Asset Ownership and Academic Achievement Among Youth in Ghana: Examining Associations Based on Asset Type and Academic Subject

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined the relationships between asset type and academic achievement among Ghanaian junior high school students. Results suggest that the positive relationship between asset ownership and academic achievement depends on the type of asset and academic subject. Homeownership was positively and significantly associated with math achievement. Ownership of transport-related assets was positively and significantly associated with English achievement. Findings have implications for asset-building programs to promote academic proficiency and progress for all youth.

Key words:

• academic achievement
• assets
• English
• Ghana
• junior high school
• math.

Acknowledgments

We thank the YouthSave research participants for their time and involvement in the project; the headmasters and teachers in the project schools for allowing their institutions to be part of the research; and the field interviewers at the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research at the University of Ghana for their data collection support. We also thank Carolina Ahumada Mejia, Meinkeng Fonge, and Susan White at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their editorial assistance.

Funding

This study is a product of the YouthSave Project, supported by the MasterCard Foundation. The MasterCard Foundation did not take part in the design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data in this study. The funder did not take part in writing this article, nor in submitting the manuscript for publication.

ORCID

Rainier Masa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0484-3107