Educational aspiration and the standing of academic achievement in the value system of school-going adolescents in Shashemene town, Ethiopia

Abstract

Educational aspiration plays an important role in terms of both reinforcing and discouraging future academic achievement of students. The present research aimed at assessing the level of educational aspiration of school-going adolescents in selected primary schools of Shashemene town, Ethiopia. Using the survey method, quantitative data were collected by self-administered questionnaires from randomly selected 500 grade 8 students. Data were entered into SPSS version 20 and both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used for data presentation. It was found that 97.5% of respondents reported having planned to directly join secondary schools after completing 8th grade and 85.8% of them aspire to join higher education in the future. Results of correlation statistics revealed that educational aspiration is associated with age and academic performance of students. In addition, coefficients of regression analysis showed that age (0.184, 0.000) and academic performance (0.153, 0.001) of students significantly determine what the students intend to pursue after completing 8th grade under circumstances in which they are free to decide without external influence. Above all, students’ aspiration to join higher educational institutions has been found to be significantly associated with the age (0.168, 0.000) of the students. School-going adolescents in the study area were found to have a very high level of educational aspiration. Converting such potential into an opportunity for Ethiopia’s future development requires family, school, and government institutions to provide the necessary support to the students.