Child Temperament and Academic Performances among Kindergarteners

The study examined the relationship between child temperament and academic performances among kindergarteners in the Wa East and Wa West districts of the upper west region of Ghana. A sample of 150 fathers were selected at random from the two districts to participate in the study. Children of the fathers selected were made of 69 boys and 81girls. Self-reported data from questionnaires were used to examine the relationship between child temperament and academic performances among the kindergarten children of the selected region. Analyses of the data revealed that low intensity, anger/frustration, attentional focusing, fear, and falling reactivity/soothability characteristics of child temperament categories predicted the academic performances of the kindergarten children within the two districts. It was also realized from the study that the occupation of fathers exhibited significant relationship with the academic performances of the kindergarten children. However, child gender, their ages and that of fathers’, fathers’ income levels, and the districts of origin showed no relationship with the academic performances of the kindergarten children. It is hereby recommended that behavioral disorder/disability centers should be established at kindergarten centers to guide and counsel practice on behave management and practices.

is described as "constitutionally based individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation". Where reactivity constitutes temperament categories such as "arousability of motor, affective, and sensory response systems" (p. 1395), self-regulation constitutes the intentional modulation of reactivity measured through effortful control [10]. The positive behaviors associative of smiling and laughing constitute positive emotionality [13] while those associative of the intensity of negative affect; anger, fear, and sadness comprised the negative emotionality [26]. Temperament, constituting the two aspects of emotionality have been found to play a fundamental role in children's academic development and their general livelihood [19]. Nonetheless, as positive emotionality theoretically and empirically seems to boost academic outcomes of children, temperament at large variedly remains a key determinant of children's academic performances [11]. Associations of positive emotionality with higher academic outcomes of children could be attributed to its positive effects on the enthusiasm of children, sustained interactions, and motivation [21], [20], [7]. This therefore makes positive emotionality a fundamental predictor of children's positive outcomes. However, in the context of this study, temperament as a concept at large would be investigated to find out the its relationship with the academic performances of kindergarten children's academic performances in the upper west region of Ghana.

TEMPERAMENT AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
Temperament is a relevant determinant of children's academic performances [1], [2]. Research has illustrated a significant relationship between temperament and children's academic performances over the years within various contexts except Ghana's and its environs. Although various temperament characteristics such as low activity and high persistence have been found to be associated with high academic outcomes, the general concept of temperament is negotiable when it comes to children's academic performances [22], [17].
Temperament of children and interaction in the classroom according to research influences children's outcomes academically. The individual child and their interactive roles from an ecological perspective among other factors are determined by the temperament of the child which in turn influence classroom practices. Research has shown that the interaction qualities and children's temperament communicate teachers' classroom attitudes, interactions, and decisions. The relationship between and among these factors predict children's academic performances [23], [7]. Children's educational competence could be underestimated or overestimated depending on their temperament characteristics; children with positive temperament traits are overestimated while those with negative relations are underestimated. Inhibited children's behavior may influence their scores in class as teacher behaviors may vary pertinent to diverse temperament traits of children [23], [17]. A study by [23] illustrated relevant significant relationship between the decision of teachers and children's temperament characteristics. These relationships remain key determinants of children's academic performances. In summary, child temperament is a significant determinant of their academic performances as it communicates the relationship quality between children and teachers. Teachers' decisions about children's academic outcomes may be influenced by such characteristics. For instance, [6] study showed that child temperament correlated with the workload per child for teachers. Thus, the amount of time spent on each child varied depending on their temperament traits. Child temperament was also found to influence teachers' frequency, criticisms, and relative academic contacts with children [6], [7].

THE PRESENT STUDY
Research evidence in temperament and children's academic performances literature has illustrated relevant significant relationship between the two concepts. Children's temperament has been found from intense research to demonstrate significant relationships (Blair et al. 2004) with their academic performances [6], [24]. The current study investigated the relationship between temperament and academic performances among kindergarteners in the two districts in the upper west region; the Wa East and Wa West districts. There exists numerous literature on the relationship between children's academic performances and temperament, however, in the context Ghana and its environs, there was no accessed literature on the concepts hence the study. The study examined the relationship between children's temperament and their academic performances in the Ghanaian context. This would bridge the literature gap at the national level and guide teachers to incorporate and accommodate children of diverse temperament traits. As such, the Children's Behavior Questionnaire developed by [25] was used to measure the relationship between children's performances and their temperament traits.

Participants
The participants were 150 fathers from two districts (Wa East and Wa West districts) of the Upper West region. The indigenes of the districts shared similar believes, cultural orientations, and general livelihood. The participants were recruited through announcements in the local radio and posters on the billboards in community centers. Participants were considered for inclusion in the study if they (were biological fathers and) lived together with their wards who attended a kindergarten school at the time of the study. Targeted children were 4 -6 years; the typical kindergarten school going-age of Ghanaian children and that their fathers were willing to participate in the study. Finally, the participants were considered to take part in the study if they would consider a 1hour-30 minutes visit by the researchers to have them complete the questionnaires. The mean ages of fathers and children were 37.4 years and 5.3 years respectively. Sixty-nine of the children were boys and 81 girls. Sixty-three (42.0%) of the fathers (families) and combined incomes between ₵100 and ₵300 while 20.7% (31) of them had their incomes between ₵400 and ₵600. Twenty-six percent (39) of the respondents also had total monthly earnings of ₵700 -₵900 as 11.2% (17) participants had income earnings above ₵1000. The participants were also constituted of 46.0% farmers, 20.7% teachers, 7.3% were into business or self-employed, and 26%; others. With regards to the average scores of children, 14% had scores between 0 and 49, 39.3% scored between, 50 and 59, 22.0%; 60 -69, 14.7%; 70 -79, while 10.0% had average scores between 80 and 100.

PROCEDURE
The researchers used self-reported data collected for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the child temperament. Fathers (participants) were communicated with through telephone calls before the visit and inclusion in the study to certify they met the criteria for inclusion. Following their confirmation to participate in the study, the researchers scheduled a home visit with the participants to have them (fathers) interviewed and complete the questionnaires. Children's average scores of the previous term were reported alongside the completion of the questionnaires.

Children's Academic Performance
The researchers collected information on children's academic performances using a modified Children's Behavior Questionnaire (QBQ). A section was added to the questionnaire where parents recorded the average scores of the three core subjects from the previous term. The subjects included, Mathematics, English Language and Natural Science. The average scores were calculated by dividing the total score by the number of subjects. The subjects were considered because they are core to the Ghanaian kindergarten system. Any content related to numeracy was considered Mathematics and contents related to Reading, Writing, Grammar were considered English Language.