American Journal of Educational Research
ISSN (Print): 2327-6126 ISSN (Online): 2327-6150 Website: https://www.sciepub.com/journal/education Editor-in-chief: Ratko Pavlović
Open Access
Journal Browser
Go
American Journal of Educational Research. 2019, 7(2), 178-182
DOI: 10.12691/education-7-2-11
Open AccessArticle

Determinants of Students’ Academic Achievement in a Ghanaian University

Ibrahim Alhassan1, and Abukari Alhassan2

1Planning and Research Unit, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

2Department of Statistics, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, University for Development Studies, Navrongo, Ghana

Pub. Date: February 22, 2019

Cite this paper:
Ibrahim Alhassan and Abukari Alhassan. Determinants of Students’ Academic Achievement in a Ghanaian University. American Journal of Educational Research. 2019; 7(2):178-182. doi: 10.12691/education-7-2-11

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the determinants of Students’ Academic Achievement (SAA) in the University for Development Studies (UDS). Using a simple random sampling technique, 170 final-year students were sampled out of a total population of 362 expected graduates in the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences (FMS) at the 19th Congregation of the University. A usable 145 questionnaires (85% response rate) were retrieved and analyzed. Variables that were employed as determinants of SAA were students’ age, their gender and the previous knowledge of their current programs. Students’ Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) was used as an indicator of SAA. The Dummy Variable Multiple Regression Analysis result showed that, SAA significantly varies directly with students’ previous knowledge of their current programs, their gender and their age – in the order of their impact. The study supplements existing knowledge and literature in the area of measurement and evaluation of SAA.

Keywords:
academic achievement CGPA educational institutions students UDS

Creative CommonsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]  S., V. J., Santhi, B., Noor, A. A., & Nasirudeen, A. M. (2014). Factors Contributing to Academic Performance of Students in a Tertiary Institution in Singapore. American Journal of Educational Research, 2, 752-758.
 
[2]  Shoukat, A., Zubair, H., Fahad, M., Hamid, K., & Ahmed, A. (2013, August 01). Factors Contributing to the Students' Academic Performance: A Case Study of islamia University Sub-Campus. American Journal of Educational Research, 1, 283-289.
 
[3]  Ibrahim, A., Elias, N. S., Richard, N. Y., & Bawah, A. K. (2018, December). Analysis of Graduate Satisfaction and Experience with Higher Education Services in a Ghanaian University. European Journal of Educational Sciences, 5, 14-27.
 
[4]  Faustina, N., Ibrahim, A., & Abukari, A. (2019, December 4). Multivariate Analysis of Students' Perception of the Impact of Lecturers' Ranks on their Performance at the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, University for Development Studies-Navrongo, Ghana. Higher Education Studies, 9, 53-62.
 
[5]  Eitle, T. M. (2006, August 20). Do gender and race matter? Explaining the relationship between sports participation and achievement. Journal Sociological Spectrum, 25(2), 177-195.
 
[6]  Chambers, A. A., & Schreiber, B. J. (2004, January 19). Girls' academic achievement: varying associations of extracurricular activities, Gender and Education. Journal of Gender and Education, 16(3), 327-346.
 
[7]  McCoy, L. P. (2005, August 07). Effect of Demographic and Personal Variables on Achievement in Eighth-Grade Algebra. Journal of Educational Research, 98(3), 131-135.
 
[8]  Peng, S. S., & Hall, S. T. (1995, February). Understanding Racial-Ethnic Differences in Secondary School Science and Mathematics Achievement. Research and Development Report. National Center for Education Statistics (ED), U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: ERIC. Retrieved July 06, 2018, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED381342.pdf.
 
[9]  Ervina, A., & Nor, O. (2005). Undergraduate Students' Performance: The Case of University of Malaya. Quality Assurance in Education, 13(4), 329-343.
 
[10]  Habtamu, S. B. (2017, February 21). Factors Affecting Learning Mathematics in the Case. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 1, 6-12.
 
[11]  U.S. Department of Education, N. C. (2003). The Condition of Education 2003. Washington DC: NCES.
 
[12]  Rossi, M. (2017, March). Factors Affecting Academic Performance of University Evening Students. Journal of Education and Human Development.
 
[13]  University for Development Studies. (2014). General and Examination Rules and Regulations on First Degree and Diploma Programmes. Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana: ROA Publishers.
 
[14]  University for Development Studies. (2018). Basic Facts, Statistics & List of Graduands. Tamale: Mbuk Concepts, Tamale.
 
[15]  Nirogini, Y., & Anthony, A. (2017, July). A Study on the Factors Influencing on Grade Point Average (GPA) With Special Reference to Third Year Commerce and Management Students of Eastern university, Sri Lanka. Journal for Studies in Management and Planning, 3(8), 409-425. Retrieved November 15, 2018, from http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/.
 
[16]  Norhidayah, A., Kamaruzaman, J., Syukriah, A., Naja, M., & Azni, S. A. (2009, December 20). The Factors Influencing Students' Performance at Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah, Malysia. Management Science and Engineering, 3, 81-90. Retrieved January 10, 2018, from Http://www.cscanada.net.