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Abstract
This study was aimed at finding out if the level of performance of selected Jamaican Grade 12 students on an achievement test on the concept of genetics was satisfactory; if there were statistically significant differences in their performance on the concept linked to their gender, self-esteem, cognitive abilities in biology, school-type and socioeconomic background (SEB); and if there were significant correlations among the five variables and the students’ performance. The sample (n = 357, 102 males and 255 females) was chosen from two all-boys’ schools, four all-girls’ schools, and 13 mixed schools in rural and urban Jamaica. The results indicated that the students’ level of performance (mean = 22.81 or 45.62%) was unsatisfactory; there were statistically significant differences in the students’ performance on the genetics test based on their self-esteem, cognitive abilities in biology and school-type in favour of students with a high self-esteem, high cognitive abilities, and students in the coeducational schools respectively; there was a positive, statistically significant but weak relationship between the students’ (a) self-esteem, (b) cognitive abilities, and (c) school type and their performance on the genetics test.
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Type: Research Article
EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2008, Volume 4, Issue 1, 63-69
https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75307
Publication date: 22 Jan 2008
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