Sexual Harassment, Self Esteem and Academic Engagement as Predictors of Academic Success of Female Secondary School Students

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which sexual harassment, self-esteem, and academic engagement predict academic success of female secondary school students in Gondar city. Correlational design was employed to answer the research questions raised. Respondents were 366 female secondary school students selected using multistage random sampling technique from three secondary schools. Data were gathered through questionnaires and document review. Sexual harassment, self-esteem, and academic engagement scales were used to collect data on the predictor variables while documents were reviewed to fetch data on respondents‟ academic performance as a proxy for academic success. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, Multiple Linear Regression and Structural Equation Modeling - Path analysis were used to analyze data. Zero order correlation results indicated that all the variables treated in the study have statistically significant relationships to one another (at P=0.01). Multiple linear regression results revealed that all of the predictor variables had a statistically significant effect on the outcome variable-academic success. The path analysis on the other hand showed that the predictor variables had both direct and indirect impacts on the outcome variable with academic engagement having the strongest contribution (= 0.68). It was concluded that sexual harassment, self-esteem, and academic engagement are important precursors of academic success of female secondary school students. Drawing on the results of the study several recommendations were forwarded among which offering orientation on sexual harassment and its consequences to members of school community and aligning learning experiences and assessment to academic engagement are some.

Keywords: Sexual harassment; Self-esteem; Academic engagement; Academic success