Explaining Rural-Urban Differences in The Academic Achievement of Secondary Students: An Empirical Study in Magura District of Bangladesh

Abstract

All the successive governments of Bangladesh – both civil or military – invested a considerable amount of national fortune in ensuring quality education for all, irrespective of caste or creed. Subsequently, Bangladesh has experienced significant growth in schools, colleges and universities in enrolment and completion rate of education with greater gender parity. However, the success stories were overshadowed by the persistent discrepancies, especially for spatial locations and social classes. This study, therefore, aimed at comparing the academic achievement of rural and urban students, and finding out the factors drawing differences in educational performances of the educands. Data were collected from 566 students selected from eight educational institutions following multistage proportionate random sampling administering a self-administered questionnaire. Findings suggest that age, sex, grades and track of education followed by the size of the class and student-teacher ratio played decisive roles for the educational disparities between the urbanites and ruralites. However, the most crucial factors were parental education and income and the family’s overall financial capacity for supplementary education. Based on the results, it is strongly suggested that the government should involve all the stakeholders, including parents, students, and teachers, to formulate future education policies and address the socioeconomic composition of schools. Additionally, the administration also needs to provide adequate resources, including trained teachers and sufficient infrastructural and other academic facilities, to improve overall educational and learning environments to achieve all-inclusive quality education for all.

Factors Affecting Social Science Students’ Career Choices: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

“…In this study, it was found that urban students had a higher likelihood of becoming teachers than rural students, which is in contrast to other jobs. In the context of Bangladesh, city-dwelling students are more engaged in academic activities and perform better in various public examinations [49][50][51][52]. Due to circumstantial differences with rural students, urban students were more interested in teaching than in other professions that offered good life with respect from society.…”

Patterns, prevalence and risk factors of intimate partner violence and its association with mental health status during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study on early married female adolescents in Khulna district, Bangladesh

“…A total of three models were built, as all independent variables are considered at the beginning, then deleted one at a time if they do not contribute significantly to the regression equation 35. This identifies the most relevant variables with a substantial predicting capacity36 37 that can be used in the next phase, the hierarchical regression 38 39. In the third phase, the hierarchical regression—weighing the values added by independent variables, entered in blocks, after controlling other risk factors at its own point of entry—was executed 35 40.…”