Female Students' Participation & Academic Achievement in Universities: an Exploration of the Current State, Contributing Factors, and Possible Remedies

Today considerable numbers of female undergraduate students with aspirations of earning their degrees depart with that dream either because of academic failure emanated from ill-nurtured academic environment or lacking the skills of social adjustments needed for the Higher Education (HE). For Ethiopian female undergraduate students, access and completion rates have always lagged behind male students. Although HE enrollment rates for Ethiopian students have increased in the last couple of decades, female students? access to public universities remains unbalanced. Beyond access, female students have not earned degrees at the same rates as their male counterparts. This Book is primarily intended as a reference for key stakeholders regarding the realities of female students? participation and academic achievement in the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and important strategies for better future. Using a modified version of Tinto?s students? retention model, this book attempted unfolding the realities in the HEIs in Ethiopia to sparkling lights on the existing contextual scene. It is our hope that this book will serve as a stepping stone for future research works in the area.