After-school activities and their influence on academic performance of junior high school students in Cape Coast metropolis in the central region of Ghana

Abstract

study examined the after-school activities and their influence on academic performance of Junior High School students in Cape Coast Metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana. A descriptive survey design was adopted using a sample of 364 students selected from six public Junior High Schools in Cape Coast. A questionnaire was used to gather the data. The Cronbach’s alpha co-efficient for the reliability of the instrument was 0.78. Frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation and simple linear regression were used as statistical tools to analyse the data collected. The findings revealed that students frequently participate in a number of after-school activities (structured and unstructured) such as reading of text books, engaging in watching movies, engaging in house chores e.g., sweeping etc. On factors influencing participation in after-school activities, the results showed that students were not influenced to participate in activities. The results of the study further revealed that both structured and unstructured activities respectively do influence students’ academic performance. It was recommended that parents and guardians monitor the choices of their wards in order to be aware with the kind of activities they engage in. Again, stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ghana Education Service (GES), teachers, parents and other equally relevant individuals educate students about education oriented after-school activities that would yield good results in the academic performance.