An Investigation into the

Poor Academic Performance

of Students at Selected
Public Basic Schools in
Obuasi Municipality
It became clear that the majority of the
factors and processes, such as inadequate
school facilities, disruptive behavior on the
part of students, parents' failure to meet
their children's needs, and teachers' poor
subject instruction, to name just a few,
significantly contributed to poor student
performance between 2009 and 2011
(Ghanney and Aniagyei, 2014).
The instructor claimed that a dense
curriculum has a negative impact on pupils'
motivation. Ineffective teaching and learning
are the outcome of teachers rushing through
the curriculum while unmotivated students.
The teacher proposes that the curriculum
include about 5 items because of this
(Dağgöl, 2013).
The teacher element influencing students'
low motivation and subpar academic
achievement is thought to be those who are
unable to generate good energy, inspire
student innovation, or motivate students to
pursue the learning process (Mauliya, et. al,
2020).
Students who are taught by instructors who
don't create lesson plans or work schedules,
mark their students' books regularly, or
establish teaching objectives properly wind
up failing their classes (Ngambi, 2014).
Students in English lessons with a lot of
powerpoint, pictures, or videos typically
focus on the screen rather than the
instructors' nonverbal cues like their
expression or gestures or those of their peers
(Li and Zhenmei, 2014).
Since the majority of teachers said that their
classroom activities were mostly test-
centered rather than skill-focused, they are
more vigilant to ensure that the students are
getting ready for the exam. The teaching and
learning activities that are focused on results
won't help students use English in real-world
situations (Sayeed, 2017).
 Research Design and Methodology
The goal of the study was to look at the academic standing of particular
JHSs in Obuasi. The research design used was an exploratory one in
accordance with the study's goals and research questions. When
conducting exploratory research, one may first be unsure about some
important factors, necessitating further investigation. The exploratory
nature of the research is to investigate or assess the case of academic
performance in light of the research topics.
Population
In relation to all of the basic schools in Obuasi Municipality, students,
parents, and teachers made up the study's target group. However, only
kids, parents, and teachers in Obuasi West Circuit were able to use the
facility. Three of the 20 basic schools in this circuit were chosen at
random for the study.
Sample Size
From the complete list of students, instructors, and parents, 90 were
selected as a sample. A sample of 60 student respondents was chosen
from among these participants. Parents and instructors made up the
final 30 respondents, bringing the total to 90. This was equally
distributed across the three schools, with 30 respondents drawn from
each in an effort to eliminate prejudice.
Sampling Technique

20 children from each school, as well as a combined total of 15 parents

and 15 teachers from all 3 schools, were chosen using simple random
sampling. A straw lottery was utilized as the selecting procedure. In
order to avoid gender bias, the student sample was divided into groups
of boys and girls using stratified random sampling.
Data Collection Instruments
A semi-structured interview approach was created to engage
respondents in a discussion and provide them the opportunity to
express themselves beyond "yes" or "no" responses to closed questions
in order to extract data from parents and teachers. The interview guide
that the researchers utilized included a list of questions on the
particular subjects to be covered. A structured questionnaire was the
major data collecting tool used with student respondents to enable the
gathering of extra data required to address the study objectives. The
style included both open-ended and closed-ended questions to let
respondents express their opinions on a wide variety of topics affecting
kids' performance.
Pilot Testing for Reliability and Validity
In order to assess the dependability of the interview data collection
instrument in meeting the study's objectives, it was pilot tested on a
small number of teachers and parents. The pilot helped weed out
unnecessary responses by giving a good sense of the ones that were
expected to come from each query.
Data Collection Procedure
Through interviews and a self-administered questionnaire, primary data
were gathered. The vice head of each school helped with the
administration of the questionnaires. The deputy head, who set up
meetings with teachers and students, was introduced to the
researchers by the head of each school they visited. The one and a half
hour long interviews were place on the grounds of the chosen JHSs.
The interviews were taped on audio.
Data Analysis
There were both qualitative and quantitative analyses used. A ranking
scale was used to analyze the qualitative data gathered and examine
the factors that led to subpar academic achievement at the chosen
institutions. To ascertain the effect of inputs and processes on output
performances, quantitative analysis was used.
 Result

Eighty-nine percent of respondents said Awurade Basa's results were

terrible; 96% thought Diawuoso had performed poorly; 17% had the
same opinion about New Nsuta, with that number climbing to 76%
among those who thought the latter's performance had been average
to poor.
Performance in 2010 BECE

Awurade Basa's results were rated as poor by 11% of respondents, who

later increased that rating to average to poor by 65%; Diawuoso also
received poor ratings from a majority of respondents (79%); and New
Nsuta received average to poor ratings from 32% of respondents, who
later increased that rating to average to poor by 82%.
Performance in 2011 BECE

None of the respondents thought that Diawuoso had performed poorly,

and 32% of respondents thought that Awurade Basa's results had been
poor, increasing to 100% who classified them as average to poor.
Meanwhile, 46% of respondents thought that New Nsuta's results had
been poor, increasing to 92% who thought that the latter's
performance had been average to poor.
 Conclusion
It became clear that the majority of the factors and processes, such as
inadequate school facilities, disruptive behavior on the part of
students, parents' failure to meet their children's needs, and teachers'
poor subject instruction, to name just a few, significantly contributed to
poor student performance between 2009 and 2011. Therefore, if
improvements are to be made and the reputation of such schools
improved, it is necessary for all stakeholders, including the government,
non-governmental organizations, teachers, parents, and students, to
play their respective parts in addressing the factors that contribute to
poor performance.
 REFERENCES
Main article
• Ghanney, Robert Andrews , and Aniagyei, Doris Frempoma. "An Investigation into the Poor
Academic Performance of Students at Selected Public Basic Schools in Obuasi Municipality."
International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE), vol. 4, no.9, 2014,
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234673890.pdf.
RRL
• Mauliya, Islahul, et al. "Lack of Motivation Factors Creating Poor Academic Performance in the
Context of Graduate English Department Students." Journal Of Linguistics and Language Teaching,
vol. 6(2), 2020, pp. 73-85, https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.29300/ling.v6i2.3604.
• Dağgöl, Dişlen . "The Reasons of Lack of Motivation from the Students' and Teachers' Voices." The
Journal of Academic Social Sciences, vol. 1, 2013, pp. 35-45, https://doi.org/10.16992/ASOS.13.
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Secondary Education Examination for Community Secondary Schools in Urambo District, Tabora,
Tanzania. 2014. Master's dissertation.
• MA, Li, and SHI, Zhenmei. "Factors Interfering Students’ Learning Effect in Multimedia-based ESL
Classes in China." Journal of Arts and Humanities (JAH), vol. 3, no. 9, 2014.
• Anwar, Sayeed. "ESL/EFL Learners’ Poor Performance in English: The Factors." Journal of Asian
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