Exploring Impact of Demographic Variables on Science Achievement of 8th and 9th Grade Students

Abstract

Quality of science education is under consideration by educationists and researchers.Achievement in science subjects, as an indicator of the quality of science education, not only determines the students' performance but helps the teachers to evaluate their teaching strategies. This study is an effort to explore the factors related to scientific achievement from a Pakistani perspective. A sample of1149 students from 37 public schools of 8th and 9th grades was taken. Results show that parental qualification and maternal job status effect significantly on students' science achievement. Female students were significantly higher than male students, and grade 8 students were significantly higher than grade 9 students in their science achievement scores. The students whose parents were involved indifferent occupations differ significantly in their achievement in a science subject(s). Parental education and their occupational profile are associated with students' science achievement scores. Hence the more responsible role of teachers, parents and school is recommended.

A Study of the Relationship between Self-Regulated Learning Strategies and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Learners

“…Similarly, the findings of our research are consistent with the findings of Alokan & Arijesuyo (2013) who found that academic achievement of secondary Schools learners belonging to urban and rural areas differ significantly whereby mean scores of respondents from urban area were greater (M = 2.64, SD = 1.49) than those belonging to rural areas (M = 2.48, SD =1.33). Our results are also similar to the results of Faisal, Shinwari & Hussain (2017) and Shah, Malik & Akhtar (2020) who found that students belonging to urban and rural areas differed in their academic achievement.…”

Gender Disparity in Students’ Performance of Science and Mathematics: Evidence from Nationwide Study in Pakistan

“…This study found that girls' performance in Science is significantly better than that of boys. The findings are consistent with a plethora of studies undertaken globally (Arora et al, 2012;Global Education Monitoring, 2022;Gonzales et al, 2008;Mullis et al, 2004) and in Pakistan (Saeed et al, 2005;Shah et al, 2020) indicating better performance of girls. The findings are encouraging for the policy makers and practitioners who are constantly striving for gender equality in students' performance.…”

“…However, these trends have been subjected to continuous changes with the passage of time, and across various contexts. In other words, the available evidence is inconclusive (Baye & Monseur, 2016;Borgonovi & Han, 2021;Meinck & Brese, 2019;TIMSS, 2019), sometimes revealing no differences in academic achievement (Ajai & Imoko, 2015;Bessudnov & Makarov, 2015;Erturan & Jansen, 2015;Sarouphim & Chartouny, 2016;Tsui, 2007), favouring girls in Science and/or Mathematics (Arora et al, 2012;Global Education Monitoring, 2022;Gonzales et al, 2008;Mullis et al, 2004;Saeed et al, 2005;Shah et al, 2020) or demonstrating boys' better performance in Science and/or Mathematics (Asante, 2010;Edgerton et al, 2012;Kumar & Choudhury, 2022;Lau & Lam, 2017;Reilly et al, 2015;Reilly et al, 2019). Scholars have attempted to consolidate the existing literature through meta-analysis in order to generate a comprehensive understanding of gender differences.…”

“…Regarding private schooling, Aslam (2009) found that it explains 19% of variation in students' performance in Mathematics; yet girls have significantly lower chances to enroll in a private school (Pasha, 2023). However, when it comes to performance Bhutta, Ansari & Ahmad by gender, studies have found that girls tend to excel in Science while boys tend to perform better in Mathematics in Pakistani schools (Fussy et al, 2023;Shah et al, 2020). This poses critical questions related to gender differences performance, such as, is it gender of students that contribute to the differences?…”