Factors Influencing Students' Underachievement

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Abstract

One of the major points emphasized in almost all scientific approaches to educational systems is the fact that students should change along with social expectations and production cycle. The education process should be designed in a way to minimize the rate of inefficacy and energy loss. Underachievement as a major educational problem throughout the world wastes many resources. This problem exists in our universities too. Too explore factors affecting students' underachievement 60 students ( 39 male, 21 female) with at least three consecutive semesters of underachievement were studied. A second sample of 52 overachieving students (25 male, 27female) was also studied for comparison purposes. The research instruments were personal information questionnaire, Coppersmiths self-esteem questionnaire, and adults Raven intelligence test. Results showed higher I.Q., higher self-esteem, and higher academic background for overachievers. Results also showed that 88.8 percent of underachievers were non-local and 53.8 percent of overachievers were local students. Female students outperformed male students.

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