Articles

<b>Objective:</b> Inequalities exist in children’s educational outcomes—including reading proficiency, school discrimination, and school disciplinary actions—across zip codes with different levels of educational childhood opportunity index (COI). This study examines the interaction between race and educational environment on children’s educational outcomes. We hypothesize that race, parental education, and their interaction are associated with perceived school discrimination, which in turn reduces their cognitive, academic, and emotional wellbeing. We also hypothesize that Black children with high socioeconomic status (SES) report high perceived school discrimination in high-COI settings. <b>Methods</b><b>: </b>Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which measures a wide range of educational, cognitive, and emotional outcomes. At the same time, the ABCD children are sampled across areas with vast differences in COI rankings, that can be classified into these five categories: very high, high, average, low, and very low educational COIs. Our structural equation models (SEM) tested the additive and interactive effects of race and educational attainment on perceived school discrimination, and the effects of school discrimination on various cognitive abilities (reading proficiency, picture vocabulary, and list sorting working memory), school suspension, as well as depressed mood. Our multi-group SEM assessed how these relationships vary across educational COI levels. <b>Results</b><b>: </b>Our findings showed that high SES Black children report highest school discrimination in residential areas with highest COIs. This is based on the observation that the interaction between race and parental education on experiences of school discrimination were only significant in areas with highest COI. Across residential areas with different COI levels, students who experienced higher school discrimination had higher suspension, worse depression, and worse cognitive performance. <b>Conclusion</b><b>: </b>While higher COIs are associated with better academic outcomes, Black-White gaps exist in the role of increased COI through increased racial bias that children perceive. These findings underscore the complexity of educational equity, suggesting that improving COI alone is insufficient for eliminating racial disparities in school experiences. Policies should be in place to reduce school-based discrimination against Black students in high COI settings.

<b>Objective: </b>This study examines racial disparities in educational outcomes—including reading proficiency, grade point average (GPA), school discrimination, and school disciplinary actions—across regions with different levels of educational childhood opportunity index (COI). Our aim is to explore how these racial gaps between Black and White students vary in areas with differing educational opportunities. We hypothesize that higher COI is associated with smaller academic achievement gaps but may also correspond with greater racial bias in unfair school treatment. <b>Methods: </b>Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which provides comprehensive measures of educational outcomes, cognitive performance, and COI. National COI rankings were used to classify regions into five categories: very high, high, average, low, and very low educational opportunity. We analyzed racial gaps in reading proficiency, and experiences of discrimination and suspension across these COI categories. Multi-group Structural Equation Models (SEM) were used to assess how the relationship between race and educational outcomes varies across COI levels. <b>Results: </b>Our findings confirmed that Black-White gaps in reading proficiency and cognitive test performance (Flanker task) were less pronounced in regions with higher COI. However, racial disparities in school disciplinary actions and experiences of discrimination were more pronounced in higher-opportunity areas. Specifically, the effect of Black race was stronger in regions with the highest COI, where Black students experienced a disproportionately higher rate of unfair school treatment, including both school discrimination and suspensions, compared to their White peers. <b>Conclusion: </b>This exploratory study supports that while higher educational opportunities are associated with smaller academic achievement gaps between Black and White students, they might be linked to increased racial bias in school disciplinary actions and discriminatory treatment. These findings underscore the complexity of educational equity, suggesting that improving access to quality education alone is insufficient to eliminate racial disparities in school experiences. Addressing school-based bias and discrimination must accompany efforts to enhance educational opportunities.

The benefits of physical activity are immense and indisputable; however, the inclusion of Physical Education Activity Programs (PEAP) within the college setting, specifically the University Undergraduate Core Curriculum, is largely disregarded and viewed as unnecessary. Increased physical activity has shown to have a positive relationship throughout the human development process. Health promotion programs should target people of all ages, since the risk of chronic disease starts in childhood and increases with age. In addition to the physical activity benefits associated with human development, decrease disease rate, and extended lifespan, physical activity has also been thoroughly researched and documented to have positive effects on academic achievement. Despite the evidence identified through the results of the research, PEAP at the college level are consistently being ignored and removed from university undergraduate core curriculum. The purpose for university exclusion of PEAP is unknown; however, addressing the gap within the literature may provide justification for re-installment; research has not yet identified the impact of PEAP on the academic achievement of undergraduate students. A positive outcome could be gained by increasing the curricular value of compulsory PK-12 health and physical education requirements.

