Abstract:
This paper is a correlational study aimed at finding out the relationship
between language (English and Fante - a Ghanaian language) performance
and mathematics and science performances. The main hypothesis tested in the
study was whether there is a positive correlation between performance in
language (English and Fante) and mathematics and science and whether it is
significant or not. The data used for the study involved Basic Education
Certificate Examination results of 740 Junior High School students from 10
schools in two district; Shama and Sekondi-Takoradi. The statistical tool used
in testing the hypotheses was the Spearman Correlation (t-test) of the SPSS (a
statistical package for social sciences). The study identified that there was
strong positive correlation between language (Ghanaian language - Fante and
English) performance and that of mathematics and science. The correlation
between Ghanaian language and mathematics (r = 0.803) and between
Ghanaian language and science (r = 0.809), and the correlation between
English and mathematics (r = 0.850) and the correlation between English and
science (r = 0.873) (a = .05) were found.
