Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on Students’ Achievement in English Language in the Senior High Schools in West Akim Municipality of Ghana

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DOI: 10.21522/TIJAR.2014.07.01.Art005

Authors : Mustapha Bin Danquah, Dorothy Adentwi Hayford, Dorcas Pearl Slippe, Tabiri Francis

Abstract:

The main focus of the study is to investigate the influence of students’ socio-economic background, parental involvement and teacher’s attitude on their achievement in English in the senior high schools in West Akim Municipality. The study also investigated the cumulative effect of the three factors on students’ achievement in the English language. Three research questions guided the study. Ex-post factor research design was adopted for the study. A total of 100 students were selected by means of simple random sampling technique while four schools in the municipal were selected via stratified sampling technique. Questionnaire was the major instrument data collection. Quantitative paradigm was employed for data analysis which involved the use of descriptive (percentages and frequencies) and inferential statistics of which tables were used to highlight the objectives of the study. Based on the investigative study conducted, it was discovered that Findings of the study revealed that socio-economic background, parental involvement and teachers’ attitude are very important factors in determining students’ achievement in core subjects such as the English language. Additionally, findings reveal that teachers’ attitude is one most important factor instrumental to students’ achievement in the English language. This means students’ academic issues are not the only factors predictive of students’ achievement in the English language.

Keywords: Socio-economic, achievement, background, municipality, influence.

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