Student Perception of Learning Economics at the Secondary Level of Rayagada District, Odisha: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Student perception how learners experience a subject's relevance, difficulty, and classroom delivery is one of the stronger predictors of engagement and eventual achievement, yet almost no empirical evidence exists on how this construct operates among secondary students in India's tribal-majority districts. This study examined student perception of learning Economics across four dimensions interest and motivation, teaching methods and classroom environment, conceptual understanding and problem-solving, and attitude toward perceived difficulty and tested for a gender difference in overall perception. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 150 secondary students (83 boys, 67 girls) from Classes IX–X across four government schools in Rayagada district, Odisha, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a self-developed, bilingual (Odia-English) 30-item Likert-scale instrument, the Students' Perception in Learning Economics Questionnaire (SPLEQ; Cronbach's α = .880-.969), and analyzed through descriptive statistics and an independent-samples t-test. Overall perception (M = 3.96, SD = 0.54) fell in the High range, driven by strong interest and motivation (M = 4.20) and positive views of teaching methods (M = 4.12). Conceptual understanding and problem-solving were comparatively weak (M = 3.60), the lowest of the four dimensions. Boys reported significantly higher overall perception than girls, t (148) = 4.229, p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.69. The findings suggest that while students in this tribal district find Economics interesting and view their teachers favorably, translating that interest into conceptual confidence and closing the gender gap in overall perception requires classroom practice, and gender-responsive support specifically, that current instruction has not yet been delivered.