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. 2023 Nov 20;18(11):e0294585.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294585. eCollection 2023.

Determinants of academic achievement among higher education student found in low resource setting, A systematic review

Chalachew Kassaw  1   2 , Valeriia Demareva  3
Affiliations

Determinants of academic achievement among higher education student found in low resource setting, A systematic review

Chalachew Kassaw et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Academic success is a measure of students' ability to attain their educational objectives, often assessed through regular evaluations or examinations. To establish effective policies and programs that align with academic accomplishments, conducting comprehensive data analysis is pivotal. Hence, this systematic review aimed to synthesize the factors impeding the academic achievements of Ethiopian students in higher education.

Methods: A comprehensive review was conducted on studies involving Ethiopian university students from 2013 to 2022. The review encompassed 24 papers that were gathered from different databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journals Online, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Results: The findings of this research revealed that inadequate classroom environments, experiencing dysmenorrhea, and engaging in excessive social media usage were all linked to a decline in academic performance. Conversely, adopting healthy sleep habits, achieving high scores in entrance exams, and avoiding recent substance abuse were all factors positively influencing academic success. In addition, there was a positive correlation between academic excellence and being a health science college student and age range of 20 to 24 years old.

Conclusion: To enhance academic performance, it is crucial to address the negative factors identified, such as inadequate classroom environments, dysmenorrhea, and excessive social media usage, while promoting positive factors like healthy sleep habits, high scores in exams, and avoiding substance abuse. Additionally, being a health science college student and belonging to the age range of 20 to 24 were found to be associated with academic excellence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest: There are no apparent conflicts of interest with this publication.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The flow chart that showed the selection process of papers for systematic review.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Summarized category of factors associated with academic achievement in higher education.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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The authors received no specific funding for this work.