Abstract:
In this thesis, a six-parameter alternative to the Generalised Linear Model was developed to
account for nonnormality, unobserved factors in the form of random effect, interdependence
of and heterogeneity among respondents. The techniques used included a novel hybrid of
neutrosophic statistics, principal component analysis, and generalized mixed effect modeling.
The robustness of the developed model was verified through sample variation, Akaike
Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The Model was
tested with Ghana’s educational dataset to explain the achievement gaps among private and
public school students in the BECE with 70% used for training and 30% as validation set.
The model's estimations found that the random effect parameter had a significant effect on
achievement gap, explaining around 9% of variability across people across all factors.
According to the magnitude rank of predicted probability of the model, the top five variables
influencing the performance gap between students attending private and public schools show
that Administrative-Logistic causes account for 80% of the variance. These were listed in
order of increasing importance: Daily Quality Supervision of Head teacher and Head teacher
supervision by school proprietors, Timely Delivery of Books and Learning Materials by
Parents/Stakeholders for Students; Conducive Teaching/Learning Environment; Concern and
Parental Support for Students Academic Output (PTA). In conclusion, the proposed modified
version in this research is recommended over the existing generalised linear models for
educational research due to its robustness. Based on the findings of this research it is
recommended that educational stakeholders consider the major determinants of this
research that significantly affects BECE performance to maximise teaching and
learning in Ghana’s Basic schools.
