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Factors Affecting Academic Performance in Tertiary Education: A Case Study

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 Pabna University of Science and Technology Studies, ISSN 2308-6246, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2018
Factors Affecting Academic Performance in Tertiary
Education: A Case Study from Khulna University of
Bangladesh
Shaharior Rahman Razu*, Shahinur Akter and Sadia Afrin
Sociology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh.

Abstract—The study was designed to assess the factors
affecting academic performance of the students at tertiary
level of education. Following survey research design, the study
was carried out in Khulna University, a leading public
University of Bangladesh. A total of 245 randomly selected
graduate level students were selected for data collection in this
study. A semi-structured questionnaire containing both
open-ended and close-ended items was undertaken in the
study. It was observed that the mean CGPA (Cumulative
Grade Point Average) of the students at undergraduate level
was 3.28 (in the scale of 4.00) and respondents’ birthplace,
number of siblings, time spent for academic study and regular
library visit were positively associated with the their academic
performance. However, the study observed no significant link
between respondents’ sex, dwelling place and engagement in
part-time job and their academic performance.
Keywords: Academic Performance, Bangladesh, Khulna
University, Socio-demographic factors
I. INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh is a developing country with a considerably
large population. The country is trying to make the
development and environment of the country more
sustainable through education (Ahsan, 2007). At present,
education is considered as the first step for every human
activity. It plays a vital role in the development of human
capital and is linked with an individual’s well-being and
opportunities for better living (Battle & Lewis, 2002). It
ensures the acquisition of knowledge and skills that enable
individuals to increase their productivity and improve their
quality of life (Farooq et al., 2011). For enhancing quality
of education, students’ academic performance is one of the
key determinants. Students of higher education can often
state the factors contributing in their better academic
performance (Saleem & Qureshi, 2011). Higher education
in a multicultural environment has become a devastating
phenomenon in many nations (Li et al., 2010). The
proprietors of higher education recognize the importance of
examining purpose as a resource of considering why
students have significant variability in enrollment patterns
and depart from educational institutions prematurely.
Students’ academic performance plays a vital role in
creating the best quality graduates who will become great
leaders and manpower for the country thus accountable for
the country’s economic and social development (Mushtaq
& Khan, 2012). Academic performance serves as the
fundamental criterion for passing from one academic level
to another or from a lower level to a higher level. In this
respect, an academic report may communicate the level of
academic performance that a student has achieved over a
*Author for Correspondence: razusocku@gmail.com
Published by Pabna University of Science and Technology, Pabna-6600, Bangladesh
course of study. The sole purpose of a grade on an academic
report, if it is to be valid source of information, is to
communicate the academic performance of the student.
Moreover, academic performance determines the extent to
which the teachers and school leaders are successful in
terms of pedagogical and management practices. There are
many factors that affect the academic performance of
students. These include student’s personal attributes,
socio-economic characteristics, family background,
institutional characteristics, gender and other demographic
factors (Imran et al., 2013).
Hijazi and Naqvi (2006) mentioned that students’
academic performance in higher education is affected by
various socioeconomic, psychological, and environmental
factors. It is evident that students’ academic performance
has potential link with locality of residence and household
income (Tuttle, 2004). Existing literature suggest that
parental education and household income are moderate to
strong predictors of academic performance (Davis-Kean,
2005; Durden & Ellis, 1995). Another study found that
parents’ education can affect the performance motivation in
academic area (Acharya & Joshi, 2009). Moreover, family
income and academic performance of students are found to
be interconnected (Yousefi, 2010). Alongside, familial
factors such as parental education and occupational level,
family background and environment, parental support and
aspiration, and socio-economic status of family are the
important group of factors determining the academic
performance of students. A great deal of research and
debate has been evolved surrounding the role of gender as a
determinant of academic performance over the past several
decades. In recent time, it has been demonstrated repeatedly
that in general girls outperform boys. However, some
studies demonstrated no significant difference in
performance between genders. Thus, the effect of gender on
educational success is still mixed and it is important to
understand the causal relation between gender and
academic performance (Islam, 2014).
