ABSTRACT
The study titled
"Parental Status and Student Academic Performance in Lagos State Secondary
Schools" investigates the relationship between various aspects of parental
status and students' academic performance. The primary objectives of the study
include examining the effects of parental socio-economic status, parental
involvement, family background, and parental authoritativeness on student
academic outcomes. Utilizing a survey research design, the study gathered data
from a sample of 200 respondents across 10 selected public secondary schools in
Lagos State. These schools were strategically chosen from different local
government areas, ensuring a representative sample that included both teachers
and students.
Data collection
was conducted through structured questionnaires, and the analysis was performed
using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and correlation coefficients.
The findings reveal that parental socio-economic status significantly impacts
students' academic performance, with students from more advantaged backgrounds
generally performing better. Similarly, the study found a significant
correlation between parental involvement and academic outcomes, highlighting
the importance of active parental participation in the educational process.
Moreover, the
research indicates that family background, including factors such as family
structure and size, plays a crucial role in shaping students' academic
achievements. The study also reveals a significant relationship between
parental authoritativeness and student performance, suggesting that a balanced,
authoritative parenting style is associated with better academic outcomes.
These findings
have important implications for educational stakeholders. The study concludes
that while economic difficulties in Nigerian families may not necessarily
hinder academic development, the role of a supportive and stimulating home
environment is critical. Parents, as co-teachers in the home, can significantly
influence their children's academic success by providing emotional stability
and encouragement. The research suggests that educational policies should focus
on increasing parental awareness and involvement, particularly in
underprivileged communities, to improve student performance.
In light of
these findings, the study recommends that parents should be more open-minded
and actively engage in their children's academic development. It also
emphasizes the need for government and educational stakeholders to ensure that
basic education policies are effectively implemented, creating a more
enlightened society where every parent can positively influence their child's
academic success. By addressing these factors, the study underscores the
potential for improved academic outcomes and overall educational development in
Lagos State secondary schools.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Study
1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Research Questions
1.4 Research Objectives
1.5 Research Hypotheses
1.6 Significance of this Study
1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study
1.8 Definition of Operational
Terms
CHAPTER
TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Concepts and Definitions
2.2 Factors Influencing on Parental Relationship
2.3 Parents Education and Occupation
2.4 Federal and State Policies in Structure of Nigerian
Education
2.5 Classroom Strategies
2.6 Family and Community
2.7 Parental Educational Strategies
2.8 Causes and Effects of Parental Educational
Strategies
2.9 The Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Academic
Achievement
2.10 Essential Parents’ Responsibilities are
to:
2.11 Theoretical Frameworks
2.12 Conceptual Frameworks
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Population of the study
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique
3.4 Research Instrument
3.5 Validity of the Instrument
3.6 Reliability of the Instrument
3.7 Procedure for Data Collection
3.8 Data Analysis Procedure
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Demographic
Characteristics of the Respondents
4.3 Answering the Research Questions
4.4 Results of Test Hypothesis
CHAPTER
FIVE
DISCUSSIONS,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Discussions
5.2 Conclusions
5.3 Recommendations
References
Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
Study
The development
of any nation or community depends largely on the quality of education of such
a nation. It is generally believed that the basis for any true development must
commence with the development of human resources (Akanle, 2007). Hence formal education
remains the vehicle for social-economic development and social mobilization in
any society. The difference between developed and developing nations is not on
the basis of colour, race or any other criteria, but on the basis of education
and knowledge. Even in a society itself, people are differentiated on the basis
of the quality of education, received by them (Mumthas, 2006). Education
therefore has an immense impact on the development human society. It is through
education that knowledge and information is received and spread throughout the
world. In other words “without
education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds
himself in a room with all its windows open towards outside world” (Khan,
2003). Parents play an immense and significant role in the academic performance
of their children. Educated parents would have increased emphasis on
educational excellence. Educated parents are equipped by virtue of their
education to take cognizance of the fact that parent- student- school-
community relationship is important in order to promote educational attainment
and academic achievement of their children and so they make the partnership a
priority (Okantey, 2008).
Parent has vital
roles to play in the life of a child. The involvement of a parent on a child
determines the future of such child.
