Values disparity and academic achievement among Ugandan adolescents

A century ago, Christian missionaries founded Uganda’s earliest schools. Many of these schools continue to espouse values inculcation as a stated goal. In this study of 502 Ugandan children completing primary school (P7), students’ personal values and their perception of their school’s values were measured using adaptations of the Rokeach Values Survey (RVS). A disparity score was computed for each respondent to determine the degree of similarity between personal and school values. The relationship between the disparity score and performance on the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) was then computed. Results reveal a small but significant correlation between values disparity and academic achievement (r = .35, p < .001).