It is always in the best interest of educators to measure
students’ academic performance. This allows them to
evaluate not only students’ knowledge levels but also the
effectiveness of their own availability of educational
resources, and perhaps, provide a gauge of student
satisfaction. Education is one of the social factors whereby
gender disparity is reflected. The number or proportion of
educated females is very low. As the grade level in tertiary
education enhanced the number of female students begin to
reject because of lots of issues. Consequently, higher
education remains an area of learning from which women
are less represented both as a student and staff (Mersha et
al., 2013).
 Factors Affecting Academic Performance in Tertiary Education: A Case Study from Khulna University of Bangladesh

Setting of the Institutions (urban and rural) is also inferential statistics was used to test association through
considered to be a significant factor contributing to Pearson’s Chi-square test and Multiple Linear Regression
students’ academic performance (Glass et al., 1982; modeling. The main outcome variable, academic
Mosteller, 1995). Higher rate of success in graduation was performance was categorized as i.e. low (below the CGPA
found in university students whose parents had attained 3.28) and high (CGPA 3.28 and above) academic
higher educational level (Sewell & Shaw, 1968). Moreover, performance in this study. Alongside, variables including
the personal behavior of the student towards studies may sex (male=1, female=0), birthplace (urban=1, rural=0),
also play an important role in order to enhance the students’ residence (home=1, dormitory/others=0), engagement in
performance. This behavior may vary from male to female. part-time job (yes=1, no=0) and regular visit to library
The female students can achieve higher grades than male (yes=1, no=0) were transferred into dummy variables for
students because they attend lectures more regularly than analysis purpose.
male and sit in the front seats of the classroom (Brooks &
III. FINDINGS
Rebeta, 1991). Past academic performance, age, gender,
work done at home, time spent reading in the library, and A. Personal Profile of the Respondents
students’ behavior toward classroom were found to be the Data in table I depict that about 52 percent of the
significant factors for the determination of students’ respondents were male students while the other half is
performance (Sithole & Dlamini, 1997). Hence, it may be female. Similarly, around half of the respondents (50.6%)
expected that the time spend in self-studies than class hours have come from rural areas and the other half from urban.
may affect the academic performance. The studies other With reference to current dwelling place, majority of the
than class hours were found to be inversely significant with respondents (55.9%) live at students hall (dormitory
the students’ academic performance (Hijazi & Naqvi, arranged by the university authority) and rest of them
2006). Given the context above, it becomes immensely (44.1%) would stay at home or by personal arrangements.
important to identify the factors that affect students’ Around half of the students (50.2%) had either one or two
academic performance in tertiary level and the present siblings and three-fourth portion of the students reported of
study attempts to do so through an empirical research work. engagement in part-time jobs. Around 54 percent of the
II. METHODS AND MATERIALS respondents would spend four hours or below in academic
studies while the other 46 percent would study more than
The present study is quantitative and explanatory in nature that. 60 percent of the respondents reported of visiting the
as it attempts to explain the relation between students’ library regularly while the rest did not. We divided the
academic performance at undergraduate level and its academic performance at undergraduate level into two
covariates. The study was carried out at Khulna University categories i.e. Low (up to CGPA 3.28) and High (3.29 or
of Bangladesh following survey research design that allows above) in the scale of 4.00. We found that around half of the
collection of quantitative data to infer generalization. A respondents’ (51%) academic performance level was high
total of 245 out of 678 students who were enrolled in the and rest of the students’ (49%) academic performance level
session 2016-2017 at Graduate level studies from different was low. The highest cumulative grade point average of the
subject area at Khulna University participated in this study. students at undergraduate level was 3.72 and lowest CGPA
Graduate level students were considered only because they was 2.95 and their mean CGPA was 3.28.
