Importance of Gender, Location of Secondary School, and Professional Experience for GPA—A Survey of Students in a Free Tertiary Education Setting

Bartosz Kurek and Ireneusz Górowski
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Bartosz Kurek: Department of Accounting, Institute of Management, College of Management and Quality Sciences, Cracow University of Economics, ul. Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Cracow, Poland
Ireneusz Górowski: Department of Accounting, Institute of Management, College of Management and Quality Sciences, Cracow University of Economics, ul. Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Cracow, Poland

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: A publicly financed tertiary education system is a manifestation of a sustainable approach to education. Society as a whole decides to spend money on the education of young generations, who in turn are expected to do the same for future generations. The benefactor expects that students conscientiously gain knowledge, skills, and competences during their studies. These features are incorporated into and measured with the grade point average (GPA). This research contributes to the scientific debate through the identification and measurement of determinants of students’ GPA in a unique country setting, where top tertiary education is financed by a government. We investigate the relationship between GPA and differentiating factors: gender, population size of a town where students’ secondary school was located, and professional experience. Research methods used include literature analysis, parametric and nonparametric statistical tests, and econometric modeling. The surveyed sample comprised 341 accounting and controlling students from Cracow University of Economics. We find that gender, location of a secondary school, and professional experience are statistically significantly associated with GPA. Female students tend to earn higher GPAs. Similarly, students who completed secondary education in smaller towns earn higher GPAs. On the contrary students who have professional experience tend to earn lower GPAs.

Keywords: GPA; tertiary education; gender; secondary school; professional experience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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