Teachers and Students Perception of the Low Academic Performance of Senior High School Students in Integrated Science in Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine school and teacher-related factors affecting low academic performance of senior high school students in integrated science in some selected districts in western region of Ghana. The research design used in this study is descriptive cross-sectional survey. The population of the study was made up of students and science teachers in selected senior high schools in the study area which comprises three districts; Ellembele District, Jomoro District and Nzema-East Municipal. A Sample of 342 students and 18 teachers were used for this study. In carrying out the study, a questionnaire was used as the main instrument for the data collected which were analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the results, it was seen that school-related factors causing poor performance in Integrated Science among students include; the inadequacy of facilities, poor state of existing facilities, general disturbances in class and the ineffective supervision of teaching. Moreover, inadequate number of science teachers, inability to complete syllabi, poor teaching style and little time spent in teaching were among the teacher-related factors which caused low academic performance in Science.