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1 – 10 of over 26000This study aims to compare the academic performance of female accounting students with their male counterparts and to assess the impact and association between gender and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to compare the academic performance of female accounting students with their male counterparts and to assess the impact and association between gender and the academic performance of accounting students graduating from the College of Business Studies (CBS) in Kuwait.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 141 accounting students, who graduated during 2015 from CBS. Independent samples test, correlation and linear least squares regression analyses tested the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that there was a statistically significant association between gender and accounting students’ performance, which explained the superiority of the performance of the female students’ group over the performance of the male students’ group and explained the significant impact of gender on accounting students’ performance, with and without controls for other factors.
Practical implications
The findings have practical implications for how the administration of CBS and similar educational institutions should take action. The findings suggest that the administration of CBS should adopt policies that impose and encourage the acceptance of more female accounting students, as they perform well in accounting and their academic performance is better than their male counterparts.
Originality/value
The study makes significant contributions to the existing knowledge in the area of students’ performance by empirically supporting the theoretical expectation of the impact of gender on accounting students’ performance. It provides a foundation for future comparative studies, potentially leading to the harmonization of international accounting education. It also addresses some of the shortfalls in the existing regional accounting education literature resulting from the scarcity of prior studies, where little has been published.
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Timothy Oluwafemi Ayodele, Timothy Tunde Oladokun and Sunday Olarinre Oladokun
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which variations in gender, socioeconomic and academic background influence real estate students’ academic performance in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which variations in gender, socioeconomic and academic background influence real estate students’ academic performance in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study were collected using self-administered questionnaire, served on final year real estate students in two of the three Federal universities offering real estate as a course in Southwestern Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed using mean, frequency count, percentages, independent t-test, correlation and analysis of variance.
Findings
The result of the study suggests there is no statistically significant difference in the academic performance of Nigerian real estate students based on gender and socioeconomic background.
Research limitations/implications
The study has been limited to the sensitivity of either gender to possibly constraining socioeconomic and academic factors that might have served as barriers, especially among female students, in achieving outstanding academic performance.
Originality/value
This paper presents one of the few attempts examining gender and socioeconomic perspectives to factors influencing real estate students’ academic performance, especially from the perception of an emerging African country like Nigeria.
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Chris Callaghan and Elmarie Papageorgiou
This paper aims to test the theory that predicts differences in locus of control (LOC) by gender and the relationships between LOC and the performance of accounting students in a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to test the theory that predicts differences in locus of control (LOC) by gender and the relationships between LOC and the performance of accounting students in a large South African university.
Design/methodology/approach
Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the applicability of Spector’s (1988) LOC scales as a first-order construct in this context. An exploratory factor analysis was then performed to provide a more fine-grained analysis of subordinate constructs. Three component categories were found to emerge from a test of this widely used LOC questionnaire. These component categories were classified as beliefs about the effectiveness of agency, beliefs about chance and beliefs about networks in the contribution to the attainment of outcomes in working contexts.
Findings
Further tests revealed that female accounting students demonstrate higher LOC in all the three categories. Females were therefore found to have significantly higher levels of both LOC and student performance; yet, the majority of tested items were not significant in their associations, and total LOC was not found to be associated with higher performance for female or male students. Certain individual items were, however, found to be associated with performance for male students. It is concluded that despite the predictions of seminal theory that predicts convergence around gender, or more egalitarian outcomes in high-skilled contexts over time, accounting student performance in this context might currently be dominated by females. This reflects a current general dominance of females in higher educational attainment and in employment numbers in educational contexts.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study include: first, the use of a single university; second, a sample of only first-year accounting students. It is not known whether these findings generalise beyond accounting students with similar university environments. This research is also not causal in nature. The statistical testing used in this study cannot indicate causality.
Originality/value
It is recommended that further research investigate the more fine-grained dimensions of LOC that can contribute to accounting student performance and that further qualitative or causal research is performed to “surface” the causal mechanisms that underlie these findings. The value of this research is in the fact that it tests theory that predicts differences in LOC and the relationships between LOC and performance in an important formative context of accounting.
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Itishree Choudhury and Seema Singh
Participation of women in engineering education is considerably low in India, although it is increasing in recent years. Also, engineering is primarily treated as a male-dominated…
Abstract
Purpose
Participation of women in engineering education is considerably low in India, although it is increasing in recent years. Also, engineering is primarily treated as a male-dominated profession, and the authors do not find many women in this sector. What factors contribute to this significant gender differences in engineering education and labour market in India? In this context, this study aims to examine the factors that explain the gender variations in academic performance and labour market outcomes (placement and earnings) of engineering graduates in India.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on primary survey data from fourth-year engineering students in Delhi, collected in 2018–2019, with a total sample size of 3186. The study uses Ordinary least square method (OLS) and Heckman selection model to analyse gender differences in academic performance and labour market outcomes of engineering graduates, respectively.
