International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VI, June 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Alhajie Bakar Kamara
Specialty: Curriculum and Instruction
Research Area: Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education
Central China Normal University
Abstract: Poverty and education are inseparably connected. The present literature covers a variety of topics such as the effect of poverty on students’ literacy, numeracy skills, etc. But how poverty affects secondary students’ academic performance comprehensively is yet to be researched, especially in the countries which are the poorest in the world. This study focused on the Western Rural District of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone which is one of the ten poorest countries in the world, as a case to investigate the effect of its poverty on the secondary students’ academic performance.
The study focused specifically on students in Junior Secondary School from three aspects: Home, School, and Society. The population for this study comprised of students of junior secondary schools, parents and guardians, Integrated Science teachers of Freetown in the western district area during the 2018/2019 academic year. Data was collected from 375 sample respondents in 15 schools; 30 teachers (two teachers from each school), 300 students (20 in each school), 45 parents or guardians (3 from each school), using a questionnaire, interviews, and Focus Group Discussion.
Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that the prevalence of poverty in schools, homes and then the environment has greatly hindered the academic performance of school-going children. Firstly, schools’ poor facilities hinder teachers’ effective teaching and students’ learning. The school administrations cannot provide enough school materials due to a lack of funds to buy the necessary item for effective availability and accessibility. Teachers are poorly paid and not motivated for the work and their salaries and sources of income do not meet their daily needs. Many schools cannot afford to buy textbooks for the use of teachers and students in their schools, therefore some teachers stills depend on old notes that are outdated in teaching kids. Researches showed that the availability of school facilities such as school material, science laboratories, good toilets, good ventilation, spacious class, adequate teaching and learning materials, good infrastructure, the motivation of teachers, libraries, textbooks, etc., promote the academic performance of students in schools. But when such school facilities lack in the schools, teachers will experience constraints, students will lack education, and it will result in poor performance of students.