Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia
Abstract Girls' education significantly benefits communities and countries. Despite ongoing efforts, gender disparity in developing countries remains a persistent issue. This study aimed to investigate gender disparity in regional and national examinations using an ex-post facto research design...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Discover Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00575-7 |
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| author | Amogne Asfaw Eshetu Simret Alemu Aster Mulat Aminat Abdu Bezawit Gobezie Enatnesh Muluken Asemach Anagaw Elsabet Mulugeta Ehite Hailemariam Sewasew Aragaw |
| author_facet | Amogne Asfaw Eshetu Simret Alemu Aster Mulat Aminat Abdu Bezawit Gobezie Enatnesh Muluken Asemach Anagaw Elsabet Mulugeta Ehite Hailemariam Sewasew Aragaw |
| author_sort | Amogne Asfaw Eshetu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Girls' education significantly benefits communities and countries. Despite ongoing efforts, gender disparity in developing countries remains a persistent issue. This study aimed to investigate gender disparity in regional and national examinations using an ex-post facto research design. To achieve this, we analyzed the scores of 3,349 students in the regional examination and 2,722 students in the national examination, all of whom were enrolled in the regular program for the 2022/2023 academic year in the Dessie city administration. Independent samples t-tests, Chi-square tests, and simple linear regression assessed the gender disparity in academic performance. The results of the study showed statistically significant academic performance differences in both the regional examination [t(3347) = 2.812, p < 0.05 for average score and t(3347) = 3.179, p < 0.05 for percentile respectively] with modest effect; and national in examination t(2720) = 8.599, p < 0.01) with moderate effect favoring male students. The chi-square test output revealed that the proportion of female students was below expected in the top-achieving groups (χ2 (1) = 22.41, p < 0.05) and higher than expected in the bottom groups (χ2 (1) = 6.451, p < 0.05 in the national examination. No statistically significant proportion difference was found in the regional examination in either the top or bottom achieving groups. A chi-square test of independence comparing the proportion of failed and passed students in regional examination revealed a significant interaction (χ2 (1) = 5.652, p < 0.05) where the proportion of failed female students was higher than expected, and the proportion of passed female students was lower than expected as compared with males. The simple leaner regression model also confirmed sex as a determinant of academic performance. The result showed that extra efforts remain to address the gender gap in academic performance. We recommend that parents, school administrators, teachers, female students, and the government further strengthen the interventions to narrow the gender gap. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-061cccbff9ea495d893433b48a9c370d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2731-5525 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-061cccbff9ea495d893433b48a9c370d2025-08-20T02:05:42ZengSpringerDiscover Education2731-55252025-06-014111610.1007/s44217-025-00575-7Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, EthiopiaAmogne Asfaw Eshetu0Simret Alemu1Aster Mulat2Aminat Abdu3Bezawit Gobezie4Enatnesh Muluken5Asemach Anagaw6Elsabet Mulugeta7Ehite Hailemariam8Sewasew Aragaw9Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wollo UniversityDepartment of English and Foreign Language, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Amharic, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Social Anthropology, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Journalism and Communication, Wollo UniversityDepartment of English and Foreign Language, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Political Science, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Civics, Wollo UniversityDepartment of Ge’ez, Wollo UniversityAbstract Girls' education significantly benefits communities and countries. Despite ongoing efforts, gender disparity in developing countries remains a persistent issue. This study aimed to investigate gender disparity in regional and national examinations using an ex-post facto research design. To achieve this, we analyzed the scores of 3,349 students in the regional examination and 2,722 students in the national examination, all of whom were enrolled in the regular program for the 2022/2023 academic year in the Dessie city administration. Independent samples t-tests, Chi-square tests, and simple linear regression assessed the gender disparity in academic performance. The results of the study showed statistically significant academic performance differences in both the regional examination [t(3347) = 2.812, p < 0.05 for average score and t(3347) = 3.179, p < 0.05 for percentile respectively] with modest effect; and national in examination t(2720) = 8.599, p < 0.01) with moderate effect favoring male students. The chi-square test output revealed that the proportion of female students was below expected in the top-achieving groups (χ2 (1) = 22.41, p < 0.05) and higher than expected in the bottom groups (χ2 (1) = 6.451, p < 0.05 in the national examination. No statistically significant proportion difference was found in the regional examination in either the top or bottom achieving groups. A chi-square test of independence comparing the proportion of failed and passed students in regional examination revealed a significant interaction (χ2 (1) = 5.652, p < 0.05) where the proportion of failed female students was higher than expected, and the proportion of passed female students was lower than expected as compared with males. The simple leaner regression model also confirmed sex as a determinant of academic performance. The result showed that extra efforts remain to address the gender gap in academic performance. We recommend that parents, school administrators, teachers, female students, and the government further strengthen the interventions to narrow the gender gap.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00575-7Gender disparityAcademic performanceFemale studentsEthiopia |
| spellingShingle | Amogne Asfaw Eshetu Simret Alemu Aster Mulat Aminat Abdu Bezawit Gobezie Enatnesh Muluken Asemach Anagaw Elsabet Mulugeta Ehite Hailemariam Sewasew Aragaw Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia Discover Education Gender disparity Academic performance Female students Ethiopia |
| title | Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Examining the gender gap: academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in Dessie city administration, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | examining the gender gap academic performance disparity in regional and national examinations in dessie city administration ethiopia |
| topic | Gender disparity Academic performance Female students Ethiopia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00575-7 |
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