Factors Contributing to Gender-Based Disparities in Sinhala Language Achievement among Grade 8 Students in Sri Lanka

Gender differences in assessment of learning outcomes are a notable feature of national assessment in Sri Lanka, with female students consistently outperforming male students. Such differences can be observed not only in the results of learning Sinhala language but also in other subjects. Even though language achievement is a single element in the curriculum, it would form the basis of the overall success of students in their academic performance and would affect many other subjects which depend on reading comprehension, writing skill and language proficiency. Thus, the present research explored the reasons for these differences at the learner level among 485 Grade 8 students selected from an educational division in Sri Lanka. The quantitative cross-sectional method was used in the research to find out the connections of gender, motivation, self-efficacy, home literacy environment, and Sinhala language achievement. The outcome of the study was the discovery of significant differences in gender achievement (Mfemale = 57.73 vs. Mmale = 51.52, p < 0.001, d = 0.48) where the females scored significantly higher on the scales of motivation, self-efficacy, and home literacy environments. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that motivation (β = 0.31, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (β = 0.28, p < 0.001), and the home literacy environment (β = 0.24, p < 0.001) together accounted for 52% of the variance in Sinhala achievement and significant interaction between the genders was noted for both motivation and self-efficacy. The research findings emphasize the complexness of the gender-based differences in the education that is conducted in the mother-tongue and they also provide a solid basis for conducting the required interventions that are aimed at males as they are the ones mostly affected by the non-motivational, affective, and environmental factors that result in their poor language learning outcomes.