ABSTRACT
Home environment has been unravelled by research to be
one of the factors that influence the academic achievement of students. This
study explored home environment and its influence on the academic achievement
of students. This study was guided by research objectives,
questions and hypotheses that included the influence of parenthood on the
academic performance of students, the influence of socio-economic status on the
academic performance of students and the influence of family size on the
academic performance of students. Literature review covering relevant texts and
documents on the research topic was done. The researcher adopted the
descriptive survey research design. The study was carried out among secondary
school students from four secondary schools in Lagos Island Local Government
Area of Lagos state. A sample of 100 students were taken from the four
secondary schools. The researcher administered questionnaires to the selected
respondents for data collection. Descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics were used which included frequency tables and chi square for the
hypotheses. The results of the study showed that: Parenthood (whether single-parents
or both parents) has an influence on the academic performance of secondary
school students; Socio-economic status has an influence of academic
performance; Family size has an influence on socio-economic status.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGES
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of Content vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of
the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 5
1.3 Purpose of
the Study 6
1.4 Research
Questions 6
1.5
Research Hypotheses 7
1.6 Significance
of the Study 7
1.7 Scope of the
Study 8
1.8 Operational
Definition of Terms 8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 The concept of home environment as it
influences 11
2.2
Parental influence on the academic
achievement of students
2.3
The impact of single-parenthood on students’ 24
2.4
The influence of parents socio-economic
status on 27
2.5
The impact of family size on the academic
achievement of
students
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Method 35
3.2 Population of the Study 36
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 36
3.4 Research Instrument 36
3.5 Validity and Reliability of Research
Instrument 36
3.6 Reliability of Research Instrument 37
3.7 Procedure
for Data Collection 37
3.8
Method of Data Analysis 37
CHAPTER FOUR:
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Presentation of Demographic Data 38
4.2 Analysis of Research Questions 39
4.3 Analysis of Data and Testing of Hypotheses 43
4.4 Discussion of Findings 45
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 47
5.2 Conclusion 48
5.3 Recommendations 48
5.4 Suggestions
for further studies 49
References 50
Appendix 50
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Education is the basic tool used by the
society for transmission of its values. It is of prime importance not only to
government or voluntary agencies but also for individuals, families,
Governments and communities. Voluntary agencies and individuals are committing
a lot of resources in order to achieve success in the educational enterprise
(Orhungur, 2010).Awoniyo (2011) put it that the government believes that the
greatest investment of a nation should be in her people. The greatness of any
nation depends on the qualities, attitudes and aspirations of her people and it
cannot expect to be ignorant and free at the same time.
Many factors and reasons have been given as
being responsible for the continuous fall in the academic standards of our
present educational system. These include; attitudes of teachers to work, lack
of seriousness on the part of the students, dwindling economy and to some
extent the increasingly degenerating moral system. Despite all possible efforts
put forward by various governments and voluntary agencies to curb these trends,
the country is yet to witness the rise it desires to see in the educational
system.
The saddest irony of it all is that we have
all the teaching facilities and equipments with modern infrastructures, more
qualified and experienced teachers now than we had in the past, more improved
effective teaching methods and strategies and all the facilities as well as
basic amenities needed for effective learning. The worry then is, why is
education standards falling continuously in the system?
The researchers’ interest and motivation in
this topic is the fact that some students are exceptionally good in their work,
while some extremely bad. When such 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 (2010) asserts that the cultural
background of the family is determined to a large extent by its socio-economic
background. As the child grows up and moves out to the wider society, his/her
interaction with it and perception of it are largely determined from her
earlier, experiences at home. The family setting and its socializing influence
moulds the personality of the child. Nigeria, for instance, which is a society
with diverse ethnic groups and various cultural background in areas like family
size, occupation and in extreme cases, religion. These factors pose their own
restrictions on educational upbringing of children. The social setting or mode
of settlement of the family and extended family system may equally influence
the educational upbringing of a child and consequently, their academic
performance.
Denga (1986) cited in Eyake (2007) advised that praises,
incentives, recommendations and other forms of reward system should be employed
as motivational factors to stimulate students to higher achievements. It is
likely that the much a child achieves during his school days is largely
dependent on the kind of family to which he/ she belongs. For instance, a child
whose parents take a great deal of interest in what he/ she does at school and
give him / her necessary support by providing all the required books and
finances needed has a great advantage over a child whose parents do not give
him this kind of incentives and encouragement. More so, students’ attitudes to
learning and educational performances are shaped by the kind of stimuli offered
to them by their various environments. This can be considered in terms of the
type of family, the home, parental social orientation, educational level,
occupation to mention but a few. It is therefore, evident that students’
performance is contingent on the stimulus the home offers.
A child’s educational development can be
influenced by family. Individual members of the family serve as a model to the
child as he/ she copies from each of them Eyake (2007). According to Adeyemi (2007), if the house
fails to provide the child with the necessary equipment to fit him/ her into
his proper place in the society and guided properly for his/ her future career,
then the child is endangered. An analysis of the percentage of secondary school
dropouts today shows that such students are usually from broken homes,
polygamous families or with other socially related problems.
