TABLE
OF CONTENT
Title
Page i
Certification
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgment
iv
Table
of Content v
Abstract
ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study
1
Statement
of the Problem
5
Purpose
of the Study 6
Research
Question
6
Research
Hypothesis
7
Scope
of the study
8
Significance
of the study
8
Operational
Definition of Terms
9
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
Concept
of Social-economic status 11
Concept
of Academic Performances 13
Students’ Academic Performance in
Nigeria
14
Socio-economic
Status of Parents and students’ academic
Performance 16
Parental
Occupation and Students’ Academic
Performance
18
Parental
Academic Background and students’ Academic
Performance
20
Other
Factors Affecting students’ Academic Performance 23
Empirical Studies 27
Appraisal
of Literature Reviewed 29
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research
Design
31
Population,
Sample and Sampling Techniques
31
Instrumentation
32
Validity
and Reliability of the instrument 33
Procedure
for Data Collection
33
Method
of Data Analysis
33
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND
RESULTS
Hypotheses
Testing 34
Summary
of the Findings
38
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Discussion
of the Findings
40
Conclusions
42
Recommendations
42
REFERENCES 44
APPENDICE
49
ABSTRACT
This study examined socio-economic status of parents and students'
academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state. The researcher
adopted descriptive survey of correlational type. The study used random
sampling technique to select ten public secondary schools out of twenty-six
secondary schools. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select two
hundred respondents. A research questionnaire titled “Socio-Economic Status of
Parents Questionnaire (SESPQ) and Students’ Academic Performance Proforma
(SAPP)" were used to collect relevant data from the respondents. One main
hypothesis and three operational hypotheses were formulated and tested for this
study. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson product moment correlation
statistical method at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that:
1. There was significant relationship between socio-economic status
of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area,
Oyo state.
2. There was significant relationship between educational status of
parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo
state.
3. There was significant relationship between parents' occupation
and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
4. There was significant relationship between family structure and
students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
Based on the findings, it was
recommended that every parent could be
able to provide for the needs of their children. Parents should endeavour to
improve on their socio-economic status in order to aid the performance
of their children. Parents should endeavour to enhance their educational status
so that they could assist their children in any of their class assignment.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Socio-economic status is a definite background variable that
represents a feature of the social structure in society (Oakes & Rossi,
2003). It is a fact that families where the parents are privileged
educationally, socially and economically, promote a higher level of achievement
in their offspring. The socio-economic status of a child is usually determined
by parental educational level, parental occupational status and income level
(Jeynes 2002). It is understood that low socio-economic status negatively and
depressingly affects students’ academic achievement. Due to low socio-economic
status, a student does not have access to important resources and generates
additional stress and tension at home (Jeynes, 2002, Eamon 2005). According to
Parson, Stephanie and Deborah (2001), Socio-economic status is an expression
which is used to differentiate between people’s relative status in the
community with regard to family income, political power, educational background
and occupational status.
Socio-economic status is an economic and sociological combined
total measure of a person’s work experience and of an individual’s or family’s
economic and social position in relation to others based on income, education
and occupation. When analysing a family’s socio-economic status, the household
income, earner’s education and occupation are examined, as well as combined
income verses with an individual, when their own attributes are assessed
(Keltner, 2008).
In the current era of globalisation and technological revolution,
education is considered as a crucial step for every human activity (Farooq,
Shafia, & Berhanu, 2011) and it is considered as the lifeline for efficient
and stable working of human society. Education does not only provide knowledge
and skills, but also inculcates values, training, fostering right attitudes and
habits. Cultural heritage and values are transmitted from one generation to the
next through education. Education is the best legacy parents can give to their
children. The development of the nation starts from the family. When the family
succeeds in teaching and impacting good values in their children, the country
becomes a better place to live. It is generally believed that the basis for any
true development must commence with the development of human resource. Formal
education is the demonstration of such desires to effectively and efficiently
build a sound and strong economy. Education is very vital in the human
existence because the society and education are interrelated and
inter-dependent. This can also be seen in the nature and development of a child
born in a given society.
The school is an
umbrella governing children from different parental background and social
backgrounds and as such the children’s learning and rate of academic
development is closely related to other experiences. Education in Nigeria is
overseen by the Ministry of Education. Local authorities take responsibility
for implementing policies for state-controlled public education and state
schools at a regional level. The education system is divided into kindergarten,
primary education, secondary education and tertiary education. This study is
focused on secondary education. Students spend six years in secondary school
that is 3 years of JSS (Junior Secondary School), and 3 years of SSS (Senior
Secondary School). The Senior Secondary School ends with Senior Secondary
Certificate Examination. Junior secondary school is compulsory and leads to the
Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which opens the gate to Senior
Secondary School. SSS curriculum is based on 6 core subjects completed by 2 or
3 elective subjects. Core subjects are: English; Mathematics, Civic Education,
Computer: one major Nigeria language and others are elective; it contains
vocational subjects which include; marketing, Animal husbandry, food and nutrition,
technical drawing, music and fine arts. Students can also join, after the BECE
a technical college. The technical college curriculum also lasts 3 years and
leads to a trade/craftsmanship certificate.
Nigerian education has been experiencing a geometric set
back since the past two decades which makes the academic performance of
students to be getting poorer, this pathetic situation has always been an issue
to attend to by government and the stakeholders in the educational sector. Numerous factors have been identified in
various research studies to be responsible for the continuous declining of our
educational system. Various factors such as classroom size, poor
teacher-student ratio, in-adequate instructional materials, attitude of
teachers towards work and lack of seriousness on the part of students. With the
availability of more qualified teachers, improved technology and facilities for
teaching and learning, educational system in Nigeria is still losing it values.
