Stereotyping, Prejudice, Collective Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement of Distance Education and Regular Students of University of Cape Coast

Abstract

Research has established that stereotyping, prejudice and collective self-esteem have immense implications for academic achievement. Similarly, in Ghana, students‘ academic achievement could be influenced by stereotyping, prejudice and collective self-esteem, particularly, in relation to their mode of study. Thus, the study compared distance education and regular students of the University of Cape Coast on account of stereotyping, prejudice, collective self-esteem and academic achievement. The study employed the cross-sectional research design. A sample size of 622 comprising 302 and 320 regular and distance education students respectively was used as respondents. Multi-stage sampling approach was employed. Two research instruments that measured stereotyping, prejudice and collective self-esteem of the distance and regular students were used to collect data. The instrument had a reliability co-efficient of .793 and .826 respectively. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results from the analysis revealed that stereotyping and collective self-esteem predicted academic achievement of regular students. However, these variables did not predict academic achievement of distance education students. Again, regular students reported higher academic achievement whiles distance education students reported higher collective self-esteem, and feelings of being stereotyped and prejudiced. It was recommended by the researcher that counselling be intensified to boost students‘ pride in their mode of study, build their collective self-esteem, stand up to stereotypes and forge ahead with their studies.