Table 1.
Frequency distribution of demographic and socioeconomic. Characteristics of the advanced level students
| Variablea | Females | Males | Total (Row) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 347(54.7%) | 287(45.3%) | 634 (100%) |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Sinhalese | 341 (98.2) | 285 (99.3) | 626 (98.7) |
| Tamil | 3 (0.9) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.5) |
| Moors | 3 (0.9) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.5) |
| Burger | 0 (0) | 2 (0.7) | 2 (0.3) |
| Father’s level of education | |||
| No schooling | 2 (0.6) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.3) |
| Grade 1–5 | 15 (4.3) | 6 (2.1) | 21 (3.3) |
| Grade 6–10 | 63 (18.2) | 41 (14.3) | 104 (16.4) |
| Passed GCE O/La | 72 (20.7) | 73 (25.4) | 145 (22.9) |
| Up to GCE A/Lb | 56 (16.2) | 46 (16.0) | 102 (16.1) |
| Passed GCE A/L | 74 (21.3) | 63 (22.0) | 137 (21.6) |
| University/Professional degree | 16 (4.6) | 28 (9.8) | 44 (6.9) |
| Not known/ Missing | 49 (14.1) | 30 (10.4) | 79 (12.5) |
| Mother’s level of education | |||
| No schooling | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.3) | 3 (0.5) |
| Grade 1–5 | 14 (4.0) | 9 (3.1) | 23 (3.6) |
| Grade 6–10 | 54 (15.6) | 39 (13.6) | 93 (14.7) |
| Passed GCE O/L | 107 (30.8) | 77 (26.9) | 184 (29.0) |
| Up to GCE A/L | 63 (18.2) | 58 (20.2) | 121 (19.1) |
| Passed GCE A/L | 77 (22.2) | 67 (23.3) | 144 (22.7) |
| University/Professional degree | 4 (1.2) | 13 (4.5) | 17 (2.7) |
| Not known/ Missing | 26 (7.4) | 23 (8.1) | 49 (7.7) |
| Socioeconomic status | |||
| First Quintile-poorest | 73 (21.0) | 29 (10.1) | 102 (16.1) |
| Second Quintile | 43 (12.4) | 43 (15.0) | 86 (13.6) |
| Third Quintile | 51 (14.7) | 52 (18.2) | 103 (16.2) |
| Fourth Quintile | 52 (15.0) | 51 (17.8) | 103 (16.2) |
| Fifth quintile-richest | 59 (17.0) | 65 (22.5) | 124 (19.6) |
| Not known/ Missing | 69 (19.9) | 47 (16.4) | 116 (18.3) |
| Mean age (SD) years | 17.9 (0.56) | 18.9 (0.5) | 18.4 (0.38) |
aGeneral Certificate of Education; Ordinary Level Examination
bGeneral Certificate of Education; Advanced Level Examination