Parental Socio-Economic Status as a Predictor of Academic Achievement and Retention among Female Higher Secondary Students in District Haripur, Pakistan
Contributors
- Abida Amin M.Phil. Scholar, Department of Education, Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
- Dr. Tehseen Tahir Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
- Dr. Umbreen Ishfaq Professor, Department of Education, Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
- Dr. Jan Alam Assistant Professor & Head, Department of Education, The University of Wah, Punjab, Pakistan.
Abstract
The study aims to answer two research questions in the context of one larger correlational study on educational outcomes of higher secondary level girls. They are the influence of parental socio-economic status (SES) on girls’ academic performance and girls’ retention. This positivist and quantitative study involved 300 girls sampled from six government girls’ higher secondary schools in District Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, through multi-stage sampling. The girls’ academic performance was measured by official records of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Abbottabad; retention was assessed by tracking girls’ progress from Grade 11 to Grade 12. The relationships of SES with girls’ academic performance and retention were studied through Pearson’s correlation and simple linear regression. Hierarchical regression assessed the mediation of achievement on the relationship of SES and retention. The results showed that SES strongly predicted girls’ academic performance (R = 0.61; R² = 0.37; β = 0.61; p < 0.001) and moderately predicted girls’ retention (R = 0.49; R² = 0.24; β = 0.49; p < 0.001). With the achievement variable in the retention model, the direct effect of SES decreased from β = 0.49 to β = 0.29, and it remained significant (β = 0.41; p < 0.001), therefore, achievement partially mediated the relationship. Therefore, socio-economic disadvantage impacts retention in a direct and indirect manner, where it first impacts performance. The findings show that offering stipends and fee waivers for less privileged students will not impact retention as desired. Retention for less privileged students will require the offering of ongoing academic support and instructional interventions.
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Corresponding Author
Dr. Tehseen Tahir
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author: [email protected]