The larger the size of the family, the more
economic and other social responsibilities the parents bring upon bear. And
more often than not, the educational performance of students from such family
suffer serious setback. This is because such parents might not be able to
afford the cost of funding the education of the children. Other factors may
affect the educational performance of students; for instance, parents’
separation on grounds of different working stations, divorce or even natural
death can bring adverse effects on the growth and development of a child.
Furthermore, economic position of parents is
one of major factors that can influence greatly the educational upbringing of a
child. In most families, either or none of the parents may be earning income
sufficient enough to sustain the family, faced with malnutrition and other
emotional and psychological effects, the mental development of the child would be greatly retarded. Orhunger (2010)
adds that a low income family with plenty of feeding problems may produce
children whose physical and mental development poses real challenges to the
schools effort at optimum development of the child.
This research work is therefore intended to
explore the degree to which the above-mentioned factors influence the
educational performance of students with a view to making useful suggestions
that would help in checking them.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Societies all over the world strive to give
qualitative education for their citizenry. Many factors contribute to this,
among which is the home environment of the child. The family has a great role
to play on the overall development of the child and his educational upbringing
in particular. The level of education of parents affects children’s academic
progress and impacts on the school managers work.
Experience has shown that among the secondary
school students, there exist some
differences which influence students’ academic performance, such as some
students’ inability to pay their school fees promptly, some students have problem with the provision of basic school
needs but others do not. Furthermore, some students are motivated by their
parents through the provision of educational materials like text books and
exercise books, others were not, while some students come to school properly
fed, others are not. One then wonders what influence the home plays in these
issues. Based on these, this research aims to find out if there exists a
relationship between home environment and academic achievement of JSS1 students
in Lagos Island Local Government Area of Lagos state.
1.3 Purpose of
the Study
There is no gain for any country whose
educational planners and policy makers stand and watch the falling standard and
steady decline of her education. They must identify the causes for such decline
with a view to proffering solutions to them.
This research work is set to accomplish the
following objectives;
i.
To investigate
the effect of single parenthood and double parenthood on the academic
performance of students.
ii.
To find
out if social-economic status of parents influence the students’ academic
performance.
iii.
To find
out the influence of family size on educational achievement of students.
1.4 Research
Questions
For the purpose of this research work the
following research questions have been formulated;
a) Will there be any difference in the academic
performance of students with single parents and those with both parents?
b) Will
there be an influence of parents’ socio-economic status on the academic
performance of students?
c) Will there be an influence of family size on
the academic performance of students?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses will be tested in
this study;
(a) There
will be no significant influence of parenthood on the academic performance of
students.
(b) There
will be no significant influence of parents’ socio-economic status on the
academic performance of students
(c) There is no significant relationship between
family size and the academic performance of students.
1.6 Significance of the Study
A work of this nature when completed may help
the parents to be aware of the effect the family has on children and how such
affects the child positively or negatively in relation to their academic
performance. From the available recommendations, they will be able to adopt
measures of bringing up their children in such a way that they will perform
well academically.
Similarly, it is likely to encourage parents
to make their children relatively comfortable in schools. This study also could
aid children of various families to be aware and bear in mind their parents
inability to provide them with all the necessary requirements in school, and
also sympathize with them in family problems and situations.
More so, educational and curriculum planners
could be guided in planning the curriculum without rigidity to suit diverse
cultural environments. In addition, the teachers would be aware that a cordial
teacher parent relationship may in a way improve the influence of family
background on the academic performance of a child in school. The research of
this nature is likely to help the state, nation and the world in general
benefit from as adherence to the recommendations and implementation will help
produce youths who would be better leaders of tomorrow. Finally, the research when completed may add to available
literature and may encourage further research on the topic.
1.7 Scope of the
Study
This research work shall consider Junior
Secondary School students in public schools in Lagos Island Local Government
Area of Lagos State.
1.8 Operational
Definition of Terms
As words may mean differently in different
contexts, the following definitions are given as the words used as intended to
be understood for the purpose of this study.
FAMILY: Is
a unit comprising of husband, wife and children.
FAMILY SIZE: The number of people in the family.
FAMILY SYSTEM: This includes monogamy and may be nuclear or extended family.
HOME ENVIRONMENT: This refers to parental experience and aspirations for children, objects
and material conditions in the home for comfort and also specific behavioral
processes conducive to learning.
EDUCATIONAL UPBRINGING: This refers to education of children and how they perform
in academics when subjected to test or examination.
EDUCATIONAL STATUS: This term is used for social processes in which one achieve social
competence and individual growth, carried on in a selected, controlled sitting
which can be institutionalized as a school or college.
OCCUPATIONAL STATUS: Person’s trade, vocation or principal means of earning living.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS: This refers to position of recognition which one finds
him in the society. Such a position may not be hereditary but acquired through
personal efforts like education, wealth, occupation and social class.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: This refers to the students’ achievement, scores within the class and
his position relative to all those subjected to the same test.
EFFECTS: the
result or outcome of anything be it positive or negative.
HOME SITUATION: This refers to prevailing atmosphere in the home whether violent,
resentful or in disarray.
PARENTAL ATTITUDE: Parents disposition to respond in a characteristic way to some stimulus in their social
environment. Some responses determine the way and manner their children are
brought up by them.
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