Determinants of learner perfomance in a combined school in Mpumalanga Province : education production function approach

Abstract

This study examined the determinants of learner performance by employing an education production function approach using the descriptive statistics, ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regression techniques in 2016. The study utilised the data obtained from SA-SAMS of Bankfontein combined school at Mpumalanga province. In the education production function, learner performance was estimated against variables such as age, gender, days absent and socio-economic status. The results of this study indicated that in the rural combined school, learner performance is strongly influenced by age, absenteeism and socio economic status. For instance, results revealed that absenteeism had a negative effect on learners‟ educational performance. An increase in absenteeism by 1 day led to a reduction in learner‟s examination score by approximately 0.1 percentage points during the chosen period. The “socioeconomic status” variable revealed a statistically significant and negative impact on learners‟ educational performance. The results demonstrate that poverty leads to poor educational performance as measured by examination scores. It is recommended that schools should manage learner diversity (age, gender and socio-economic factors), introduce learner motivation programmes, teacher performance improvement interventions, and improve organisational planning and development, parental involvement among others to retain learners at school. Furthermore, schools should enforce education policies that stipulate entry and exit age at different levels of schooling.