Examining the relationship between pre-service teachers’ entry characteristics and their academic achievement

Abstract

There is enthralling evidence from basic and secondary education that students’ entry characteristics influence academic achievement. There is also evidence, albeit limited, that pre-service teachers’ beliefs and values influence their academic performance. However, researchers have not been able to do much in terms of understanding the complex relationship between pre-service teachers’ entry characteristics and their achievement. This cross-sectional study, therefore, explores the relationship between pre-service teachers’ entry characteristics and their academic achievement in Colleges of Education. The extant data of 500 pre-service teachers, including their background characteristics such as entry aggregates, sex, and programme specialty were examined. The CGPA of four semesters work was used as a proxy for academic achievement of students. The results suggest that there was congruence between entry grades and academic achievement. Entry grades explained about 21.3% of the variation in pre-service teachers’ academic achievements in college. The study concludes with a request to teacher education colleges to have a critical look at the background characteristics of those they admit to be trained as future teachers. This will help the system guide pre-service teachers to connect new knowledge to earlier learning.