Findings
The study finds that academic performance of male students is around 10.4% more than female students. However, this difference is heavily influenced by various socioeconomic and institutional factors. Interestingly, 3% of female engineering graduates have received more job offers than males, which contradicts the common belief that women engineers face job discrimination in the labour market in India. However, the authors find that male engineers earn around 7% more than female engineers shows the evidence of pro-male gender wage inequality in earnings. The findings support that there is a considerable variation in academic performance and earnings between male and female engineering graduates.
Originality/value
While the authors find some literature in the area of gender difference in the academic performance and labour market among university graduates in India, studies in the field of engineering education are sparse. In a context where fewer women are found in the field of engineering education along with low participation in the labour market, the findings of this study significantly contribute to the policy making.
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Muhammad Shoaib and Hazir Ullah
This paper attempts to explore possible contributing factors of females' outperformance and males' underperformance in the higher education in Pakistan from teachers' perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to explore possible contributing factors of females' outperformance and males' underperformance in the higher education in Pakistan from teachers' perspective. The central question of the study is what are the key factors that affect female and male students' educational performance at the university level? Using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) as a framework, we attempted to predict differentials of the perceived “female outperformance” and “male underperformance” in higher education. We carried out the study by employing quantitative research methods.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for the study come from 253 teachers from University of the Punjab-largest and oldest University in Pakistan. We used a structured questionnaire for data collection. The analysis was carried out with the help of ANN model. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The testing results of ANN indicated 85.3% of teachers' perception was correctly predicted on various dimensions of performance differentials across female and male students in higher education.
Research limitations/implications
The study banks on primary data collected from teachers of the University of University of the Punjab, Pakistan. Thus, the study's universe was limited to one university – University of Punjab. It is purely based on a quantitative approach employing ANN.
Practical implications
The findings of this study have several significant implications, i.e. it makes a significant contribution to the existing body of scholarly texts on the issue of gender reverse change in academic performance in higher education.
Originality/value
The findings of this research, derived from primary data in Pakistan context, qualify this research as an original one. We also claim that this study is one of the first studies on gender reverse change in academic performance among graduate students in a public sector university of Pakistan employing ANN.
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Maura A.E. Pilotti, Runna Al Ghazo and Sami Juma Al Shamsi
The present field research aimed to assess whether gender differences exist in academic entitlement among college students of a society in rapid transition from a patriarchal…
Abstract
Purpose
The present field research aimed to assess whether gender differences exist in academic entitlement among college students of a society in rapid transition from a patriarchal system to one fostering gender equity. It then aimed to determine whether particular dimensions of academic entitlement or a simplified one-factor measure can be used as an early indicator of course-related academic difficulties.
Design/methodology/approach
College students completed a questionnaire about academic entitlement. Records of test and assessment performance, as well as attendance, were collected for the first half of an academic semester. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, instruction was delivered online synchronously.
Findings
A few gender differences were found that departed from the largely consistent finding in the extant literature of greater academic entitlement in males. For female students, selected dimensions of academic entitlement, but not class attendance, weakly predicted poor performance. For male students, dimensions of academic entitlement were ineffective predictors of both performance and attendance, thereby suggesting that demographic characteristics may define the sensitivity of academic entitlement measures to early, course-related academic difficulties.
Research limitations/implications
The current study has limitations to be addressed in future research. For instance, the insensitivity of male students' academic entitlement to early performance measures needs to be investigated further. It may be the byproduct of the weakening of the view of male superiority typical of patriarchal societies, which arises from top-down interventions intended to promote gender equity. Yet, it may also underline males' reluctance to express a view that is counter to institutional messages of gender equity as well as religious and cultural values of modesty (Al-Absi, 2018), and personal responsibility (Asrorovna, 2020; Smither and Khorsandi, 2009). Another limitation is the extent to which specific items or dimensions of academic entitlement map into specific cultural dimensions, such as individualism and collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity and femininity (Hofstede, 2011).
Practical implications
Academic entitlement is of concern to educators at universities and colleges across the world for several reasons. High levels of stress (Barton and Hirsch, 2016) and frustration (Anderson et al., 2013) usually accompany academic entitlement along with students' self-reports of lower exerted effort (Kopp et al., 2011). In self-reports, academic entitlement is found to be correlated with an external locus of control, lower academic motivation and lower ratings of class attendance (Fromuth et al., 2019). Boswell (2012) has also reported it as linked to lower students' confidence in their ability to complete with success the courses in which they are enrolled (i.e. course self-efficacy). Thus, the availability of early measures of academic risk in core courses, which prepare students for advanced courses in their major, can be particularly valuable to educators and administrators.
Social implications
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) represents a society in rapid transition (Nowak and Vallacher, 2019) from a gender-segregated system to one in which gender equity in educational as well as occupational opportunities and choices is promoted and sustained through top-down institutional changes (e.g. decrees, declarations, investments, etc.; Mansyuroh, 2019). The study’s findings suggest that college students, the main targets of institutional efforts promoting gender equity, may be responsive to such efforts.
Originality/value
The present study is a snapshot of a moment at which the impact of top-down institutional actions for gender equity has become palpable mostly due to its spreading across the large youth population of KSA (Assaad and Roudi-Fahimi, 2007). In this research, the authors asked how the target recipients (i.e. college students) of institutional gender-equity efforts might react.
