Household conditions and academic performance of students from selected senior high schools in Mfantsiman Municipality

Abstract

Household conditions play very crucial role in children‟s academic performance. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between household conditions and academic performance of students in selected Senior High Schools in Mfantsiman Municipality. The theories employed in this study were ecological systems theory and the household production theory. The study also employed quantitative approach and descriptive survey design. Stratify and random (proportional) sampling techniques were employed to select 104 respondents for the study. Questionnaire were used for data collection and continuous assessment records of sampled students were also analyzed. The findings of the study show a significant positive relationship between household conditions, parental involvement in education and students‟ academic performance. It was revealed that the higher the socio-economic status of parents the higher the performance of students. Again, the lower the socio-economic status of parent the lower the academic performance of students. However, there were some exceptions where some students from low socio-economic background perform academically better than those from high socio-economic background due to high intelligent quotients (natural endowment). This study further revealed the strongest positive relationship between parental involvement and academic performance of SHS students. The more parents get involved in the education of their children, the better the academic performance of their children and the less parents get involved in the education of their children, poorer the academic performance of such children. It is therefore recommended that, parents should play a leading role in their children‟s education by playing active role for an improvement in academic performance.