Abstract—The selection of subjects at secondary level is the
first and foremost step that might lead students to get desired
higher education and achieve successful destination. The
present study was conducted to explore potential factors
affecting students’ subject selection at secondary school level in
Pakistan. A sample consisting of 200 students, 50 teachers and
25 parents was selected randomly from Southern Punjab
Pakistan. Both female and male respondents were addressed in
the study. A questionnaire comprising of 36 items was
developed to collect quantitative data from students and
teachers while interview protocol was developed to collect
qualitative data from parents. Descriptive and inferential
statistical methods were applied to analyze the data. The
findings of the study reveal that various factors such as
students’ potentiality, previous knowledge, parents’ profession
and financial position affect their choice of subjects at
secondary school level. In addition, students prefer to opt for
easy and interesting subjects. Some recommendations were
furnished for students for the appropriate selection of subjects.
Furthermore, teachers and parents were also suggested to
provide valuable guidelines to students in the selection of
subjects which would fulfill the demands of 21st century.
Index Terms—Subject selection, factors, potentiality, interest,
previous knowledge, financial problems separated by commas.
M. Javed is with the Department of Education,
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan (e-mail:
muhammad.javed@iub.edu.pk).
Cite: M. Javed, "Investigating Factors Affecting Students’ Subject Selection at Secondary School Level," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 815-820, 2018.