The academic performance of students

INTRODUCTION

In most Universities the world over today, the academic performance of students has recently come under scrutiny for a number of reasons. For instance, a number of studies have been carried out to identify causal factors of poor academic performance in a number of institutions worldwide. Interestingly, most of these studies focused on the three elements that intervene. Such included, parents (family causal factors), teachers (academic causal factors), and students (personal causal factors) (Diaz, 2003). However, this study investigated the main factors that affect students’ academic performance at The University of Zambia main campus.

Broadly speaking, factors influencing academic performance of students vary from one academic environment to another, from one set of students to the next, and indeed from one cultural setting to another. It however appears that students have worked hard but their input has not been positively correlated to their output. Indeed, this has been revealed in a report from UWI’s Office of Planning and Development (2011), where 20% of all undergraduate courses offered at UWI, St.