Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

A Comparative Study of Students Higher Education Performance Expectations and their Academic Achievements

Fisseha Motuma

This study was more of a quantitative comparative study.  It also used qualitative approach to analyze the data. The research employed systematic and stratified random sampling methods to involve 150 second year degree students out of 603 targeted research population of KMU in 2020. Rating scale questions and document review were conducted to determine the link between students’ earlier university performance expectations and their actual academic achievements. Questionnaires of close-ended and open-ended items were employed as a complementary tool to investigate intervening factors.

The results from analyzed data unveil that the correlation coefficient between students’ university performance expectations and their actual academic achievement is r= 0.989. It implies students with high university performance expectations are more or less likely to be high-achieving than students who had low-achieving prospects. The periodic intervening constraints interplaying between students’ performance expectations and their academic achievements are lack of self-study time, random study habits, inadequate academic consultancy and follow-up, absence of tutorial support, achievement anxiety, ethno-linguistic and/or religious affiliation groupings, a heightened sense of the right to deserve a passing grade (i.e. ‘C’,) and inability to readjust oneself to the new academic demands. One of the implications of this finding is that there should be an officially delegated office in charge of university students’ study habits and academic success strategies.

Published Date: 2021-01-28;