FACTORS AFFECTING SECONDARY SCHOOL FEMALE STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN WEST HARARGHE ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that affected female students’ academic achievement in selected secondary schools of West HarargheZone, in Oromia Regional State. In this study’s descriptive survey design was used with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Among the 34 government secondary schools in the Zone,8(23%) weretakenasamplebyusingsimplerandomsamplingtechnique.Thesamplestudents220(30%)w ereselected through stratified random sampling technique. The sample teachers,58(40%), were selected by systematic sampling technique, while 8 principals and 8 supervisors were selected by available sampling techniques. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires, semi-structured interview, and document analysis. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, percentage, and inferential statistics such as t-test at 0.05 level of significance to compare the means of two groups(teachers and students).The qualitative data gathered were analyzed qualitatively through narration for the purpose of triangulation. The findings of the study indicated a trend that secondary school female students in WHZ had a lowering/decreasing academic achievement because they were exposed to in-the-school and outside-the-school factors. Lack of school quality and supportive mechanisms, lack of guidance and counseling service, the effect of school climate, and lack of teachers’ commitment to help female students by providing tutorial program were the in-the school factors affecting female students’ academic achievement. The finding of the study also indicated that parents’ demand for their daughters’ lab our for domestic chores, parental educational background, shortage of money, parents negative attitude towards female education were the off school factors that affected female student’s academic achievement. Therefore, it is recommended that school principals should make discussion with teachers on how they could support female students improve their academic achievement and with female students themselves on the importance of students’ attending tutorial classes. Without affecting female students regular classes, school principals, along with the staff, should plan and offer tutorial classes to female students and continuously evaluate the students’ results. Moreover, school principals should work hard in collaboration with the Woreda Education office, NGOs, school communities, and parents’ of students to raise funds and build separate toilet as well as library for female students into reduce their fear. School principals should also work in collaboration with Woreda Women’s Affairs office and female students club to mobilize the school community, private owners and the society around the school and raise funds to minimize female students’ shortage of money. The schools in partnership with other stake holders should create awareness for parents about the importance of females education.. This enables parents to develop positive attitude towards their daughters’ schooling and to reduce their daughters’ house hold burden in order to increase improve the students’ academic achievement. Finally, the government and NGOs should build schools near or around the residences of female students in order to get more support from the parents and raise the students’ achievements.