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Tai Ming Wut and Stephanie W. Lee
The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting university students’ participation in discussion forum of electronic learning platforms of teacher–student…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting university students’ participation in discussion forum of electronic learning platforms of teacher–student interaction.
Design/methodology/approach
One-stage cluster sampling was used and a cross-sectional survey of 113 university students from four courses was done.
Findings
A combined model based on United theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and DeLone and McLean models serves as a research framework. Female and male students’ behavioral intentions were affected by different factors. System quality affects male students’ behavioral intention and information quality affects female students’ behavioral intention. Social influence affects female students’ behavioral intention but male students. Men are more focused on the hardware and women are more focused on the content of the message.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited by the nature of university students. User experience and underlying perceived risk are possible moderators. Dyad approach could be considered. One way to enhance students and teachers’ academic discussion is to establish a closed university social media site. The site should be made mobile-friendly with chatbot included.
Originality/value
The results support the validity of the proposed new research framework on e-learning platform by the constructs coming from two established models: UTAUT model and DeLone and McLean’s model. Factors affecting intention and use behavior in discussion forum are different for male and female students. System quality affects male students’ behavioral intention, while information quality affects female students’ behavioral intention. Social influence affects female students’ behavioral intention but not male students.
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Melaku Abegaz and Hossein Eftekari
This paper examines the gender achievement gap in the Ethiopian secondary education system using tenth-grade national examination results for the period 2002/03–2013/14.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the gender achievement gap in the Ethiopian secondary education system using tenth-grade national examination results for the period 2002/03–2013/14.
Design/methodology/approach
Statistical tests are employed to determine equality of the average male and female GPAs (grade point average), and equality of the proportions of female and male test-takers in the upper and lower achievement distributions. Further, a panel fixed effects model is used to evaluate factors that affect the regional average GPAs by gender and to determine whether those factors could explain observed gender achievement gaps.
Findings
Results indicate statistically significant gender achievement gaps in all regional states and the capital city. The gap has been persistent with a minor declining trend and will not be closed if continued at the current trend. The authors also find that the regional average male and female test scores could be explained partially by factors such as pupil-teacher ratio, the proportion of rural students and access to secondary schools. These factors, however, cannot explain the observed gender achievement gap.
Originality/value
The study uses regional data collected from the annual educational abstracts published by the Ethiopian ministry of education. It investigates the trends of the gender achievement gaps across the regional states and overtime at the tenth-grade level. It depicts the persistence of the gap hindering girls from furthering their education.
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Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Bashir Gondal and Bushra
This paper aims to focus on achievement level of primary grade students in different subjects taught at primary level and the factors affecting the student achievement in this…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on achievement level of primary grade students in different subjects taught at primary level and the factors affecting the student achievement in this regard.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was carried out on a sample of 1,080 students of grade 3 and 5 drawn from randomly selected 36 primary/ elementary schools from nine districts of the Punjab province. The instruments were: the achievement tests in three subjects mathematics, Urdu (national language) and life skills (Islamyat, social studies and science); and questionnaires for teachers and students to know various possible factors affecting achievement.
Findings
Results show that the achievement was the lowest in the subject of Urdu (mean 15.2) and the highest in life skills (mean 29.9) in grade 3. While in grade 5, it was the lowest in mathematics (mean 10.8) and the highest in life skills (31.63). Overall the performance of the female students was relatively better than their male partners. Location‐wise, the rural students performed better than the urban students. District‐wise, the performance of students of Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts was relatively better than the students of district Kasur and Bahawalpur. Among the factors affecting students achievement were parental education, their occupation and guidance, teacher guidance, social status, transport facility, self study, book reading and home work – all have a positive or negative correlation with students’ achievement.
Originality/value
This paper is of use to those wishing to understand the achievement levels of students at primary grade in developing countries.
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Khalid A. Alanzi and Mishari M. Alfraih
This study aims to examine the effect of accounting students’ performance in the first part of introductory accounting on duration to successfully complete accounting program.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of accounting students’ performance in the first part of introductory accounting on duration to successfully complete accounting program.
Design/methodology/approach
Linear regression (ordinary least squares) with a sample of 127 accounting students, who were graduated during the 2015/2016 academic year from a business college in Kuwait, was used to test the study’s hypothesis.
Findings
The results indicate that there was a statistically significant association between the grade earned in the first part of introductory accounting and the college duration, which explained the significant influence of the grade earned in the first part of introductory accounting on the college duration, with and without controls for other factors.
Practical implications
The findings provide administrators, accounting educators and academic researchers with a useful benchmark for improving accounting programs and guidelines for future academic research.
Originality/value
The value of this study would be twofold; it provided a foundation for future comparative studies, potentially leading to the harmonization of international accounting education, and it addressed some of the gaps in the existing regional accounting education literature resulting from the scarcity of prior studies. In addition, the college where data were collected has been recently approved to enter the candidacy for accreditation at the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. Given the accrediting bodies emphasis on academic performance and graduation on time, the study’s findings would help the college in enhancing its students’ performance and maximizing the chances of its accreditation application being successful.
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