Determinants of Poor Academic Performance among Senior High Technical School Students in the Dunkwa Obuasi Municipality

Abstract

The study examined the determinant factors of poor academic performance among Senior High Technical Students in the Dunkwa Obuasi Municipality. The research was guided by five (5) objectives that transformed into five research questions. The descriptive survey design, specifically, the cross-sectional design, with a quantitative approach was employed in the conduct of the study. The investigation targeted form two technical students as well as teachers who teach core subjects in technical schools within the Municipality. Census technique was adopted to engage all 206 participants in the investigation. Questionnaires were used in collecting data for the investigation. The responses collected were analysed using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations. The study found that student-related factors, home-based variables, student characteristics, teacher-based variables, and school-based factors were significant determinants of poor academic performance among learners within the Municipality of Dunkwa Obuasi. The investigation further discovered that school-based factors including inadequate physical learning infrastructure, shortage of teaching and learning resources, as well as inadequate learning materials in school library contributed to students’ poor academic performance. Directors of education and policy makers in education are encouraged to make sure that good learning facilities and infrastructure required to enhance students’ academic performance are made available in the Dunkwa Obuasi Municipality.