Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship among teacherstudent
interaction, motivation and academic performance, of JHS students in
the Bibiani – Anhwiaso – Bekwai District in the Western Region of Ghana.
The design used in this study was the correlational design. The simple random
sampling procedure was used to select 155 teachers and 281 students for the
study. Four research questions guided the study. A 48-item teacher and
students’ questionnaires respectively were used for teachers and students’ data
collection. The statistical tools used for the analysis of data included frequency
distributions, means and percentages. Inferential statistics, notably, the
Pearson moment correlation coefficient and the independent sample t-test
were also used for the data analysis. The results of the study showed that,
there was a statistically significant relationship between teacher-student
interaction and students’ motivation. It was also found that teacher-student
interaction correlated with students’ academic performance. Teachers helped
students with academic difficulties. Again, it was found out that there was a
statistically significant relationship between students’ motivation and
academic performance. However, the study showed no statistically significant
difference between male and female students in terms of motivation and
academic performance. It is therefore, recommended that the Ghana Education
service (GES) and Ministry of Education should make it mandatory for
counsellors to organize motivational talks for students on regular basis from
the Basic School to Senior High Schools. Additionally, School counsellors
and teachers should be motivated and supported by the government in order to
have a healthy relationship with students.
