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Impact of Gender on Academic Achievement in Science and Social Science at Secondary Level *PRINCE PARMAR
Abstract
Academic achievement depends upon several factors.the present study focuses on gender differences in academic achievement.The aim of the study is to compare the achievement of boys and girls in science and social science at the secondary level.The sample comprises 400 students (200 boys and 200 girls) from the affiliated of C.B.S.E., Delhi. The data was collected using two self developed achievement test. The collected data was analysed with help of statistical technique like Mean, SD,”t” value. The findings show that there is significant difference in achievement of boys and girls at the secondary level.
Introduction
The future of the country rests on the shoulder of its children.These children would one day pave the path of progress and lift the country to the heights of development.Education is going to play a key role to turn these children into strong pillars. Education aims at making us civilised human beings,proper educational process is a passport to a good,comfortable and secure life (Arbot and Arunjo ,1996).There are several factors which directly or indirectly affected the academic achievement of the students.Unless we understand these factors , we cannot produce intelligent, interested and enthusiastic students. Academic achievement of the students of the schools was found significantly higher than those of rural schools ( Dwivedi,2005).The students from healthy school environment have significantly better academic achievement than the students from poor school environment.The classroom,environmentand developmental factors play a major role in students performance.The students inner urges ,the competency of the teachers ,no physical distraction and contacts with like minded colleagues makes a student more competent to succeed in life (Avinashilingam and Sharma,2005).
In-spite of the best efforts made in schools to raise the abilities and other personality traits of students,it is not possible for us to attain the optimum level of educational goals , i.e. allround development of one’s personality.The family makes critical contributions to school through there efforts.when parents are involved in their children’s education at home , they do better in school ( Henderson and Berla,2002).
Science and social science are amongst the two important subjects which are very useful for day-to-day life.These subjects develop not only logical thinking but also helps in routine life of every individual.Science and social science have become a substantial and an integral part of our organised society.The aim of teaching science in the secondary schools should be understand the nature of science,its process, methods and scope,so that the students can use scientific attitude (NCERT,1988). Whereas the basic purpose of social science education at secondary school level is to prepare students to understand the concept,tradtions,values of society and give knowledge about the rights and duties which are given by the constitution of India so that students will become a responsible member of the society.
Review of related literature
Pavithran and Ferore (1965) found that there is no marked difference between boys and girls in the achievement of IX class pupils.Both.Jaganadhan (1983) found that pupils from urban areas had better achievement than rural pupils. Chandran and Lim (2010) concluded that cognitive ability, gender, pre-maturity and social factors contributed to poor academic achievement during the earlyschool years.Padhmanabhan (1966) found that there is significant difference between the achievement of rural boys girls of class X . Sunderam (1989) urban and rural differences in achievement and factors related to it such as self concept,manifest anxiety,study habbits,intelligence,acjustment problems and achievement motivation among college students. The results revealed that there was significant difference between urban and rural students in their self concept. The rural students had
*Research scholar (UGC-NET) Education Department,Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Tamilnadu.
Higher self concepts than urban students but there was no significant difference between urban and rural students with respect to study habits.
Statement of the problem
This study therefore sought to find out the impact of gender and locality on academic achievement of secondary school students in science and social science.
Need of the study
National achievement survey of class VIII reported significant difference in academic achievement of boys and girls at national level and for Delhi.The similar kind of finding were observed by Razia (2015) on gender difference on the measure of academic achievement in adolescent students in Aligarh district Uttar Pradesh.Siddi Raju (2013) conducted a study on gender differences in Chittoor district , Andhra Pradesh reported that there is significant difference between achievement of boys and girls and found Boys academic achievement is better than girls. So It is realised that academic achievement of boys and girls varies across area,medium of education,stages of education and universities/boards.Here ,the achievement in science and social science at secondary level has been chosen in view of the fact as science and social science is a compulsory subject of study up to X class. Hence it is felt that there is a need to find out the influence of gender on the achievement in science and social science at secondary level.
Objectives of the study
The objectives of the study are as follows:- 1. To study the achievement of students in science at secondary level. 2. To study the achievement of students in social studies at secondary level.
Hypothesis
Following hypothesis were formulated to achieve the objectives:- 1. There exists no significant difference between the achievement of boys and girls students in science at secondary level. 2. There exists no significant difference between the achievement of boys and girls students in social science at secondary level. Delimitations of the study 1. The study was confined to 20 schools of Delhi only. 2. Only the students of class 8th and 9th were selected as the sample in the study. 3. Only 800 students (400 boys and 400 girls) were identified for the present investigation.
Method:-
The study is descriptive in nature. The researcher has adopted survey method. The school survey is a comprehensive study of existing conditions of school and suggests improvement wherever necessary.
Population and sample
Population of the present study include all the students studying at the secondary school level in Delhi. The sample extracted out of this population consists of a total no. Of 800 students studying in class 8th and 9th. From 10 secondary schools of Delhi using incidental sampling technique. 400 students were boys 400 students were girls. Tools used in the study:-
In order to meet the needs and objectives of the study the investigator developed achievement test one each in science and social science. Each test contains 25 items based on syllabus of class 8th and 9th. The items were multiple choice types having one correct answer carrying one score. The test was given to the teachers who are teaching at secondary level to judge the validity of the items. The valuable suggestions were incorporated. So, in this way the content validity of the tests was established. The reliability of tools was established by test and re-test method. The coefficient of reliability of science and social science achievement test was 0.75 and 0.88 respectively.
Statistical analysis :-
The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis such as mean, standard deviation and t-test to test the hypothesis. The analysis is presented and discussed below.
Table 1: Mean performance of boys and girls in science GROUP | N | MEAN | SD | “t” value | Level of significance | Boys | 200 | 12.09 | 5.2 | 6.4 | Significant at 0.05 level | Girls | 200 | 15.56 | 5.98 | | |

