EXAMINING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: A GENDER-BASED STUDY

Abstract

This quantitative study examined academic achievement differences between elementary school male and female students. Self-developed questionnaires assessed 120 students’ perceived competence, intrinsic motivation, peer learning, and self-regulation. Results showed significantly higher overall achievement for females. The most significant gender gap occurred in learning responsibility, with females demonstrating more excellent work ethic and accountability. Females also exhibited higher confidence in core abilities and greater interest in academic tasks. However, males showed comparable leveraging of classroom peer resources. These insights align with prior research highlighting motivational, attitudinal, and behavioural risk factors disadvantaging boys. Practical recommendations centre on interventions targeting male students’ self-beliefs, inner drive, and self-discipline through evidence-based psychological and instructional approaches sensitive to associated masculine socialization processes. Ongoing research should investigate developmental trajectories of academic achievement patterns while continuous gender-sensitized improvement of student-centred solutions remains imperative for equitable outcomes. This study contributes vital disaggregated illumination of ability, motivational, and self-regulatory dimensions underlying achievement disparities forming by elementary school. It further signifies the need to apply a gendered lens to associated psychological and sociocultural processes when designing impactful support systems for all students’ success.