceptions of parental involvement on learners' mathematics achievement in primary school. The critical problem to be explored is teachers' perceptions toward parental involvement in learning mathematics. This paper investigates teachers' perceptions of parental involvement in teaching and learning mathematics. This study was guided by the following main question: What are teachers' perceptions of parental involvement in teaching and learning mathematics? The study used a qualitative exploratory case study design. Purposive convenience sampling is used to select research participants. Participants in the study are 18 Junior Primary teachers in Windhoek, Khomas Region-Namibia. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were administered to eighteen (18) teachers from selected schools located in Windhoek to explore teachers' perceptions of parental involvement in teaching and learning mathematics. The study's findings revealed that lack of parental support is one factor affecting the learners' achievement in mathematics, and the teachers need training on effectively involving the parents in learning mathematics. The anticipated contribution of the study is to motivate teachers and parents to collaborate in developing appropriate mathematical knowledge in children to understand mathematics concepts, to apply them in solving everyday problems and to encourage parents to support their children's mathematics learning, to equip parents with the necessary resources and skills for mathematics should we be faced with another disruption like the Covid-19 pandemic or exist in the future and for them to develop appropriate mathematical knowledge.

Designing a digital escape room game: An experience of a digital learning tool in basic education

The study aims to explore the perspectives of primary school teacher candidates who attend Turkish Language Teaching courses on their experiences of developing digital educational escape room games (DEERGs). Phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research methods, was utilized. The study group comprised 48 primary school teacher candidates who were reached by the convenience sampling method. A semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher and DEERGs designed by the participants were used as data collection tools. In the 14-week study, interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams. The findings were analysed from a holistic perspective using content analysis. Results indicated that the participants preferred Google Forms and Genially tools in game design, and they benefited from Web 2.0 tools. In first language education, games for reading and writing skills were designed, and mostly primary school and 4th-grade achievements were selected. It was observed that they considered areas of interest, individual differences, and constructs that support cognitive-emotional and skill development in scripting. It was emphasized that DEERGs contribute to attention, focus, maintaining and motivating learning, problem-solving, developing a positive attitude towards the lesson, and learning while having fun.

Reintroducing the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) and the Form Three Assessment (PT3): Issues and Challenges of Classroom Assessment

Reintroducing the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) and the Form Three Assessment (PT3): Issues and Challenges of Classroom Assessment

Emotional intelligence as a predictor for academic achievement of children: Evidence from primary schools of southern Ethiopia

In education, understanding the determinants of learners' achievement is crucial. This study aimed to explore the correlation between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic achievement in primary schools. Using Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Assessment Scale adapted for local use, 444 primary school students were assessed via random sampling. Inferential statistical methods, especially multinomial logistic regression, were employed for data analysis. The research revealed that self-regulation, self-awareness, empathy, and motivation significantly influenced academic outcomes compared to high-achieving peerAdditionally, demographic factors played a pertinent role in students' performance. The study's implications highlight the necessity of interventions to nurture EI in students. Recommendations include revising educational policies to cultivate resilient learners, raising awareness among educators, parents, and implementing strategies to enhance children's EI, emphasizing self-regulation, self-awareness, empathy, and motivation. These findings underscore the importance of EI in academic achievement and provide valuable insights for educational practitioners and parents, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to support children's holistic development.

Activating Background Knowledge, Reading Comprehension and Learner Achievement in Primary Schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya: Addressing Understanding

Activating Background Knowledge, Reading Comprehension and Learner Achievement in Primary Schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya: Addressing Understanding

The Impact of Music Education on the Academic Achievement of Chinese Primary School Students

Nowadays, it is widely acknowledged worldwide that music education is a beneficial activity for students’ cognitive, social, and emotional development (Ho, 2021). However, there is limited empirical evidence on how music education affects academic achievement in primary schools, especially in China. The aim of this literature review is to examine the existing research on the impact of music education on the academic achievement of primary school students in China, focusing on three aspects of music education: instrument-vocal training, music composition and music appreciation. The review synthesised the results of different research approaches and highlighted the importance of music education in enhancing Chinese primary school students’ motivation, creativity, and self-esteem, as well as in promoting cultural diversity and social harmony (Bao, 2020; Wang, 2021). Limitations of the current literature are then discussed and directions for future research are suggested, concluding that the main conclusion - that music education has a relatively positive impact on academic achievement in Chinese primary schools - requires more rigorous and comprehensive research to explore the underlying mechanisms and contextual factors that influence this relationship.