had already finished their undergraduate studies from
Khulna University and hence could be assessed based on Table I: Personal Information of the Respondents
their immediate Undergraduate level academic records. Variables Frequency Percent
The study used the sample size calculation formula Sex
mentioned in Cochran (1963) and applied simple random Male 127 51.8
Female 118 48.2
sampling technique to select the participants from the
Birthplace
population where every individual had an equal probability
Urban 121 49.4
of being selected. A semi-structured questionnaire Rural 124 50.6
containing both open-ended and close-ended questions was Dwelling place
developed and used as the key tool for obtaining data from Home 108 44.1
the respondents. The questionnaire was developed in Others 137 55.9
English primarily to collect the data from the field. After Number of siblings
developing the questionnaire, a pre-test of the questionnaire ≤2 123 50.2
was conducted on 20 respondents, before the actual study, ≥3 122 49.8
in order to find out anomalies. After necessary corrections, Engagement in part-time job
the final data collection process began. The data collection Yes 147 60.0
continued from the month of August to September, 2017 No 98 40.0
following group administration and short briefings to the Hours spent for academic study
participants. ≤4 133 54.3
Once collected, the data were processed by SPSS ≥5 112 45.7
(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software Regular visit to library
(version 20) and analyzed for further interpretation. Both Yes 147 60.0
descriptive and inferential statistics were used to discuss No 98 40.0
potential factors that affected academic performance of the Academic Performance (CGPA)
participants in this study. The descriptive statistics include Low (≤ 3.28) 120 49.0
percentage analysis, mean and standard deviation while High (≥3.29) 125 51.0

88
 Pabna University of Science and Technology Studies, 2018, 3(1), 87-91

B. Factors Affecting Academic Performance that indicates an increase of every hour’s study time leads
Findings of bivariate setup show that sex of the to 0.562 units increase in academic performance. Students
respondents was significantly associated with their who visit library regularly their academic performance
academic performance (p<.05) (table II). Alongside, we level was 0.175 times higher than those who did not visit
found a significant relationship between birthplace as well library regularly. The negative correlation between number
as present dwelling place of the students and their academic of siblings and academic performance indicated that an
performance (p<.01). Students’ engagement in part-time increase on every sibling would lead to 0.232 units decrease
job was significantly correlated with their academic in academic performance. On the other hand, we observed
performance (p<.01). Similarly, number of siblings and that sex composition, dwelling place and doing part-time
expenditure in education were statistically significantly job did not have any significant impact on students’
associated with students’ academic performance (p<.01). academic performance at tertiary level of education in this
The same association was significant between study time, study.
regular visit of library and academic performance (p<.01). Table III: Predictors of Academic Performance
Table II: Covariates of Academic Performance R2= 0.538 Adjusted R2=0.525
Academic Independent Variables Dependent Variable (Academic
Performance Performance)
Variables Low High χ2 p-Value Beta Std. p-Value
(%) (%)
Error
Sex
Sex (dummy) 0.020 0.021 0.676
Male 28.6 23.3
3.976a 0. 046** Birthplace (dummy) 0.185 0.021 0.000*
Female 20.4 27.8
Birthplace Dwelling place 0.002 0.021 0.975
Urban 18.8 30.6 (dummy)
11.498 0.001* Engagement in part -.014 0.022 0.778
Rural 30.2 20.4
Dwelling place time job (dummy)
Home 17.1 26.9
7.870 0.005* Number of siblings -.232 0.008 0.000*
Dormitory/others 31.8 24.1 Hours Spent for Study 0.562 0.006 0.000*
Engagement in Regular visit to library 0.175 0.023 0.001*
part-time job
(dummy)
Yes 34.3 25.7
9.800 0.002* * Association significant at 0.01%
No 14.7 25.3
Number of IV. DISCUSSION
siblings
≤2 19.2 31.0
Higher education is important for improved career
11.461 0.001* opportunities, chance of a good pay, and have a life with
3≥ 29.8 49.8
Expenditure in more possibilities. It also plays a vital role in the
education (in development of human capital and is linked with an
BDT) individual’s well-being and opportunities for better living
˂10000 34.7 18.0 (Battle & Lewis, 2002). Better academic performance is
31.183 0.000*
10000≥ 14.3 33.1 often considered as one of the key determinants of quality
Time spent in education. Students’ academic performance in higher
academic study education is affected by various socioeconomic,
(hours) psychological, and educational environmental factors
≤4 42.4 11.8 (Hijazi & Naqvi, 2006). Hence, this paper attempts to
99.375 0.000*
5≥ 6.5 39.2 identify the factors that affect students’ academic
Regular visit of
performance at tertiary level of education.
