Relationship between academic advice and girl-child retention rate in Jinja District secondary schools.

Abstract

This study is aimed at examining the relationship between academic advice and the retention rate of the girl-child in secondary schools in Jinja District. Despite the extensive body of research addressing the problem of student retention, statistics indicated little improvement in retention rates among girl-students in secondary schools in Jinja District in Uganda. A low retention rate translated into negative consequences for the individual girl, the institution and society. The study focused on the academic advice offered; the relationship between academic advice, girl-child satisfaction with the school and girl child retention; and the relationship between academic advice, girl-child career planning and girl-child retention.

A correlational survey design was used combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. The target sample was 128. Stratified sampling was used to select the schools while simple random sampling was used to select students and teachers. The senior women were automatically included in the sample. Administrators and director of studies were purposively selected. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. Frequency and percentages were used to determine the academic advice offered. In addition, correlations were computed to determine the relationship between academic advice, student satisfaction with the school experience and student career planning. Qualitative data was summarized and categorized into themes to support the quantitative findings.

The study established that all the selected secondary schools in Jinja District provided academic advice to students though not frequently. It focused on improving academic performance, morality, health, valuing life, education, career, sex, life skills and discipline. It was established that better academic advice increases student satisfaction with the school and improves student career planning, which increase student retention.

It was concluded that effective academic advice is an important element in the management of schools in respect to student satisfaction with the school, their career planning and retention.

It is recommended that secondary schools in Jinja District should frequently provide adequate academic advice to students where providers of the academic advice relate very closely with the students. During academic advice, students should be given more opportunity to be responsible, capable of self-direction and integral, not peripheral, to educational planning.