Determinants of academic performance of students in secondary schools in Tanzania a microeconomic analysis: the case of Sikonge district

This study was designed to investigate determinants of academic performance of students in secondary schools in Tanzania with a case study of Sikonge District. The emphasis was put in trying to establish relationship between age of students, education background of the parents, employment status of the parents, school location, distance from home to the nearest school, language spoken by students at their home, number of teachers, classroom size, gender of students, education background of other members of household, home activities and academic performance of students. The study employed a combination of semi-structured interview, in-depth interview, questionnaires and field observation to collect primary data in combination with a detailed review of literature. In analyzing the information collected, the study utilized descriptive statistics and ordered logistic regression analysis which formed the basis of the detailed analysis, conclusion, policy implication and recommendations. The findings revealed the existence of significant of education background of other members of the household, home activities, employment status of the father, gender of the student, distance from home to the nearest school, number of teachers and education level attained by the mother in determining academic performance of students in secondary schools while classroom size, education level attained by the father, employment status of the mother, language spoken by students at home, age of student and school location has no any significant impact in determining academic performance of students in secondary school. On the basis of the findings, researcher recommended that the government should put more efforts in constructing hostels especially for girls who are highly affected. However, the government has to put more emphasis in recruiting more teachers so as to achieve a standard teacher-students ratio However, the parents should be sensitized to support their children, encouraging them by providing with necessary requirement and to make education of their children balanced across gender. Moreover, parents should give students enough time to involve in studies rather than giving them more works such as cooking, farming and collecting fire woods.