Whereas Physical Education and Sports (PES) have been reported to be crucial to learners, such claims have often been made without empirical support. Given this, this paper reports on a systematic review of the relevance of PES to learners. The review involved 20 empirical studies. Most studies were conducted in the United States, using quantitative research design and focusing on preschool to high school. The studies also demonstrated that PES improves academic performance, motivation, attention, and behaviour. It is recommended that PES be taken seriously at all levels of academics and integrated into the curriculum. While the studies reviewed did not involve higher educational institutions, the benefits can be extended to higher education institutions such as colleges of education and universities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a practical model in teaching double indicator titration in chemistry in the senior high schools in Ghana Research design for the study was Action research. The population was made up of chemistry teachers and students. in four senior high schools with two schools located in the Kwaebibirim District and two senior high schools located in the Denkyembuo District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents for the study. The sample comprised of twenty-five (25) chemistry teachers and one hundred and fifty (150) students in the four Senior High schools. The study indicated that Chemistry teachers would improve upon the academic performance of chemistry students in double indicator titration when they use the developed practical teaching model (DEPTEM) more. The main instruments used in this study were classroom observational checklists and questionnaires. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) were used to analyze the data gathered. Coding schemes were developed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 21) to organize the data into meaningful and manageable categories. The study also revealed that the outcome of the post-test indicated that, the DEPTEM impact differently on the academic performance of SHS male and female chemistry students in the Kwaebibirim and Denkyembuo Districts of the Eastern Region. It is recommended that the government and non-governmental organizations should collaborate with the Ministry of Education to sponsor in production of more of the developed practical model (DEPTEM) for teaching chemistry lessons. This in a way would help improve the academic performance of chemistry students in the Kwaebibirim and Denkyembuo Districts of the Eastern Region and the nation at large. It is also recommended that chemistry teachers should consider teaching methods that would equally cater to both male and female chemistry students during chemistry lessons.

The purpose of the study was to assess Academic achievement of Low- Social-Economic-Status (SES) of Junior High School Students in Ghana. The study employed a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design. The population for the study comprised all JHS students and teachers in the Aboom Circuit of the Cape Coast Metropolis. Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sampling table, Purposive and randomly sampling techniques were used to select schools, teachers and students for the study. The sample frame for the study was all students and teachers in the five selected JHS of the Aboom Circuit of the Cape Coast Metropolis. The sample size for the study was 350 for students and 30 for teachers. The main instrument for data collection for the study as questionnaire. Research question was analysed using mean and standard deviation; hypothesis was analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The study revealed that continued, consistent and persistent presence of these student-related factors such as hunger, lack of self-motivation, poor study habit, watching TV, laziness, and students’ truancy or absenteeism negatively affect students’ academic achievement. The results of the study also indicated that there was a moderate, negative correlation between student-related factors and students’ academic achievement with high levels of perceived student-related factors with low levels of students’ academic achievement. It is recommended that, the role of guidance and counseling session in schools is to assists students to be focused on their studies. Therefore, guidance and counseling sessions in various schools should be effectively organised to prevent students’ truancy. It is also recommended that School administrators in partnership with PTA leadership and NGOs should educate students on the relevance of education and give social support to students from low socio-economic backgrounds and motivate them in their studies.

The objective of the study was to examine the school-related factors that contribute to the academic achievements of low- social economic – status of students in the Aboom Circuit of the Cape Coast Metropolis during 2015-2016 academic years. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to select teachers, schools and students. The five junior high schools (St Nicholas, St. Monica, Aboom Methodist B, Aboom Zion A and Aboom Zion C) were randomly selected from the ten schools in the circuit. A proportional allocation was used to determine and allocate the total number of students from the population to each school. The main instrument for data collection was questionnaire. The data were entered in a pre-designed template in the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, version 21. The data were analysed using descriptive (frequency and percentages, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation). The research hypothesis was also analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study indicated that school-related factors such as school time schedule, resources, school climate, guidance and counselling, school-parents’ relationship may significantly contribute to students’ academic achievement. It is also concluded that when the right atmosphere or conditions are created, students can perform well irrespective of their socio-economic statuses or backgrounds. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education (MOE)/Ghana Education Service (GES) in partnership with school administrators should provide adequate teaching and learning resources and facilities for effective teaching and learning at the school. It is also recommended that in other to ensure effective teaching and learning, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) should collaborate to implement a class size reduction policy effectively as expected. This means that the student-to-teacher ratio should strictly be adhered to.

The impact of narcissism and self-esteem on academic achievement has long been an important issue in developmental research. The study aimed to explore the students’ narcissism and self-esteem as correlates of academic achievement in Mathematics in Anambra State. Five research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a correlational approach. The population of the study comprised of 21204 SS2 students from which a sample of 630 was drawn. Multi-stage procedure was used to select the sample. Two standardized research instruments namely; Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and Self-esteem Questionnaire (SQ), as well as score from students’ promotional examination were used for data collection. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the reliability of the items in the instruments. The overall reliability coefficient was 0.75 which shows that the instrument was reliable and good for the study. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to answer research questions 1 to 4 and to test hypotheses 1 to 4, while the research question 5 and hypothesis 5 were answered and tested with multiple correlations. The findings showed that students’ power narcissism recorded a very low positive relationship with academic achievement in mathematics. Findings also revealed that the multiple correlation of these variables is positively non significant with academic achievement in mathematics. Based on these findings, it was recommended that as narcissistic individuals believe strongly that they are better than others, teachers and counsellors should develop a strategy to enhance the confidence and ability in the students as these will help them to become life long learning individuals thereafter.