Parenting involvement is a catch-all term for many different activities
including at ‘home,’ good parenting, helping with homework, talking to
teachers, attending school functions, through to taking part in school
governance. When schools work together
with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in schools
but throughout life. To say the fact, the most accurate prediction of a student’s
performance in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student’s parent is able to
create a home environment that encourage
learning and to express high expectations for their
children’s achievement and future careers.
Academic achievement is directly related to students’ growth and
development of knowledge in an educational situation where teaching and
learning process takes place. Academic achievement is defined as the
performance of the students in the subject they study in the school (Pandey, 2008).
Academic performance determines the student’s status in the class. It gives
children an opportunity to develop their talents, improve their grades and
prepare for the future academic challenges. Parental involvement in promoting
children’s school success has been identified as a vital factor affecting
students’ academic performance in school. In particular, various aspects of
parental involvement although, parents
of different occupation classes often have different styles of child rearing,
different ways of disciplining their children and different ways of reacting to
their children. These differences do not express themselves consistently as
expected in the case of every family; rather they influence the average
tendencies of families for different occupational classes. (Rothestein, 2004).
Family is the primary cell of society where the
child's upbringing must begin since his birth, still in cradle. According to V.
Hugo, the person's principles established
since childhood are like letters engraved in the bark of a young tree,
which grow, enlarge with it making its integral part. Therefore, right
beginning makes the most important part of upbringing/education. Nobody ever
said that children were easy to rise. They don't come with guidelines or instructions,
and they certainly don't come with a pause button (I've looked!). What they do
come with is a crucial set of physical and emotional needs that must be met.
Failure of the parents to meet these specific needs can have wide-ranging and
long-lasting negative effects (Christheisen, 2009). This is because parent in the home are
children first teacher. As a child move from infant to toddler and then to a
pre-schooler, he learns how to speak, listen, write and read which latter
develop the child to achieve academically.
The influence of parents on children school
performance is well documented in numerous studies. Gadsden (2003) says greater
parental involvement at early stage in children’s learning, positively affects
the child’s school performance including higher academic achievement. Harderves
(1998) review that family whose children are doing well in school exhibit the
following characters:
•
Establish a daily family
routine by providing time and a quiet place to study with the children and
assigning responsibility for house hold chores.
•
Monitor out-of-school
activities, for example setting limits on television watching, reduce time of
playing, monitor the groups of friends the pupils walk with.
•
Encourage children’s
development and progress in school; that is maintaining a worm and supportive
home, showing interest in children’s progress at school, helping him or her
with homework, discussing the value of a good education and future career with
children.
Upon this background, this study sets out to investigate
the parental status and student academic performance in Lagos State secondary
schools.
Statement of the
problem
The role of a
parent to a child at any given time cannot be over emphasized. The home is very
germane and crucial to a child’s well-being and development in later life. Izzo et al (1999) studied 1205 US children
from kindergarten through to grade 3 in a 3 year longitudinal research
programme. Teachers rated four forms of involvement; frequency of
parent-teacher contact; quality of parent teacher interaction; participation in
educational activities in the home; and participation in school activities.
These factors, as well as family background variables were examined to find any
relationship they might have with school achievement as indexed by school
grades. Consistent with other studies, Izzo et al showed that all forms of
parental involvement declined with child’s age and that involvement in the home
‘predicted the widest range of performance variance. In another longitudinal
study, Dubois, (1994) showed that
family support and the quality of parent child relationships significantly
predicted school adjustment in a sample of 159 young US adolescents (aged 10
–12) followed in a two year longitudinal
study. At-home parental involvement clearly and consistently has significant
effects on pupil achievement and adjustment which far outweigh other forms of
involvement. When schools work together with families to support learning,
children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life. The challenges
of single parenthood,
family crises and the ever
increasing involvement of women in various areas of
community and national
development makes one to ask questions as to whether parents are still able to be
committed to their
wards; or whether
they are putting enough
efforts towards effective
learning and performance of their
children.
The foregoing
discussion had established that socio – economic status and host of other
factors relating to home environment of students, such as educational
background of parents, health status of students, parental occupation and
family size could have effects on children academic achievement.Given the
importance of education to development, why then it is not taken seriously as
indicated by low pass rates. What then mainly determines academic performance
in the specific case of secondary school students in Lagos State? Well, in
factual context, many ideas come to mind if we think why some students perform
better than others: is it because they study more at home? Do they have a
higher capacity to learn? Does the personal background, way of life and
environment of the student favour his/her performance?
