Abstract
This study investigated the effect of sand winning activities on academic performance of Junior High School pupils in the Awutu-Senya West District in the Central Region of Ghana. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, a convergent mixed method design was employed. The sample size for the quantitative study was 105, comprising 70 pupils and 35 parents. In the qualitative phase, a sample size of 8 comprising 4 pupils and 4 parents were employed. The researcher used questionnaire and interview guide as the primary tools for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The quantitative data were analysed using the version 22 of the Statistical Product for Service Solution, SPSS whereas the qualitative data were analysed using the thematic approach. Among the findings of the study, it was revealed that, sand winning activities contributed statistically significantly to pupils’ poor academic performance in Social Studies. The study recommended that the Directorate of the Ghana Education Service at Awutu-Senya West District and traditional leaders should be in constant dialogue with members of the communities, especially parents, to appreciate the value of formal education in order to ensure that their children stay in school and study. It was suggested that further research be conducted in other basic schools in the country where sand winning activities are carried out to give the general overview regarding the influence of sand winning activities on academic performance of junior high school pupils and to come out with holistic approach in curbing the situation.
 
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Highlights
There is no doubt that sand winning provides employment and a means of livelihood for some people in the communities of Awutu-Senya West District and similar places in Ghana where unemployment rate is high
Due to the lucrative nature of sand winning, people especially young adults are more inclined to partake in sand winning activities as it was revealed in the study findings
This study considered the influence of sand winning on academic performance of junior high school pupils in the Awutu-Senya West District of the Central Region
Summary
Small-scale sand winning may be legal (registered) or illegal (not registered). Ghana has been confronted with the negative effects of sand winning in her communities. These include destruction of beaches and wave erosion (Mensah, 2009). The demographic distributions of the respondents were crucial to the study because they showed that data were collected from respondents with diverse backgrounds, thereby making the data rich and devoid of bias. In this way, the authenticity of the data and their findings were enhanced
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