Continuous and Placement Assessment Results as a Predictor of Student Achievement in Primary Schools

The purpose of this study was to explore the performance of out-of-school children in speed school and accelerated learning programs as a basis for success in primary schools. This research field has received very little attention. The continuous assessment and placement test results of students at risk were not used much in the literature, which this study aims to fill. The total number of students involved in the study was 624. The study used the continuous assessment average scores and placement test scores as predictor variables. The results show that the relationship between placement test and 1st-semester score in grade four was significant, r (196) = .501, p < .001. For the Accelerated Learning Program, the placement test and 1st-semester score in grade three were significant, r (111) = .413, p<.001. As a tool to forecast primary school students' future achievement, the teacher-made continuous assessment appears to be less useful than placement tests for children who come through speed school. Students from speed school backgrounds performed better than students from formal schools; students from accelerated learning program backgrounds performed almost similarly to students from formal schools except in environmental science. The study indicated that in grade four of formal primary school, continuous assessment was found to be poorly linked with student knowledge and skills. However, the results show that both comparisons found placement examinations to be a reliable indicator of children's achievement in primary schools. It can be concluded that students who joined grades three and four of formal school through speed school and an accelerated learning program are capable of achieving minimum learning competence in the subsequent educational outcomes in elementary grades.

The Impact of Khan Academy Learning Platform on Mathematics Achievement in Primary School Fourth Grade Students

This study aims to examine the effect of the Khan Academy learning platform on students' achievement in mathematics lessons. In the study, the difference between the achievement levels of the experimental and control groups was tested using a pre-test post-test control group design. The study group consists of primary school fourth grade students attending the support and training course. The study was conducted with a total of 60 students. The students in the experimental group were provided with mathematics course contents via the Khan Academy learning platform, and teaching was carried out using these contents. The students in the control group were taught mathematics with the Education Information Network (EBA). Firstly, a pre-test was applied to both groups, and the achievement levels of the students were recorded. Then, the Khan Academy learning platform was introduced to the students in the experimental group, and this platform was used in mathematics lessons. The students in the control group were introduced to EBA, and this platform was used in mathematics lessons. After a certain period of time, the post-test was applied to both groups, and the achievement levels of the students were measured again. The difference between the achievement levels of the experimental and control groups was statistically analyzed using the data obtained. As a result of this analysis, it was concluded that the Khan Academy learning platform had a greater effect on students' achievement in mathematics.

Privatization of preschool education: The implications for educational inequalities in cross-national perspective

Preschool education is regarded by many researchers and policymakers as a potential equalizer of educational opportunities. Yet, cross-national research shows that there exist large variations in the equalizing effects of preschool education across countries. In this paper, we study to what extent the national level of privatization of the preschool sector can explain these cross-national differences by examining its impact on the equalizing effects of preschool education. For this purpose, we use data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 for 24 countries. The results show that having spent more time in preschool is more strongly associated with primary school achievements for children of disadvantaged families. We find some modest support that this compensatory pattern—in which preschool compensates for a reduced set of resources in the home environment—is somewhat weaker in societies with higher levels of privatization, though not reaching conventional standards of statistical significance. The study highlights the relevance of considering the impact of national preschool settings on the distribution of preschool benefits across children with varying socioeconomic backgrounds.

Learning strategies and reading achievement in primary schools: Longitudinal relationship and gender differences.

Learning is a self-regulated loop where learning strategies and achievements are interrelated. In reading, although some studies have explored the relationship between different learning strategies (memorization, elaboration and control) and reading achievement, little is known about how they interact over time. Even though the longitudinal relationship was revealed in some studies, most of the evidence was based on the whole population, regardless of gender differences. This study was designed to examine the longitudinal relationship between memorization, elaboration, control strategies and reading achievement, as well as the gender difference in the longitudinal relationship. The sample consisted of 3878 Chinese students (2025 boys, 1853 girls) who were surveyed in Grade 4 and Grade 6. A cross-lagged model was conducted to examine the longitudinal relationship between memorization, elaboration, control strategies and reading achievement while controlling for gender, age and parents' educational levels. Multigroup cross-lagged models were conducted to examine gender differences in the longitudinal relationship between these variables. Memorization and elaboration strategies were reciprocally related. Both predicted subsequent control strategies, but not vice versa. Only memorization strategies positively predicted subsequent reading achievement, while prior reading achievement positively predicted the subsequent three strategies. The effects of prior reading achievement on subsequent learning strategies were stronger for boys. Memorization strategies play a prominent role in promoting deeper strategies and reading achievement in Chinese primary schools, which might relate to culture and developmental stages. Higher achievement or positive feedback from learning results might be motivation for using different strategies, especially for boys.