Research
Questions
In addressing this problem, the
following research questions will be raised:
1). to what extent is the effect of parental socio –
economic status on students' academic performance?
2). what is the effect of parental involvement on
student academic performance?
3). is there any impact of family background on students'
academic performance?
4).whatis effect of parent authoritativeness on student
academic performance?
Research
Objectives
The purpose of this study is to
investigate the parental status and academic performance in secondary school.
Specifically, it seeks to find out;
1). the effect of parental socio – economic status on
students' academic performance.
2). the effect of parental involvement on student
academic performance.
3). the impact of family background on students'
academic performance.
4).the effect of parent authoritativeness on student
academic performance.
Research
Hypotheses
The following research hypotheses will
be tested:
1). There is no significant relationship between
parental socio – economic status and students' academic performance.
2). There is no significant correlation between parental
involvement and student academic performance.
3). There is no significant relationship between
family background and students' academic performance.
4). There is no significant influence between parent
authoritativeness and student academic performance
Significance
of this Study
It is envisaged
that the findings of this study may expose some factors that might be
responsible for poor performance of students in school. The identified areas
where government at different levels could come in will be brought into focus
in other to bridge the gap of educational attainment of children of low and
high income earners in the society. The importance of achieving the objectives
of education programme among the general populace cannot be over emphasized. A
researcher, Laosa, (2005) had posted as follows: "The educational
achievement gap has deep root; it is evident very early in child's lives; even
before they enter schools. Socio–economic differences – such as health and
nutrition status, home environments that provide access to academically related
experiences, mobility rates, and financial assets can certainly influence academic
achievements" (Laosa, 2005). The responsibility of training a child always
lies in the hand of the parents. This is congruent with the common assertion sociologist
that education can be an instrument of cultural change which is being taught
from home is relevant in this discuss. It is not out of place to imagine that
parental socio–economic background can have possible effects on the academic
achievement of children in school. Whatsoever affect the development
environment of children would possibly affect their education or disposition to
it. The outcome of this study will no doubt serve as a means of enlightening on
the relevance of parental status and
student academic performance in Lagos State secondary schools.
Scope
and Limitations of the Study
This study
focuses on the issue of parental status and
student academic performance in Lagos State secondary schools. Sourcing of good materials for literature review,
limited finance, time frame and other logistics will pose hindrance to the
study.A problem with surveys of this kind is that the survey or instrument is
limited to the responses and the time each respondent put into their
answers. Some respondents might have
answered all the questions thoughtfully and some might have answered quickly
providing little (most especially the student) information about the processes
used in their school.
Definition of Operational
Terms
In this study the following
terms are used as defined below:
Educational
Resources are the
materials use for teaching, learning, research that support the creation,
delivery, use and improvement of learning content, searching and learning
management systems, content development tools and on-line learning such as
computer, textbooks, laboratory equipment’s, chalk, television and any other
tools, materials or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
Parent
involvement, in general,
refers to parental interactions with the schools and with their children in
order to encourage academic progress and offer support with school activities
(Hill & Tyson, 2009).
Human
Resources are knowledge,
skills, attitudes, physical and managerial efforts required to manipulate
capital, technology and land amongst others to produce goods and services for human
consumption (UNESCO, 1990).They are students, teaching staff, non-teaching
staff, bursar, librarian, laboratory attendants, clerks, messengers,
gatekeepers, gardeners and cooks as well as educational planners and
administrators.
Teacher:
A teacher is a person who provides
education for pupils (children) and student (Adults). The roles of teacher are
often formal and on-going carried out at a school or other place of formal
education
Academic
performance is the ability
to study and remember facts and being able to communicate your knowledge
verbally or down on paper.
Education can be referred to as an act or process of
developing and cultivating, (whether physically, mentally, or morally) ones
mental activities or senses; the expansion, strengthening, and discipline, of
one’s mind, faculty, etc.; the forming and regulation of principles and
character in order to prepare and fit for any calling or business by systematic
instruction
Public
School: These are
school that are funded by government and are not based on the ability to pay
privately instituted fees.
Research: This is the orderly and systematic investigation of a phenomenon for
the purpose of adding to knowledge.
Evaluation: This involves the general weighing of the value or worth of something
in terms of the objective sought or in comparison with other programs,
curricula, organizational schemes
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