CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which, knowledge, skills, and habits of
a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next. This is done through
teaching, training, research and learning. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has
a formation effect on the way one thinks, feels or acts.
In education, success is measured by academic performance or how well student meets the
standard set by the government and the institution itself. Are we able to meet the standards set
in each school? As profession competition grows ever fiercer in the working world, the
significance of students performing well has caught the interest of parents, government and
the head of schools believing much in the personnel they produce for the job market.
Pertaining to todays world, education is the roadmap to success in the working world.
Students academic performance, whether good or bad are accounted for by certain, particular
variables, which need to be tested for better confirmation and whether truly, this variable
affect students academic performance, with respect to their Grade Point Average(GPA) and
Cumulative Grade Point Average(CGPA) scores.
The preliminary investigation, of some researchers in their bid to find out, whether exist
certain variables affecting academic performance, indicate a positive relationship between
students achievement;
in
their
choice
of
programmed
and
home
background
(Papanastasiou,2002). This research intense to, identify the factors that influence the
academic performance of students; in Polytechnic by the use of factor analysis.
Background of the Study
Higher education is an important contributor to the development of human resource. This is
because it plays a vital role in the development of human capital and is linked with an
individuals well-being and opportunities for better living (Battle and Lewis, 2002). It could
also be considered to be a reliable tool for poverty reduction apart from its direct functions of
increasing knowledge, building skills, values and attitudes and opening for critical thinking.
Education is about knowledge in basic skills, academics, technical and discipline. This is
possible through the measure of performance because only what can be measured will be
selected and the measuring tool is the written test or exam.
Society place great emphasis on education because it is believed to be the only avenue for
national development. However, this can only be achieve if students who are in the citadel of
learning get actively involved in academic activities which will enhance their academic
performance. Academic performance is defined or regarded as participants examination
grades at the end of a given duration (term, semester, programme). It could also be seen as
the level of performance in a particular field of study. Higher scores indicate better academic
performance (Egbule, 2004). At the moment in Ghana, in most tertiary institutions, the
students performance is measured using the grade point average (GPA) system. The measure
tells the semester-by-semester output of the students throughout the program until final GPA,
cumulative grade point average is found.
Students academic performance plays an important role in producing the best quality
graduates who will become great leader and manpower for the country thus responsible for
the countrys economic and social development (Ali et al., 2009).
In spite of these values attached to academic performance, a study conducted by Egbule
(2004) showed that students performance is declining. This could be because they are
2
confronted with so many school and non-school related demands and responsibilities. The
quality of students performance remains at the top priority for educators. It is meant for
making a difference locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Educators, trainers and
researchers have long been interested in exploring variables contributing effectively for
quality of performance of learners. These variables are inside and outside school that affect
students quality of academic achievement (Crosnoe, Johnson & Elder, 2004)
A study conducted by Luguterah & Apaw (2013) to determine the factors that influence
students academic performance in Ghanaian Polytechnics revealed that students academic
performance is affected by a change in level. Thus the performance of a student in a given
semester and age of the students has a negative effect on the academic performance of the
students as they tend to perform poorly within increasing number of credit hours and
increased age. They also indicated that students who were admitted through direct entry
requirement perform better academically when compared to students who were admitted
based on a decisive factor and through the matured entry requirement. Gender as well as the
department of students also significantly determines the academic performance of students in
the Polytechnics (Luguterah & Apaw, 2013).
Students academic gain and learning performance is affected by numerous factors such as
gender, age, study habit, entry requirement, parents socio-economic status, students attitude
and interest, and family educational background. This problem seems to be a major one that
requires urgent and serious attention since students academic performance affects the quality
of human resources within the society.
Statement of Problem
The academic performance of students in every institution is the concern of all and sundry;
especially parents, Faculty heads, teachers/lecturers, the government and among others. Due
to this conceptual viewpoint, any constraining variable that might affect the performance of
these students in tertiary institutions throws a concern of which people are interested to find
the cause and effect of the issue. Overthe recentyears, the academic performance of some
students, as compare to others has been disheartened. Which seems as, some students have
been performing better than others. Despite the fact that measures are being taken to help Ho
Polytechnic students to improve their academic performances, many reasons have been
attributed for, the rate of academic performance (whether negative or positive trend) in our
tertiary institutions. Therefore this research intense to find out, the factors and to what extent
does they affect, the academic performance of students in Ho Polytechnic community.
Objective of the Study
The main objective of the study is to explore the factors that affect the academic performance
of the students in Ho Polytechnic.
Specifically, the study seeks to:
1. find out demographic factors that affect the academic performance of the students in
Ho Polytechnic.
2. find out how entry requirement affect the academic performance of the students in Ho
Polytechnic.
3. find out how study habits affect the academic performance of the students in Ho
Polytechnic.
4. find out how socio-economic status of parents affects the academic performance of
the students in Ho Polytechnic.
4
Research Question
The following research questions will be used to guide the researcher to carry out the study:
1. What demographic factors affect the academic performance of students in Ho
Polytechnic?
2. How does entry requirement affect the academic performance of students in Ho
Polytechnic?
3. How does study habit affect the academic performance of students in Ho Polytechnic?
4. How does the socio-economic status of parents affect the academic performance of
students in Ho Polytechnic?
Significance of Study
This research intended to avail to students, factors affecting their academic performance and
how to deal with it. The study may be helpful for both tertiarys policy makers and parents of
the students .It will helps the administration to design and implement the policies to improve
the students performance and quality of education by changing the attitude of students
towards learning and good study habits. Parents can use the outcomes of the study to solve
the students problems especially financial problems to look after them. It may also create
awareness among students about their rights and responsibilities to achieve quality education.
Organization of the Study
The study consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction which
comprises the following: background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the
study, research questions, significance of the study and limitation. Chapter two of the study
constitutes the review of related literature on motivation.
Chapter three focuses on the methodology, the research design, population, sampling
technique, research instrument, validity and reliability of research instrument, data collection
procedure and data analysis plan. Chapter four deal with data analysis and discussion. Finally,
the fifth chapter covers summary of the major findings, conclusions, recommendation and
suggestions for future study.
