STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AS MEDIATED BY STUDENTS' ACADEMIC AMBITION AND EFFORT IN THE PUBLIC SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN ASHANTI MAMPONG MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA

This study sought to examine how the academic performance of SHS students in the Ashanti Mampong Municipality of Ghana is influenced and mediated by some key variables. Descriptive and correlational research designs were used and the data were collected via the use of questionnaires. The sample size was therefore 571 students via a multi-stage sampling procedure. The findings of the study established father‟s education, mother‟s education, the child‟s academic ambition and the child‟s effort as the associates of academic performance. The findings further revealed that mother‟s education, sex of the child, the child‟s academic ambition and the child‟s effort as the main determinants of academic performance. The findings again failed to reject the null hypothesis. Based on these findings, it was recommended that stakeholder in education should inculcate high academic ambition in students and also parents should ensure that a chunk of their wards‟ time is spent on their books and they should be ready to support children when the going gets tough.