Curricula and Inferential Factors That Affect Student Achievement in Rural, Urban, and Peri-Urban Senior High Schools in Ghana

Abstract

Teaching and learning in Ghana's Senior High Schools (SHSs) are guided by a centralized curriculum, teaching syllabus, textbooks, assessment criteria, and examinations, yet rural-urban disparities exist in educational resources provision, which significantly affect teaching and learning processes and student achievement in the SHSs, particularly those on the Visual Arts program. To understand the factors that cause rural-urban differentials in student performance in different SHSs in Ghana, we adopted a qualitative-quantitative research approach with interview, observation, and questionnaire administration to examine teaching and learning of Visual Arts in six public SHSs: two each in rural, peri-urban, and urban settings in metropolitan Kumasi. Findings from data sourced from 120 students (66 males; 54 females), 17 teachers (15 males; two females), and 24 Visual Arts lessons revealed that unlike Visual Arts education in urban SHSs, student achievement in rural and peri-urban schools is hampered by lowered criteria for admitting students into Visual Arts, large class sizes, lack of studio facilities, insufficient specialist teachers, and instructional time for teaching elective Visual Arts subjects, adoption of ineffective teaching strategies, setting of low academic standards, and inadequate funding for teaching practical lessons. Unlike rural and peri-urban SHSs, urban schools organize speech and prize-giving days to motivate students, and effectively collaborate with Visual Arts students to mount art exhibitions to showcase their creativity. Improving the quality and distribution of social infrastructure, educational facilities, and qualified teachers, and actively monitoring educational standards in rural and periurban SHSs could raise academic achievement for students in all parts of Ghana.

Predictors of Learning Disabilities Among Visual Arts Students at The Senior High School in Ghana

“…The remaining half of the students had underperformed in BECE with their aggregates 26-45 which are grades that are below the acceptable entry requirement for category B schools (Aidoo, 2018;Azaglo, Oppong & Antwi-Agyei, 2021). This confirms the findings of some local studies (Opoku-Asare & Siaw, 2016;2015;Adinyira, 2012;Asihene, 2009) that have pointed out the fact that underperformed students are mostly admitted to the visual arts programme in Ghana. This finding also corroborates Bin Ponijan et al's (2019) research in Malaysia that indicates the admission of students with low grades in visual arts education.…”

“…As Asihene (2009) indicates, the "under-performance" of junior high school (JHS) students in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is what ends many of them in the Visual Arts programme when they get admitted into senior high school (SHS) where they are also perceived and often labeled as "academically less intelligent" and "academically less able" on account of "poor" entry grades. The reality is the fact that Senior High Schools (SHSs) in Ghana are categorized into three "Grades A, B, C" or "First, second and third class", which also places high stakes on the admission of JHS graduates with respect to their performance in the BECE (Asihene, 2009;Opoku-Asare and Siaw, 2016;Baidoo-Anu, Gyamerah and Chanimbe, 2022). The current process of using technology via the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS, Azaglo, Oppong and Antwi-Agyei, 2021;Opoku-Asare and Siaw, 2015) to place BECE holders in the respective senior high school programmes gives preference to the students grade as well (GES, 2021 Second Cycle Schools Register;Opoku-Asare, Tachie-Menson and Essel, 2015).…”

Examining the Factors that Influence the School Leadership Practices in Senior High School Teachers at the Tano North District, Ghana

“…For example, Bimpeh [6], who carried out a study on leadership factors influencing teachers'' performance in the Volta Region of Ghana revealed mounting opinions of the public about ineffective and inefficient leadership practices of heads across the country. The adoption of ineffective and inefficient leadership may impede learners' performance [23]. A curious mind may ask what factors account for the leadership practices of senior high school heads.…”

Different Schools, Different Cultures

“…Likewise, parents of students in Patasi Municipal Authority Junior Secondary School adopt a hands-off approach to their children's education (Yeboah, 2016). However, in urban areas, in Ghana specifically, there are many helicopter parents who are deeply engaged in their children's life (Baffoe, 2013;Opoku-Asare & Siaw, 2016).…”