library
Yes 22.0 38.0
Results of this study suggest that around half of the
No 26.9 13.1
22.050 0.000* students’ academic performance level was high and their
* Association significant at 0.01% CGPA at undergraduate level was 3.29 or above. As
** Association significant at 0.05% students’ academic performance was influenced by many
factors, the results of regression analysis depicted that
C. Predictors of Academic Performance
among the seven covariates, birthplace, number of siblings,
Table III presents the results of multiple linear regression study time and regular library visit were significantly
analysis for academic performance and its covariates. The correlated with students’ academic performance. Similarly,
overall model explained around 54 percent variance (R2 = birthplace also positively associated with students’
0.538) of students’ academic performance. Among the academic performance and the study found that academic
seven covariates, birthplace, number of siblings, study time performance of urban students was higher than rural
and regular library visit were significantly associated with students and it is consistent with the findings of previous
students’ academic performance. The positive relation study that revealed students whose parents reside in rural
between birthplace and academic performance indicated areas have lower performance than students whose parents
that academic performance of urban students was 0.185 reside in urban areas (Teodor, 2012).
time higher than the rural ones. There is a positive It is evident from existing literature that there is a
relationship between study time and academic performance positive relationship between physical and psychological
89
 Factors Affecting Academic Performance in Tertiary Education: A Case Study from Khulna University of Bangladesh
health, social relations and environment (Shareef et al.,
2015). Besides, the effect of family processes on academic
performance is also established by studies (Oxford & Lee,
2011). Studies also suggest that there is a positive link
between academic strategies including study time and
academic performance indicating higher and efficient the
study time, higher the academic performance which
corresponds with the present study (Zhou et al., 2016).
Students who visit library regularly their academic
performance level was higher than those who did not visit
library regularly. Earlier study found that a number of
personal factors like students’ interest, home environment,
parental support and study habits were significant
predictors of students’ academic performance (Adeyemi &
Adeyemi 2014).
The negative correlation between number of siblings and
academic performance indicated that higher the number of
siblings, lower the academic performance of the students.
On the other hand, sex of the students was not significantly
associated with their academic performance and it is
inconsistent with the findings of previous studies (Tadesse
et al., 2015; Islam, 2014; Farooq et al., 2011) that found
significant relationship between sex composition of the
students and their academic performance. Tadesse et al.
(2015) in their study identified different causes such as
female students took household responsibility and
inadequate support from their family, inadequate guidance
and counseling. Contrary to this fact, Islam (2014) and
Farooq et al. (2011) showed in their study that girls are
outperforming boys mainly because girls’ culture is more
study oriented than the boys. In addition to sex, dwelling
place and doing part-time job did not have any significant
impact on students’ academic performance while some
other studies had a different say (Lê-Scherban et al., 2014).
V. CONCLUSION
Better academic performance is deemed as one of the
important aspects of quality education all over the world.
Considering this, the study aimed to assess the factors
affecting students’ academic performance at tertiary level
of education in Bangladesh through an empirical research
work carried out at Khulna University. Findings show that
although all the variables concerned in bivariate setup were
significant, results of multivariate analysis show that
birthplace, number of siblings, hours spent in academic
study and regular library visit were positively linked with
students’ academic performance. On the other hand, sex,
dwelling place and engagement part-time job had no
significant association with students’ academic
performance. As the findings concern only Khulna
University, further research can be carried out on other
factors which also may have influence on students’
academic performance at tertiary level of education in other
institutions as well. Factors such as such as,
teacher-students’ relationship, students’ romantic
relationship, use of social media, and so on could be crucial
factors which might have affected are not concerned in this
study.
90
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