Home variables, attitudes and gender correlates of secondary school students\' cognitive achievement

Abstract

This study examined the influence of some home variables, attitudes and gender on secondary school student's achievement. It adopted an ex-post facto research type and used multi-stage sampling and simple random sampling procedures to select three hundred Economic students (148 males and 152 females) in their second year of senior secondary school (SSII). Three instruments were developed for data collection. A t-test, analysis of variance and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that students' home variables, attitudes and gender jointly predicted students' achievement. The study, however showed that students' attitudes and gender separately did not significantly predict achievement in Economics. The findings have implications for cognitive development in students. Further research is needed to examine other home variables not included in the study.

Global Journal of Educational Research Vol. 5 (1&2) 2006: pp. 39-42