Academic, Social and Psychological Correlates of Gender Disparity in Higher Education: The Case of Debub University

Abstract

The present study investigates the pattern of female academic success in higher education and their prospects in progressing through the system drawing a solid data on their academic status, socio-cultural and psychological factors, and personal background variables. The sample involved 134 (Male= 94 and Female = 40) first year students admitted in the 2003/2004 academic year. The methods used to collect information include students’ academic performance records, and a self-administered measure assessing respondents’ gender role attitude, general academic self concept, and perceived parental expectation. The results indicate that with the exception of College of Health Sciences, the attrition rate ranges from33% in the Faculty of Natural Sciences to as high as 46.7% in the College of Agriculture among girls who joined Debub University after the pre-university preparatory program. Further, the analyses generally indicate that females have low academic self-concept and are particularly less confident about their ability in traditionally masculine subjects like Mathematics and Physics. The low self-concept of ability in case of girls was related to their low academic performance. But boys and girls did not significantly vary in their gender role attitude indicating pervading traditional stereotypic beliefs. Finally, implications of the findings relevant to address gender equity in higher education institutions in Ethiopia are discussed.