Effects of learning strategies on Junior High School pupils’ performance in Social Studies in the Tafo Nhyiaeso Education Circuit, Kumasi

Abstract

The age of adolescence is fraught with many emotional and environmental challenges that impact their mindset. Many studies on the declining performance in social studies have failed to consider how these emotional and environmental challenges contribute to the strategies that students adopt to learn social studies and the eventual impact on their performance. To fill this gap, this study sought to examine the moderating role of motivation on the link between learning strategies and their academic performance in social studies. A quantitative approach was adopted with a positivist paradigm and a causal-comparative research design. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Kredjcie and Morgan‟s 1970 stratified sampling method was used to select 188 boys and 182 girls from a population of 505 students at the Tafo Nhyiaeso circuit in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The structural equation modelling technique was used to design a model for the moderating role of motivation on the link between learning strategies and performance in social studies. Smart PLS 3 was used to perform a partial least square regression analysis on the model and SPSS version 22 was used to perform factors on the data collected on the impediments to students‟ ability to learn social studies. The results revealed that motivating the significantly strengthened the impact of their learning strategies on their academic performance in social studies. Also, the students‟ learning strategies had a significant direct effect on their performance in Social Studies. Further, excessive time spent on sports activities, student organization activities and financial problems were the main impediments that significantly affected the students learning of social studies. It is recommended that, Social Studies teachers should provide opportunities for students to practice goalsetting, monitoring, regulating, and controlling their learning processes without constant supervision can enhance their autonomy and agency in their academic pursuits. Also, Social Studies teachers should highlight on how social studies topics intersect with other subjects and how they can be applied to address contemporary societal issues. Furthermore, there should be promotion of balanced approach to extracurricular activities and time management skills which will empower students to effectively prioritize their academic commitments while still engaging in activities they enjoy.