Motivation for
this study is based on the fact that some students are exceptionally good in
their work, while some extremely bad. When variations in scores are traced it
is more often discovered that family background is a major contributory factor.
It is therefore important that the levels of such contributions and the
influence they have on children be examined so that useful suggestions to
parents, teachers, educational planners and government could be made.
Orhungur (2003)
asserts that the cultural background of the family is determined to a large
extent by its socio-economic background. As the child grows up moves out to the
interest wider society his/her interaction with it and perception of it are
largely determined from her earlier, experiences at home.
Besides, the
other factors such as individual and household characteristics, school related
factors and government policies, socio-economic status is the most researched
and debated factor that contribute towards the academic performance of students
(Farooq et al, 2011). Furthermore, little empirical evidences are found in
Nigeria regarding the association between parental socio-economic status and
academic achievement of their students (Odoemena, 2010). As a result,
conducting research on such issues would provide great insights on the
association between socio-economic status of parents and academic performance
of students.
The researcher is
being motivated to study the effects of parental socio-economic status on the
students’ academic performance, as most families are poor and cannot adequately
affords 3-square meals not to talk of meeting the educational needs of their
children. The researcher wishes to study the serious implication that the
family socio-economic status had on the learning and performance of students’
academic performance. Osunloye, 2008 observed that there is an awareness of the
importance of the home environment or family on children academic performance.
Statement of
the Problem
Poor academic performance of secondary school students has been
associated with high level of indiscipline from students, lack of commitment
from parents, teachers and inefficient administrators in secondary schools
(Ugoji, 2008). The gap in performance between students and academic excellence
constitutes a great source of worry and serious concern as well as discomfiture
to parents, school managers, policy makers and various governments responsible
for the education of students in Nigeria.
In order to improve performance, much has been done to the factors
that Ugoji (2008) reported above, as the level of discipline in many of the
schools has improved, and the ministries of education and other stakeholders
have done much to put in place efficient administration, but in spite of all
these, students’ performance has not significantly improved. Therefore, it is
important to establish other factors that affect academic performance in
Nigeria outside those that are perceived by Ugoji and some other researchers.
Obanya (2004), Ebenuwa – Okoh (2010), and Atanda and Jaiyeoba
(2011) noted that some of the factors responsible for the low performance of
students in WASSCE and NECO are low socio-economic status of parents and lack
of seriousness of students. This study therefore attempts to investigate parents'
socio-economic status and students’ academic performance in secondary schools.
Purpose of the
Study
The main purpose of the study is to investigate socio-economic
status of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Government Area,
Oyo state. Other purposes are to:
i.
determine the relationship between
the educational status of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu
Local Government Area, Oyo state.
ii.
ascertain parents' occupation and
students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
iii.
find out the relationship between
family structure and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government
Area, Oyo state.
Research
Questions
For the purpose
of this research work the following research questions were raised:
i.
What is the impact of educational
status of parents on students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government
Area, Oyo state?
ii.
What are the types of occupation
parents indulge in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state?
iii.
To what extent does family structure
of students improve academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo
State?
Research
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated to serve as main
frame for this study.
Main Hypothesis
Ho: There is no significant
relationship between socio-economic status of parents and students' academic
performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
Operational
Hypotheses
Ho1: There is no significant relationship between
educational status of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu
Local Government Area, Oyo state.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between
parents' occupation and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local
Government Area, Oyo state.
Ho3: There is no significant relationship between family
structure and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area,
Oyo state.
Scope of the
Study
The study will be confined to senior secondary school three (S.S.S.
Three) Students in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo State. The geographical
scope of the study will be limited to students in Lagelu Local Government Area,
Oyo state. The respondents would be selected from 10 secondary schools. The
variables scope is educational status of parents, parents' occupation and
family structure. The instrumental scope will be Socio-economic status of
parents Questionnaire (SESPQ) and Students' Academic Performance Proforma. The
statistical scope will be descriptive and inferential statistics. The time
frame is 2013-2016.
Significance of the Study
This research work presents the influence of parental
socio-economic status on students’ academic performance. Most particularly it
explains the way in which occupational status, educational status and family
structure of parents affect the students’ academic performance.
The findings of this study would be of immense benefit to students,
the ministry of education, the government, non-governmental agencies,
examination bodies and guidance counselors. The findings of the study would
help these various organisations to understand the effect of parental
socio-economic status on the performance of students academically. The findings
of this study would assist government to have better insight into adverse
effects of the low socio-economic status of the populace. In short, the study
would create awareness on the best ways to improve the education of the
country.
The parents which are saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring
high academic performance for their child stand to benefit from the findings of
this study would assist them to have better knowledge about how their
occupation, education and also the relationship the parents have with their
children affect the children positively or negatively. Educational and
curriculum planners could be guided in planning the curriculum without rigidity
to suit diverse cultural environment. The professional counselor also stands to
benefit immensely from the result of this study.
Operational
Definition of Terms
As words may mean differently in different contexts, the following
definitions are given as intended to be understood for the purpose of this
study.
Family
structure: refers to the characteristics that
define a family like; income and social class in socio-economic status of
parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo
state.
Educational
Status of parents: refers to the educational background of students'
parents like; School Certificate, NCE, First degree, Masters and Ph.D holders
in socio-economic status of parents and students' academic performance in
Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
Parents'
occupation: refers to the job or occupation that
parents are doing in socio-economic status of parents and students' academic
performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
Socio-economic
Status: refers to position of recognition
which one finds himself in the society, such a position may not be heredity but
acquired through personal efforts like education, wealth, occupation and social
class in socio-economic status of parents and students' academic performance in
Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
Academic
Performance: refers to the students’
achievement, scores within the class or in external examination and their
positions relative to all those subjected to the same test in socio-economic
status of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government
Area, Oyo state.
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