The result in table 1 reveals the mean performance of boys and girls in science. The value of t is 6.4 which is not significant at 0.05 level of confidence. The boys on science achievement test are lower than the mean score of girls (figure 1.) it can be inferred that the girls achievement is comparatively better than boys on science achievement test at secondary level thus the stated null hypothesis that there exists no significant difference between the achievement of boys and girls students in science at secondary level is rejected. FIGURE : 1
Table 2: Mean performance of boys and girls in social science GROUP | N | MEAN | SD | “t” value | Level of significance | Boys | 200 | 16.4 | 4.97 | 1.60 | Significant at 0.01 level | Girls | 200 | 14.6 | 4.76 | | |

Table 2 shows the mean achievement of boys and girls in social science. The value of t is 1.60 which significant at 0.01 level of confidence. It is apparent from mean scores of social science achievement test that achievement of boys is better than girls (figure 2). It can be inferred that boys are comparatively better than girls on social science achievement test at secondary level thus the stated null hypothesis that there exists no significant difference between the achievement of boys and girls in social science at secondary level is rejected. Figure: 2
Major findings:-
The findings of the study are 1. There exists significant difference in achievement of boys and girls in science at secondary level. 2. There exists significant difference in achievement of boys and girls in social science at secondary level.
Conclusion and suggestions:-
The study concludes that there is significant difference in science and social science achievement at secondary level. The outcomes clearly reveal that girl’s performance is better than boys in science but in social science boys performance is better than girls. The disparity in the academic achievement may be due to significant disparity of in socio-cultural practices status. The disparity in the result of schools can be attributed to the known fact that students of high socio-economic status can indulge in home coaching, enriched home environment such as tutorials and video programme, good library, computer facilities, good friend circle and better state of mental health while students of low socio-economic status can only hope for such privileges on the basis of student performance there is need to relook at the schools learning processes. To improve the achievement of the students, diagnostic and remedial teaching should become and integral part of teaching learning process. For this, the whole teaching community should be properly oriented and sufficient exemplar material should be made available. The teacher should try to use innovative methods and practices especially for girls’ student to enhance their achievement. Further, there is a need for an in-depth study to know the reasons for differences in performance of boys and girls and also to provide necessary interventions, so that the gaps may be minimized.

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