Abstract:
This study was done to investigate the social and academic challenges of
adolescents in senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis. A descriptive
research design was employed. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used
for data collection. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was
established using the Cronbach alpha method. Reliability coefficient obtained
was .72. A sample of 367 respondents was selected from five public senior
high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis via purposive, stratified and simple
random sampling procedures. The quantitative data were analyzed using
means and standard deviations, independent samples t-test and one way
analysis of variance, ANOVA. The study revealed that generally, students in
senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis were faced with many social
and academic challenges. Furthermore, the study revealed that there were
significant differences in the social and academic challenges of adolescents on
the basis of gender, age and class levels. It was therefore, recommended that
counsellors should be more sensitized about the challenges the students in the
senior high schools face. Also, housemasters, housemistresses, teachers,
parents and other stakeholders should play a significant role by putting
measures in place to assist adolescents in their social and academic challenges.
The study also includes implications for counselling.
