School Students In Ethiopia Research Articles

Modeling of Academic Achievement of Primary School Students in Ethiopia Using Bayesian Multilevel Approach

This study aims to explore Bayesian multilevel modeling to investigate variations of average academic achievement of grade eight school students. A sample of 636 students is randomly selected from 26 private and government schools by a two-stage stratified sampling design. Bayesian method is used to estimate the fixed and random effects. Input and process quality indicators of education such as student to class ratio, student to teacher ratio, availability of teaching learning resources at school, teaching methods, and standard of course curriculum are found to be significantly affecting the academic achievement of the students. The effects of student level covariates: absence from class, academic motivation, academic self concept, study time, family income, mother’s education, parents’ employment status, work demand at home, and parent’s follow-up of child are significantly varying from school to school. The results show that a large proportion of academic achievement variation is accounted to between schools. It is interesting to found out that the within school variation is very high for government schools while the between school variation is very high for private schools. There is uniformity across the government schools with high individual differences among students. However, there is lesser uniformity across the private schools with lesser individual differences of students. The findings in this study indicate that private schools are in a better position in maintaining quality of education at grade eight. Efficient academic management is needed at the government schools that can improve quality of education at the level.

High Magnitude of Social Anxiety Disorder in School Adolescents.

Introduction. Social phobia is the most prevalent and chronic type of anxiety disorder worldwide and it affects occupational, educational, and social affairs of the individual. Social phobia is also known for its association with depression and substance use disorder. Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of social phobia among high school students in Ethiopia. Methods. Cross-sectional study was conducted among 386 randomly selected students. Data were collected using pretested and self-administered questionnaire. Social phobia was assessed by using Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). Logistic regression was used to analyze the data with 95% confidence interval and variables with p value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results. From 386 study participants, 106 (27.5%) of them were positive for social phobia. Being female (AOR = 3.1; 95% CI: 1.82–5.27), current alcohol drinking (AOR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.03–2.98), poor social support (AOR = 2.40; 95% CI: 1.17–4.92), and living with single parent (AOR = 5.72; 95% CI: 2.98–10.99) were significantly associated with social phobia. Conclusion. The proportion of social phobia was higher compared to previous evidences. School-based youth-friendly mental health services might be helpful to tackle this problem.

Factors Associated with Khat Chewing among High School Students in Jimma Town Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Khat is a large green shrub grown in Eastern to Southern Africa and extends to Arabian Peninsula. Khat has its own impact on mental and physical health of the chewers. Studies revealed that khat chewing was associated with frequent absenteeism from class and poor academic performance among students. Although khat has harmful consequences, little is known about factors associated with khat chewing among high school students in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted on 296 high school students in Jimma city using a structured questionnaire. Khat and risky sexual behavior were assessed using the questionnaire. A structured self-reported questionnaire (SRQ-20) which was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to assess mental distress. The questionnaire was translated into local language was used to assess khat chewing pattern. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine associations between independent variables and khat chewing. Variables with p-value of less than 0.05 in multivariate logistic regression were declared to have statistically significant association with the outcome variable. Result: The life time prevalence of khat chewing among Jimma city high school students was nearly 16%. The current prevalence of khat chewing among these students was 14.2%. Out of this, 71.4% and 28.6% of them were male and females respectively. Out of the students who had mental distress, 22.2% of them were khat chewers. Being in an age group between 19-23 years ((AOR 4.42, 95% CI=1.25, 15.67), being male (AOR 3.76, 95% CI=1.57, 9.02), having suicidal ideation (AOR 3.65, 95% CI=1.3-10.20) and having ever had a sexual contact (AOR, 13.42, 95% CI=2.76-65.16) were positively associated with khat chewing. Conclusion: In this study there was high prevalence of khat chewing which was associated with risky sexual behavior and suicidal ideation that needs necessary action to tackle the problems.

Childhood sexual abuse experiences and its associated factors among adolescent female high school students in Arbaminch town, Gammo Goffa zone, Southern Ethiopia: a mixed method study.

BackgroundChildhood sexual abuse is a major social problem in Africa including Ethiopia. Moreover, little has been explored about the pattern of childhood sexual abuse in the context of high school students in Ethiopia in general and in Arbaminch town in particular. Thus, the present study aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of childhood sexual abuse among adolescent female high school students in Arbaminch town.MethodsA school- based, cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent female high school students in Arbaminch town from 3rd to 8th March 2014. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used. For the quantitative data, a simple random sampling technique was used to select 369 female students from grade ten of the six high schools. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data and then analysis was made using SPSS version 20 statistical packages. For the qualitative component, fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed based on the thematic areas.ResultThe prevalence of life time rape among adolescent female high school students in Arbaminch town was 11 %. The odds of experiencing life time rape was higher among students who lived alone (AOR = 4.30; 95 % CI: 1.81, 10.24) and among students who lived with their friends (AOR = 3.31; 95 % CI: 1.23, 8.89) than those lived with their parents. The chance of experiencing rape among students who have had no open discussions with their parents about sexuality and reproductive health was higher (AOR = 2.93; 95 % CI: 1.33, 6.45) than those who have had discussions.ConclusionThis study revealed high levels of childhood sexual abuse among the adolescent female high school students in Arbaminch town. Ever having a discussion about sexuality and reproductive health with parents, living arrangement of the student, and father’s educational status had statistically significant association with childhood sexual abuse. Unwanted pregnancy and abortion were the most common reproductive outcomes of rape. Comprehensive school based reproductive health education, community based awareness creation, open discussions about sexuality and reproductive health matters with students at family level are recommended.

