The influence of motivation on students academic performance at Nnuaso Apinkra DA JHS

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of motivation on the academic performance of pupils of Nnuaso Apinkra D/A Junior High School. Mixed research approach was adopted. The study used descriptive survey and interview design. The total population was 190 respondents. Random sampling was used to obtain the sample size of 127 participants for the study, comprising 95 pupils, 13 teachers and 17 parents. Questionnaires and interview guide were the instruments used to gather primary data. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study results show that minority (30.5%) of the pupils had good academic performance. Also, majority (75.8%) indicated that they enjoy learning in the classroom. To add more, most of the respondents (72.6%) indicated that their teachers used motivational strategies to motivate them. The study results showed that the majority (96.8%) of the pupils indicated that the use of instructional materials can enhance pupils to perform better academically. The majority (93.7%) of the pupils said that they are motivated when their teachers use reward or incentives. The study concluded that, pupils who are motivated regularly, attend classes often read at higher levels, are better writers, and perform better on standardized tests. The study recommended that the Ghana Education Service should recruit trained teachers, who know what they are doing and are interested in students academic improvement by varying their teaching and learning pedagogies to motivate students.