Influences on Academic Achievement: A Comparison of Results from Uganda and More Industrialized Societies

Abstract

School variables account for only a modest proportion of variance in academic achievement. Neither physical facilities nor characteristics of teachers match the strength of pupil socioeconomic status and other indices of the pupil's out-of-school environment. These findings, so vividly portrayed in the Coleman and Jencks studies, can now be generalized beyond the United States to Great Britain, to Western Europe, and (relying on the recently published IEA data) throughout much' of the industrialized world. These conclusions are less qualified for less industrial societies, however. Facilities seem to have a larger impact and socioeconomic status appears to have less effect than would have been expected. This discussion explores recent results with an eye on two specific questions. First, can the primacy attributed to socioeconomic status be generalized beyond industrialized societies? Second, do school facilities and teacher characteristics have more impact on achievement in societies at the lower end of the industrial spectrum?