Influence of teacher pedagogical skills and attendance on students' academic performance

https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v6i1.2716
Published: Nov 4, 2025

Abstract:

Purpose: The study examined the impact of teacher pedagogical skills and teacher attendance on students' foundational literacy and numeracy performance in eight sampled basic schools across four districts in Northern Ghana.

Methodology/approach: Using a mixed-methods approach, a total of 216 school visits were conducted, with 120 lessons observed.

Results/findings: Results from the study revealed that most teachers in the Kumbungu district were rated either distinguishable or proficient, and the majority in Nanton, Savelugu, and Tolon were rated proficient. The mean scores showed that teachers in Tolon were lagging in some pedagogical skills. Regression analyses revealed that both teacher attendance and teacher pedagogical skills were significant determinants of students’ academic performance, especially in facilitating learners to achieve excellent grades. The qualitative findings also revealed that teacher attendance influenced students’ academic performance and attendance, which may eventually lead to a high rate of school dropout in the long run.

Conclusion: Teacher attendance and teacher pedagogical skills play significant roles in student academic performance in literacy and numeracy even though there may be other contributing factors. Essentially, all stakeholders in education should adopt holistic approaches in addressing identified obstacles to improving learning outcomes.

Limitations: The study considered only grades 1 to 3 teachers in eight schools and hence extending to other grades in these schools could have revealed diverse findings.

Contribution: The study advances knowledge on the impact of teachers’ pedagogical skills and attendance on the academic performance of students and also inform policy makers to implement policies to address associated challenges.

Keywords:
1. Education Policy
2. Learning Outcomes
3. Student Performance
4. Teacher Pedagogy
5. Teacher Attendance
Authors:
1 . Saraswati Arthur
Academic Manager, Rising Academy Network, Ghana
2 . Abdul Rahim Imoro
School Performance Manager, Rising Academy Network, Ghana
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How to Cite
Arthur, S., & Imoro, A. R. (2025). Influence of teacher pedagogical skills and attendance on students’ academic performance. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 6(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v6i1.2716
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Issue & Section
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025): November
Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

References

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  16. Msosa, S. K. (2020). A comparative trend analysis of changes in teacher rate of absenteeism in South Africa. Education Sciences, 10(8), 189. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10080189
  17. Muhammed, A. Y., Dutsinma, A. L., Suleiman, S., & Ahmed, A. (2021). The impact of teaching methods on the performance of geography students in some selected public secondary schools in Zaria local government area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 1(2), 143-155. doi:https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v1i2.369
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