Ethiopian students' relationship with their environment: implications for environmental and climate adaptation programmes

Historically the voices of young people have been excluded from research and debates about how to respond to environmental degradation and climate change. To include the perspectives of young people in the climate change and adaptation debate, we conducted a Photovoice and draw-and-write project with 29 school students in Ethiopia, through which students were given a platform to explore their social representations of the environment. Thematic analysis of our findings suggested that young people have a deep appreciation of the moral, health-related and economic importance of the environment, a commitment to preserving it and a sense of responsibility and agency in relation to contributing to this preservation. Students saw environmental degradation as reversible, through a combination of commitment by themselves, local government and the global community. We conclude by discussing ways our findings might best be taken up in school-level programmes to strengthen youths’ existing social networks for the consolidation of ‘green’ identities, action and activism.

Alcohol drinking patterns among high school students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAlcohol use is an important risk factor for morbidity, mortality and social harm among adolescents. There is paucity of data on alcohol use among high school students in Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with alcohol use among high school students in EthiopiaMethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence of alcohol use and its predictors among high school students in eastern Ethiopia in April 2010. A sample of students was taken from all schools based on their enrollment size. Prevalence estimates and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Logistic regression was performed to adjust and examine associations.ResultsA total of 1721 students participated in the study. The mean age of the study population was 16.4 (SD 1.6) years. A total of 372 (22.2%; 95% CI 20.2 - 24.2%) students drink alcohol. Of these, 118 (31.7%) were females and 254 (68.3) males. Multivariate analysis indicated that males (OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.45-3.00), older age (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.01-1.34), having friends who used alcohol (OR 10.09; 95% CI 6.84-14.89) and living with people who use alcohol (OR 2.77; 95% CI 1.89-4.07) increased the odds of drinking among students.ConclusionThere is a high level of alcohol use among high school students in the study area. Involvement of parents, health workers and school authorities are necessary to avert the problem. Specifically, their involvement in awareness campaigns and peer education training are important to encourage students to avoid alcohol use.

Child sexual abuse and its outcomes among high school students in southwest Ethiopia

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a major contributing factor to the burden of disease among children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of CSA and its outcomes among female high school students in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Jirren high school female students in April 2005. A total of 323 female students from grade 9 were selected by systematic random sampling and they completed a self-administered questionnaire on experiences of sexual abuse. Data were cleaned and analysed by SPSS/PC statistical package. The results revealed that the prevalence of CSA was 68.7%. Among the different forms of sexual abuses, verbal harassment was the most common (51.4%) followed by sexual intercourse, 18.0% and unwelcome kissing, 17.1%. The commonly indicated abusers in this study were unknown persons (36%) followed by school-mates (31.5%). Among victims of sexual abuse, 7.2% had an unwanted pregnancy and 5.9% had sexually transmitted diseases. The rate of other psychological effects of CSA, such as suicide ideation, suicide attempt, and sexual dysfunction, was high. The overwhelming majority (86.4%) considered sexual abuse to be a major social problem. The study revealed that the prevalence of CSA is high. Reproductive health education should be provided to students. Parents, police, and the public in general should be made aware of the problem before it endangers the lives of children and adolescents.

Household Constraints on Schooling by Gender: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Cet article cherche a identifier certaines caracteristiques individuelles et familiales importantes pouvant permettre de determiner la probabilite pour un enfant de suivre les cours et de terminer sa scolarite a l'ecole primaire en Ethiopie. Les differences de sexe a la lecture des resultats obtenus sont egalement soulignes. Les donnees ressortant d'une enquete menee dans deux regions du pays viennent etayer les reflexions et les conclusions sur l'ecart entre filles et garcons dans les effectifs scolaires.

Household Constraints on Schooling by Gender: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Household Constraints on Schooling by Gender: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Psychosocial and Contextual Determinants of Past and Intended Condom Use among Ethiopian Secondary School Students

Objective: To explore the psychosocial, sexual context, and sociodemographic determinants of past and intended condom use among secondary school students in Ethiopia. Methods: Survey data were collected from 367 sexually active high school students in five major towns using questionnaires. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine the role of psychosocial, sexual context, and sociodemographic factors in influencing past and intended condom use. Results: Higher levels of positive attitudes toward and self-efficacy for condom use were associated with higher levels of both past and intended condom use. Knowledge of individuals who live with or have died of HIV/AIDS was also directly related to higher levels of intended condom use. In contrast, involvement in risky sexual behaviors and use of other contraceptive methods predicted higher levels of past condom use. Effects of reproductive health understanding and family socioeconomic status on past and intended condom use were indirect through their positive influence on psychosocial factors, particularly self-efficacy and attitudes. Overall, our psychosocial and contextual model accounted for 40 and 62 percent of the variance in past and intended use, respectively. Conclusion: Findings show that theory-based social psychological and contextual factors are causally linked to patterns of past and intended condom use among Ethiopian secondary school youth. Furthermore, the results provide evidence for the applicability of Western health behavior theories to explain and predict safer sexual behaviors among secondary school students in non-Western settings.