The governmental ranking of class and the academic performance of Indian adolescents

Abstract

Social and economic factors are commonly examined as contextual variables that predict academic achievement, apart from the educational environment. In India, a major segment of the socioeconomic status of students comprises the governmental stratification of population into three broad classes, viz., scheduled castes/tribes (SC-ST), other backward classes (OBC) and general class (GC). In this study, we examined the association of these governmental classes with the academic performance of Indian adolescents who enjoy the same school environment. Psychological measures of self-esteem and life satisfaction as well as demographic variables such as gender, age and family income were also examined as covariates. The study was conducted on a convenient sample of 858 students of X and XI grades. Based on multilevel regression models, the relationship between governmental classes and academic performance was significantly positive, wherein higher level of class predicted better academic performance. The study highlighted that students from the same school environment performed differently based on their social status and that this difference was not a function of their family income, thus pointing to potential role of non-economic aspects of the governmental stratification including caste affiliation. The findings indicate the need for further examining as well as planning to improve the aspects of students’ social status that impact academic performance.

Cluster analysis of socio-economic factors and academic performance of school students

“…They identified the caste barriers for the entry and retention of the SC/ST girls in secondary education, and highlighted the need for working to change the belief and expectation around gender norm as well as improving the quality of education. John et al [11] examined the association of caste categories (general, other backward caste (OBC) and SC/ST) with the academic achievement of Indian adolescents belonging to the same school environment. The research investigated the psychological measures of life satisfaction and self-esteem, gender, age and family income of X and XI grade students.…”