The impact of home-based educational multi-correlates on academic achievement: an analysis of gender discrepancies in Rwanda

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of home-based ‘educational multi-correlates’, an inter-related group of factors relating to a child’s home environment, on academic achievement in a primary school in Rwanda. The specific educational multi-correlates considered in this study were parental education level, parental involvement in the child’s education, and family socio-economic status. The students enrolled in the study were 334 children – 167 boys and 167 girls – at a private primary school in post-genocide Rwanda. The primary instrument used to gather data was a Likert scale survey. This, along with the students’ academic records and test scores, was used to answer the following research question: To what extent do specific home-based educational multi-correlates impact academic achievement based on gender within a Rwandan primary school context? The relationships between the independent home-based variables and the dependent variable of academic achievement were measured using descriptive statistics, correlations, multiple regressions, and t-tests. The results confirmed the hypothesis that gender was a relevant factor in explaining differences in the educational correlates and the students’ test scores. Student gender was also found to have a significant effect on parental involvement and family socio-economic status as measured against test scores.

KEYWORDS:

• Rwanda
• gender
• academic achievement
• educational multi-correlates
• social capital
• genocide
• primary education
• survey design
• and quantitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Phillip Haynes holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Howard University, a master’s degree in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University, and a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Georgia. Phillip is the founding member and Executive Director of Crimson Foundation. In this capacity, Phillip provides direction and leadership on educational research and services for children. Phillip is a native of Los Angeles, California, but lived in Australia, Canada, and Ireland before settling in Atlanta.

ORCID

Phillip Haynes http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7578-1807