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SELECTED MALAYSIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOCIAL CONTEXT: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL TYPE, STUDENT BACKGROUND AND TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Based on a secondary data set collected in 1982 by the Educational Planning and Research Division (EPRD) of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, this study explored and identified factors that affect academic achievement of students in selected secondary schools. Academic achievement was measured by students' performance on six subjects from the Lower Certificate of Examination (LCE). The selected factors believed to influence achievement were categorized into five dimensions: (a) School Factors, (b) Student Characteristics, (c) Home Background, (d) Social Influences, and (e) Extracurricular Activities. / Using multiple regression to test the relationships of the factors with the dependent variable, it was found that all the factors operating jointly accounted for almost 47% (R-Square = .468) of the explained variance of student achievement. Among the School Factors, type of school/student group was significantly associated with achievement. Average teacher's experience was found to be associated in a curvilinear fashion with achievement, implying that the optimum level of teacher efficiency occurred in the early years of the teaching career. / Among the Student Characteristics, prior achievement, sex, and student self-motivation were positively and significantly associated with achievement. Father's income, representing family socioeconomic status, was significantly associated with achievement. Supportive family relationships also contributed positively toward school performance. / Students' frequency of using library facilities and completing homework assignments had a positive association with achievement. Daily time spent watching television was found to have a negative effect. / The results of this analysis should not be regarded as definite, but as plausible possibilities in attempting to understand the complex problems in the educational enterprise. It is hoped that the research and policy implications of the findings will be useful to policy makers for improving the quality of education in Malaysia. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-02, Section: A, page: 0490. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75774
ContributorsRAZIKIN, MOHYANI., Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText
Format220 p.
RightsOn campus use only.
RelationDissertation Abstracts International

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