Classroom Management Strategies and Academic Performance of Junior High School Students

The study examined the influence of classroom management strategies of Junior High School teachers on the academic performance of students in the Ashanti Akim North District. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. One hypothesis and two research questions were developed to guide the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 48 teachers and 297 year two students to respond to the Behaviour and Instructional Management Scale (BIMS). Test scores in English Language, Integrated Science, Mathematics and Social Studies were used to measure students’ academic performance. The statistical tools used to analyse the data collected were means, standard deviation, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) and Multiple Regression. The findings revealed that both students and teachers identified good relationship and reinforcement as the mostly used classroom management strategies. It was found that a significant positive relationship existed between reinforcement and antecedent as classroom management schemes and students’ academic performance. However, good relationship and punishment as classroom management strategies did not have a positive relationship with the academic performance of students. It is recommended that teachers should use reinforcement and antecedent strategies frequently in their classrooms since they play a dual role of managing behaviour and predicting the academic performance of students. Good relationship as a classroom management strategy should be cautiously used because it could potentially be misinterpreted or abused and can lead to low academic performance. Using punishment as a classroom management strategy should be avoided as its use hinders academic performance of students.