Participation or Eschewal? Final-Year Secondary School Students' Attitudes towards Participation in Higher Education in Cameroon

Autor/inn/en	Zhao, Tongtong; Xu, Yuwei
Titel	Participation or Eschewal? Final-Year Secondary School Students' Attitudes towards Participation in Higher Education in Cameroon
Quelle	In: South African Journal of Education, 42 (2022) 4, Artikel 2126 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Zhao, Tongtong) ORCID (Xu, Yuwei)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0256-0100
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; High School Seniors; Student Attitudes; College Attendance; Student Participation; Preferences; Gender Differences; Socioeconomic Status; Influences; Institutional Characteristics; Fathers; Mothers; Cultural Influences; Gender Bias; Parent Influence; Family Characteristics; Religion; Academic Achievement; Cameroon + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Schülerverhalten; College; Colleges; Attendance; Hochschule; Fachhochschule; Anwesenheit; Schülermitarbeit; Schülermitwirkung; Studentische Mitbestimmung; Geschlechterkonflikt; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Influence; Einfluss; Einflussfaktor; Mother; Mutter; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Geschlechterstereotyp; Schulleistung; Kamerun
Abstract	In this article we examine students' attitudes towards participation in higher education in Cameroon and consider the role of personal and socioeconomic factors in their post-school educational trajectories. The data were drawn from a questionnaire survey of 1,860 final-year secondary school students from Yaoundé, Cameroon, as well as supplementary interviews with 16 students. The findings show that the majority of respondents indicated a preference to continue their education after the end of secondary school and participate in some form of higher education. However, contrary to previous studies that identify gender or SES segregation in higher education participation, the findings in this study suggest that the influence of SES and gender on students' attitudes was minimised in the later stage of secondary schooling. Among the relatively minor external influences, institutional factors surpass family influence, and fathers' influence is stronger than that of mothers, echoing the patriarchal cultural background in Cameroon. Considering the positive attitudes revealed in this study, it is suggested that more external efforts could be made to respond to students' optimistic attitudes and smooth their transition processes. Higher education institutions should improve their capability to enrol and accommodate more students and patriarchal culture should also be challenged to boost women's educational opportunities. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Web site: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01