A cross-cultural comparison of predictors of achievement amongst Caribbean students: attitudes and behaviors that may explain the achievement gap between girls and boys in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Abstract

Presently in the English-speaking Caribbean, boys' underachievement at the K-12 level is a topic of great concern. Qualitative studies focusing on boys' underachievement have raised the question as to whether this issue is situational and due to short-comings in Caribbean education systems or whether it is actually endemic to Caribbean culture. Quantitative studies addressing these cultural attitudes and behaviors have been limited; therefore this study sought to address that gap and provide quantitative evidence that might explain the girl advantage amongst Caribbean students. This study utilized the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England database which contains a nationally representative sample of English youth that began in 2004 when the young people were about age 14 and in the 9th grade. This database was chosen because it contained a sample of students of Caribbean descent and it had also collected information regarding attitudinal and behavioral variables of interest that have been highlighted in Caribbean studies. In particular, by using data outside the Caribbean, this study lent itself to addressing the question of whether Caribbean boys' underachievement is situational or cultural. First, Caribbean students were compared to those from other ethnic groups on nine attitudes and behaviors of interest. Second, evidence for a girl advantage between boys and girls of Caribbean descent in Math, English and Science at the 6th and 9th grade levels was also explored. Third, the relationship between school type and the girl advantage was examined. Fourth, interaction terms between gender and attitudes/behaviors were examined to determine whether any were important in explaining the Caribbean girl advantage. Finally, it was determined whether attitudes and behaviors were still important even after controlling for the school environment. This study employed confirmatory analyses, independent samples t-tests, growth curve analyses, hierarchical linear model analyses, and multiple regression when appropriate to address the questions understudy. The results demonstrated that Caribbean students generally displayed less positive attitude towards school, had more risky behavior, and had lower academic self-concept, but had parents who perceived themselves has being more involved with their child's school life. Secondly, Caribbean girls displayed an academic advantage over their male counterparts in at least 2 out of 3 subject areas at both time points. Third, no mixed-gender school appeared to attenuate the girl advantage. Fourth, by modeling certain demographic and attitudinal/behavioral variables, the Caribbean girl advantage at Key Stage 3 was accounted for in Math and Science but not English. Lastly, the importance of certain attitudes and behaviors in predicting achievement remained robust even after controlling for school environment. Overall, these results demonstrated that the Caribbean girl advantage is perhaps innate to Caribbean culture. Thus, Caribbean researchers ought to make headways in developing psychological and psycho-social instruments that can measure constructs that may perhaps explain this advantage.