Factors Affecting Academic Performance in Social Studies Among Students in Selected Public Junior High Schools in Hohoe Municipality, Ghana (Published)
The study sought to investigate the factors affecting academic performance in Social Studies among public junior high school students in Hohoe Municipality in the Volta Region of Ghana. It adopted Ecological systems theory by Urie Bronferbrenner (1979). A quantitative (positivist) methodology with a descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. The three public junior high schools were obtained through the use of a purposeful sampling approach. Additionally, a random sampling procedure was employed to select 180 students from the three chosen schools. Structured questionnaires were used as instrument for data collection. With the aid of the version 25 of the Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS), descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to analyse the data. The findings of the study revealed that students’ home characteristics including parents’ great interest in their children’s education and involvement in household tasks had had an impact on their academic performance in Social Studies. Academic performance was also found to be influenced by criteria related to the teachers, such as their professional training, teaching experience, subject-matter expertise, positive relationships with their students, and completion of the Social Studies curriculum. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service provide guidance and counselling systems in the public junior high schools in the Municipality as well as schedule regular and thorough in-service training and workshops for the headteachers and teachers to enable them advance their knowledge, skills, and experiences in instructional pedagogies.
Keywords: : Academic Performance, Social Studies, home factors, public junior high schools, teacher factors
Predictors of Learning Disabilities Among Visual Arts Students at The Senior High School in Ghana (Published)
Learning disabilities do not occur in isolation but as a result of certain environmental factors such as school, class, and home with various underlining conditions which immensely present barriers to students learning. The study, therefore, employed a triangulation mixed research approach with a questionnaire, observation, and focus group discussion aimed at identifying learning disabilities and their various causal factors at the SHS, typically among students who seems to be a repository of BECE under-performance at the visual arts department. Data was sourced from 119 visual arts students (85 males; 34 females), 59 “BECE under-performance” (33 males; 26 females), 5 visual arts practical lessons, and 8 focus group members (4 males; 4 females). The findings revealed that students with underperforming BECE grades were admitted to pursue visual arts programme at the SHS. This was due to varied environmental deprivations in school, classroom, and at home that presented an unconducive learning environment for these students. It was therefore recommended that strategic educational interventions should be adopted to help avert the situation.
Keywords: Learning disabilities, classroom factors, home factors, school factors, visual arts