Integrated leadership for coherent school improvement in Ethiopia: The moderating role of transformational leadership on the relationship between instructional leadership and student academic achievement mediated by school improvement process

AbstractUnfortunately, the role of school leadership in fostering school improvement in non‐Western countries, especially African countries, is relatively little discussed. The present study sheds light on the contextual role of instructional leadership (IL) and transformational leadership (TL) in promoting the Ethiopian School Improvement Program (SIP), which is intended to enhance student academic performance. Hence, this study aimed to extend the integrated leadership model by conceptualizing the moderating mediation effect of IL on student academic achievement in public primary schools. A cross‐sectional study was performed by distributing a survey to 1280 public primary school teachers in Addis Ababa. Surprisingly, the study's findings affirmed that unlike previous studies, IL and TL significantly directly affect student academic performance, and TL plays a significant role as a moderator of the indirect effect of IL on student academic achievement.

Executive functioning skills and (low) math achievement in primary and secondary school

Schoolchildren with better executive functioning skills achieve better mathematics results. It is less clear how inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory combine to predict mathematics achievement and difficulty throughout primary and secondary school. This study aimed to find the best combination of executive function measures for predicting mathematical achievement in Grades 2, 6, and 10 and to test whether this combination predicts the probability of having mathematical difficulties across school grades even when fluid intelligence and processing speed were included in the models. A total of 426 students—141 2nd graders (72 girls), 143 6th graders (72 girls), and 142 10th graders (79 girls)—were cross-sectionally assessed with 12 executive tasks, one standardized mathematical task, and a standardized test of intelligence. Bayesian regression analyses found various combinations of executive predictors of mathematical achievement for each school grade spanning Grade 2 to measures of cognitive inhibition (negative priming) and cognitive flexibility (verbal fluency); Grade 6 to measures of inhibition: resistance to distractor interference (receptive attention), cognitive flexibility (local–global), and working memory (counting span); and Grade 10 to measures of inhibition: resistance to distractor interference (receptive attention) and prepotent response inhibition (stop signal) and working memory (reading span). Logistic regression showed that the executive models derived from the Bayesian analyses had a similar ability to classify students with mathematical difficulty and their peers with typical achievement to broader cognitive models that included fluid intelligence and processing speed. Measures of processing speed, cognitive flexibility (local–global), and prepotent response inhibition (stop signal) were the main risk factors in Grades 2, 6, and 10, respectively. Cognitive flexibility (verbal fluency) in Grade 2 and fluid intelligence, which was more stable in all three grades, acted as protective factors against mathematical difficulty. These findings inform practical considerations for establishing preventive and intervention proposals.

The role of basic number processing in high mathematics achievement in primary school

While symbolic number processing is an important correlate for typical and low mathematics achievement, it remains to be determined whether children with high mathematics achievement also have excellent symbolic number processing abilities. We investigated this question in 64 children (aged 8 to 10), i.e., 32 children with persistent high achievement in mathematics (above the 90th percentile) and 32 average-achieving peers (between the 25th and 75th percentile). Children completed measures of symbolic number processing (comparison and order). We additionally investigated the roles of spatial visualization and working memory. High mathematics achievers were faster and more accurate in order processing compared to average achievers, but no differences were found in magnitude comparison. High mathematics achievers demonstrated better spatial visualization ability, while group differences in working memory were less clear. Spatial visualization ability was the only significant predictor of group membership. Our results therefore highlight the role of high spatial visualization ability in high mathematics achievement.

The Relationship between Introvert and Extrovert Personality towards Students’ Academic Achievement in Primary School

This study examines the relationship between introvert and extrovert personality with the students’ academic achievement in a primary school located in Malaysia. This study uses a quantitative approach, followed by a descriptive correlation method. Two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population is 839 students, a random sampling technique was used to determine the sample size of 269 students from Year 1 and Year 2. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) was used to measure the level of extrovert and introvert personality while the Classroom Assessment Report 2022 is used to measure students’ academic achievement. The data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics. This study found that the mean of academic achievement for extroverted students (4.1911) was higher than the introverted students’ (4.0956). The results also show that there is no significant relationship between extroverted personality and students’ academic achievement (r = - 0.085, p = 0.257) and no significant relationship between introverted personality and students’ academic achievement (r = - 0.021, p = 0.844). This study may contribute to the primary school students, educators and Malaysia’s Ministry of Education. The findings of this study give implications that age also affects the level of extrovert and introvert personality in addition to the type of assessment that will affect the academic achievement of extrovert and introvert students.