Impact of ethnic identity and geographical home location on student academic performance

Situated against the backdrop of a politically fueled ethnic hate between the Northern Region and the rest, this study exposes the relationship between the students' regions of origin and their academic performance in Malawian higher education to contribute to appropriate student support and healthy study habits. Spearman's rHO indicated weak but statistically significant correlations between one's home region and academic performance. Kruskal Wallis Test (N = 20,263) revealed that no single region outperforms others. Thematic analysis of interview data (N = 15) through NVivo revealed that students believe effort matters more in academic performance irrespective of one's region of origin. Implications for education policy that harness healthy study habits to enhance student achievement, retention, and self-efficacy about success are discussed.