Students’ perceptions of the causes of poor academic performance in Engineering: a case of IUT

Abstract

The success and prosperity of any educational institution are highly dependent on students’ academic performance. Students join a university with an aspiration to achieve good grades, graduate, and become successful in their future endeavors, but those hopes are shattered when their academic results are not pleasing. Despite students' academic concerns, the IUT administration has raised awareness to investigate why engineering students' performance is deteriorating and differs significantly among students of different groups. This study, therefore, aims to examine and predict the factors that cause engineering student’s poor academic performance at IUT. The study adopted a descriptive survey design to collect data on factors that predict poor academic performance among engineering students in IUT. Using a random stratified technique and Cochran’s formula, an ideal sample size of 221 students was selected from different engineering departments. The findings were analyzed with the help of multiple regression analysis and ANOVA techniques. The results of the analysis showed that stress was the most significant contributing factor to poor academic performance among engineering students. This was followed by poor reading habits and poverty factors. International students were the most affected among the sample data. The qualitative synthesis also suggested that an overwhelming and complex nature of engineering had a significant implication on their academic performance. The empirical analysis of the study was in line with literature findings. The study recommends that the institution needs to focus more on guidance and counseling to support and intrinsically motivate learners towards achieving better academic grades.