The Effect Of Socio-Economic Status Of Parents On The Academic Performance Of Secondary School Students In Nigeria

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THE EFFECT OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PARENTS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education is the best legacy parents can give to their children. The development of the nation starts with 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 resources. Formal education is the demonstration of such desires to effectively and efficiently build a sound and strong economy.
Numerous factors have been identified in various research studies as being responsible for the continuous decline of our educational system. Various factors, such as classroom size, poor teacher-student ratio, inadequate instructional materials, the attitude of teachers towards work, and a lack of seriousness on the part of students,.

With the availability of more qualified teachers, improved technology, and facilities for teaching and learning, the educational system in Nigeria is still losing its value.
The motivation for this study is based on the fact that some students are exceptionally good at their work, while others are extremely bad. When such variations in scores are traced, it is more often discovered that family background is a major contributing 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 the government can be made.

Orhungur (1990) 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 wider society, his/her interaction with it and perception of it are largely determined by her earlier experiences at home. The family setting and its socialising influence mold the personality of the child. Nigeria, for instance, is a society with diverse ethnic groups with various cultural backgrounds in areas like family size, occupation, and, in extreme cases, religion. These factors pose restrictions on the educational upbringing of children. The social setting or mode of settlement of the family and extended family system may equally influence the academic performance of a child and, by extension, their educational upbringing.
Motivation is most needed to perform more efficiently in their area of endeavour. When certain factors are prominent in a child's family background, it is clear that the child will be motivated and driven towards a high academic goal.

Denga (1986) and Eyake (1997) advised that praise, incentives, recommendations, and other forms of reward systems should be employed as motivational factors to stimulate students to higher achievements. Likely, how much a child achieves during his or her school days is largely dependent on the kind of family to which he or she belongs. For instance, a child whose parents take a great deal of interest in what he or she does at school and give him / her necessary support by providing all the required books and finances has a great advantage over a child whose parents do not give him or her this kind of incentive and encouragement.

More so, students' attitudes towards learning and educational performances are shaped by the kinds 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, and occupation, to mention but a few. It is therefore evident that students™ performance is contingent on the stimulus the home offers.
Educational upbringing is not unconnected with the family influence on a child. Individual members of the family serve as models to the child as he or she copies from each of them. Eyake (1997) quoted. Adeyeme (1977) says that if the house fails to provide the child with the necessary equipment to fit him or her into his or her proper place in society and guide him or her properly for his or her future career, then the child is damaged. An analysis of the percentage of secondary school dropouts today entails that such students are usually from broken homes, wiring polygamous families, or with other socially related problems.

The agrarian and large families have accounted for the polygamous lives of people. The larger the family, the more economic and other social responsibilities the parents bring upon themselves. And more often than not, the educational performance of students from such families suffers a serious setback. This is because such parents might not be able to afford the cost of funding education for their children.
Other factors that may affect the education performance of students, like separation on the grounds of a different working station, divorce, or even natural death, can have an adverse effect on the growth and development of a child.

Furthermore, the economic position of parents is one of the major factors that can greatly influence the educational upbringing of a child. In most families, either or none of the parents may be earning income sufficient to sustain the family. Faced with malnutrition and other emotional and psychological effects, the mental development of the child would be greatly retarded. Orhunger (1990) adds that a low-income family with plenty of feeding problems may produce children whose physical and mental development poses real challenges to the school's efforts at optimum development of the child.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The gap in performance between students and academic excellence constitutes a great source of worry and serious concern, as well as discomfiting both parents, school managers, policymakers, and various governments responsible for the education of students in secondary school schools.
Experience has shown that among secondary school students, there are some differences that influence their academic performance, such as some students being able to pay their school fees promptly, while others were often sent away for nonpayment of school fees. Some students have problems with the provision of school uniforms, but others do not. Likewise, some students were motivated by their parents through the provision of educational materials like textbooks and exercise books; others were not; whereas some students come to school properly fed, others are not. One then wonders whether the influence of family background has played a role in these issues.
In light of this, the main problem of this search is to find out if there exists in Lagos metropolis a relationship between the socio-economic status of parents and students' academic performance.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to examine the influence of socio-economic status on the academic performance of students in Lagos Metropolis. Specific objectives of the study include:

  • To investigate the effect of the socio-economic status of parents on the educational performance of students.
  • To find out if the social-economic status of parents influences students' academic performance in physics.
  • To find out whether the educational attainment of parents affects their students academic performance in physics.
  • To find out the influence of family size on the educational upbringing of physics students.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
For this research, the following research questions have been formulated:

  • Do parent's socioeconomic statuses influence the academic performance of the students?
  • Is there any effect of family size on the academic performance of physics students?
  • 1.5 HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses will be tested to guide this study:

  • The socio-economic status of parents has no significant effect on the academic performance of physics students.
  • There is no significant effect between family size and the academic performance of students in physics.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 
The 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 about their academic performance. From the available recommendations, they will be able to adopt measures to bring themselves up in such a way that they will perform well academically.
Similarly, it is likely to encourage parents to make their children relatively comfortable in school. This study could also aid children of various families to be aware of and bear in mind their parent's ability to provide them with all the requirements in school and to sympathise 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.
Research of this nature is likely to benefit the state, nation, and world in general, as adherence to the recommendations and implementation will help produce youth who will be better leaders of tomorrow. Socio-Economic Status
Finally, the research, when completed, may add to the available literature and encourage further research on the topic.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
It would be very demanding to undertake a complete study of the effects of the socio-economic status of parents on the academic performance of students in Lagos metropolis, and due to logistics constraints on the researcher, only five schools will be sampled. The sampled schools are selected based on their metropolitan population characteristics.
The study is likely to be confined to senior secondary school (SS1) students of the selected schools. This is because (ss1) is the beginning of senior secondary school class. If family background affects students in (ss1), it is assumed that it is likely to affect their performances in senior secondary school certificate examinations and even worse in their higher academic performance. Socio-Economic Status

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
As words may mean differently in different contexts, the following definitions are given as the words used intended to be understood for this study.
A family is a unit comprising a husband, wife, and children.

Family size is the number of people in the family.

FAMILY SYSTEM: This includes monogamy and maybe a 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 the education of children and how they perform in academics when subjected to a test or examination.

EDUCATIONAL STATUS: This term is used for social processes in which one achieves social competence and individual growth, carried on in a selected, controlled setting that is institutionalized as a school or college.

OCCUPATIONAL STATUS: A person's trade, vocation, or principal means of earning a living.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS: This refers to the position of recognition in which one finds himself in 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 students achievement, scores within the class, and 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 the prevailing atmosphere in the home, whether violent, resentful, or in disarray.

PARENTAL ATTITUDE: Parents' disposition to respond positively to some stimulus in their social environment. Some responses determine the way and manner in which their children are brought up. Socio-Economic Status.

THE EFFECT OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PARENTS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA, GET MORE EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS

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