Factors Influencing Student School Selection Based on Gender Differences: Empirical Analysis during the Covid-19 Pandemic

¹ Department of Mathematics Education, University of Mataram, Indonesia 83125
² Department of Mathematics Education, Cambridge University, United Kingdom
³ Department of Chemistry Education, University of Mataram, Indonesia 83125
⁴ Department of Physics Education, University of Mataram, Indonesia 83125

^* Corresponding author: j.ardhuha@unram.ac.id

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence junior high school students in choosing a high school based on gender differences. The literature review was used to identify relevant factors to be incorporated into the survey instrument design. Questionnaires were administered via the Google form link, and information was collected from 564 junior high school students. Respondents consisted of 226 male respondents and 338 female respondents spread across West Nusa Tenggara Province. The multiple-response survey data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics. In general, the results showed that the reasons for choosing a school for male respondents were dominated by their own desires, close to home, favorites, and the prospect of continuing their studies at their favorite university. Meanwhile, the reasons for choosing a school for female respondents were dominated by their own desires, preferences, the prospect of continuing their studies at their favorite university, and the achievements of the target school. This shows that female respondents tend to be more interested in choosing schools that have high popularity and many achievements. In contrast, male respondents are more likely to choose a school that is close to home and popular even though the school has minimal achievements. This finding is very important for schools and teachers about the factors that influence students in choosing a school. Identification of factors allows the development of the right strategy and balances the dynamics of the social environment and rapidly developing information technology.