Home factors of basic school pupils and academic achievement in mathematics in the Amansie West district

Abstract

One cannot dispute the fact that the home plays a critical role in the mathematics learning of children. Pupils in school are exposed to the same instructional activities but their performances differ. Differences in home environments contribute much to their performances in school. This study, therefore, sought to explore how home factors of Basic School pupils contribute to their academic achievement in mathematics in the Amansie West District of Ghana. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of home factors of basic school pupils on their academic achievement in mathematics in the Amansie West District. The study was conducted in the district to check whether parental supervisory roles in the house, parental educational status, parental financial status and home environment and household chores affect pupils learning of mathematics. The study adopted a case study research approach. The qualitative approach of data collection was employed. A sample of 12 people comprising six Class 3 pupils and their respective parents were used for the study. The sample was drawn from Manso Nkwanta, Manso Dominase and Manso Suntreso. Data collection instrument used was an interview, document analysis and observation. The audiotape recording of interview sessions was transcribed and thematic approach used to analyse data for all the research questions. From the study, it was revealed that Parental supervisory roles contributed to the performance of pupils in mathematics. Parental academic status motivated pupils to learn in order to go higher than their parents on the educational ladder. Also, it contributed to the poor performance of pupils in mathematics. Parental financial status contributed the contributed to their performance of pupils in mathematics. The study also revealed that pupils play too much in their environment hence their poor performance. The study further revealed that household chores do not have any influence on pupils’ academic achievement in mathematics. Pupils’ home environment accounted for their poor performance. From the study, it was concluded that home differences of pupils account for the effectiveness of their performance in school. This is because pupils are exposed to the same curriculum in their classrooms but their performance varies. Following from the findings, some recommendations are made.