High school Teachers’ Perception on Factors Influencing Students’ Academic Achievement in Addis Ababa
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Date
2025-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Academic achievement in high school significantly influences students' future educational and career opportunities. While global research highlights socioeconomic status, teaching quality, and school resources as key determinants, few studies explore educators' perspectives in resource-constrained settings like Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where overcrowded classrooms, infrastructure gaps, and socioeconomic disparities prevail. This mixed-methods study investigates high school teachers' perceptions of the factors shaping student performance, drawing on focus group discussions (FGDs) with department heads and individual interviews with school directors across 20 public and private schools (N=100). Qualitative data was thematically analyzed, identifying critical influences such as teacher effectiveness, student motivation, parental engagement, and infrastructure limitations. Quantitative data was assessed using descriptive statistics (SPSS) and regression analysis to uncover patterns.
Findings reveal that teachers attribute poor academic outcomes primarily to systemic challenges overcrowding, material shortages and socio-cultural barriers like limited parental involvement. Regression results indicated that School Resources, Infrastructure, and Leadership (SRIL) had negligible impact (β = 0.044, p = 0.755), while Strategies for Improving Academic Outcomes (SIAO) unexpectedly correlated with lower performance (β = -0.276, p = 0.003), suggesting such interventions may be misaligned. Conversely, Factors Influencing Student Performance (FISP), including motivation and study habits, emerged as the strongest predictor (β = 0.906, p < 0.001). The study underscores a multifaceted crisis in Ethiopian high schools, marked by learning disparities, socioeconomic hurdles, outdated pedagogies, student psychological stress, and ineffective policies. These insights challenge conventional resource-centric approaches, advocating instead for student-centered reforms. Recommendations include targeted teacher training, remedial programs, school meal initiatives, mental health support, and evidence-based policy adjustments. By centering educators' voices and empirical analysis, this research provides actionable pathways to strengthen secondary education outcomes in Ethiopia.
Keywords: academic performance, student motivation, teacher perceptions, school resources, regression analysis, Ethiopia, education policy
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academic performance student mteacher perceptionsotivation school resourcesregression analysis Ethiopia education policy