ABSTRACT
This research project investigated the influence of family background on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. In order to achieve the aims and objectives of the study, three (3) research questions were proposed and data collected through the issue of eighty (80) structured questionnaire to students in four (4) secondary schools in Obio-Akpor LGA. The collected data was tested for reliability of instrument using Cronbach’s Alpha while mean scores and grand mean was used in testing the research questions. The findings of the research among other things showed that family size, parents’ income and educational background significantly influence the academic performance students. Based on the findings, it was concluded that family background to a large extent influence the academic performance of students. On the bases of the findings and conclusions, it was recommended that parents should plan to have fewer children in the family. This will ensure that they have more income at their disposal to take care of the academic needs of the children. Fewer children will also ensure that there is less competition and hence less friction and ultimately lead to a conducive learning environment for the children. We also recommend that parents should get better educated. This may include adult education classes. This will help in making parents more appreciative of the importance of education as well as the academic needs of their children. Finally, we recommend that structures that will help to boost the income of parents be put in place by the government. Such structures will include new and better jobs to ensure that parents are able to cater for the academic needs of their children.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
........ highly educated parents are more likely than their less educated counterparts to read to their children. Educated parents enhance their children development and human capital by drilling on their own advanced languages skill in communicating with their children.
They are more likely to pose questions instead of direction and employ a broader and more complex vocabulary, estimates suggest that by age 3 children whose parents are not educated hear less than a third of the ward encountered by their higher income peers. This result to more extensive vocabularies before they even start school. Highly educated parents can also use their social capital to promote their children’s development. A cohesive social network of well educated parentssocializes children to expect that they too will attain high levels of academic success. It can also transmit cultural capital by teaching children the specific behavioral patterns of speech and cultural references that are valued by the educational and professional elite. In most studies, parental education has been identified as the single strongest correlate for children’s success in school, the number of years they attend school and their success later in life. (Anna. J. Egalite, 2016)
2. Family Income: family income simply means the income of the family. The amount of money both parents and either of them makes in a day, week, month or annually. It may have a direct impact on the child's academic performance.
a. It could simply be a function of the school the child attends:parents with greater financial resources can identify communities with high quality schools and choose more expensive neighborhood the very places where good schools are likely to be. More affluent parents can also use their resources to ensure that their children have access to full range of extracurricular activities at school and in their community. But it is not hard to imagine direct affects of income on student achievement.
Parents who are struggling economically simply don’t have time or where withal to check the home work of their children,drive children to summer camp, organize museum trips or help their kids for college. Working multiple jobs or inconvenient shifts makes it hard to dedicate time for family dinners, enforce lessons or sports club even small differences in access to the activities and experiences that are known to promote brain development are not experienced by this children this can accumulate in a stable gap between two groups of children defined by family circumstances
b. Inadequate basic amenities like food, shelter, and clothing.
i. Food may be in very short supply causing the child to suffer hunger, becomedizzy with sleep making it difficult to concentrate when lessons are taught and when the child reads.
ii. Improperclothing or inability to change clothing wears can make the child feel inferior and have low self esteem in the midst of one’s peers.
iii. Inconsistent attendance to school due to delay in payment of school fees can cause the child to miss classes, assignment or test which in one way or the other affect his performance negatively in school.
3. Parent’s Criminal Activity: criminal activity or incarceration of one’s parents removes a wage earner from the home, lowering house hold income. One estimate suggest that 2-3% of incarcerated fathers had been the sole provider and the primary source of family income before their imprisonment. As a result children with a parent in prison are at a greater risk of homelessness which in turn can have grave consequences on the child as the child will suffer from insecurity. The emotional strain on parent’sincarceration can also take its toll on the child’s achievement in school. Correlation research finds that the odds of finishing secondary school are 50% lower for children with an incarcerated parent. Parents who are in prison may have less education, lower in income or more limited access to quality school and other attributes that adversely affect their children successes in school.
4. Family Structure/Size: Family structure have become more diverse in recent years and living arrangement have grown increasing complex. In particular, the two parent family is vanishing in the America’s society.
Family structure can be inform of single parenting, married couples and guardian. Statistics show that children ages 12-17 years who live with just one parent or guardian are at a higher risk of school suspension than their peers who live with two parents. Similarly 6 toll years old who live with one parent or guardian are more likely to repeat a grade than children of the same age in two –parent families .......
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Statement Of Problems 7
1.3 Aim And Objective Of The Study 7
1.4 Research Questions 8
1.5 Significance Of The Study 8
1.6 Scope Of The Study 9
1.7 Definition Of Some Terms 10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Conceptual Review 11
2.11 Concept of Family 11
21.2 Concept of Family in Africa 17
2.1.3 Concept of Academic Performance 19
2.2 Theoretical Review 21
2.2.1 Good Parents Theory 24
2.2.2 Socialization Theory 25
2.3 Empirical Studies 26
2.3.1 Influence of Parental Education on Academic Performance 27
2.3.2 Influence of Family Income on Academic Performance 29
23.3 Influence of Family Size on Academic Performance 31
2.4 Summary of Literature Reviewed 33
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.2 Research Design 38
3.2 Population of the Study 39
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 39
3.4 Instrument of Data Collection 40
3.5 Validity of the Instrument 41
3.6 Reliability of Instrument 41
3.7 Method of Data Collection 42
3.8 Method of Data Analysis 42
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.1 INTRODUCTION 44
4.2 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS 44
4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 50
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 54
5.2 CONCLUSIONS 55
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 56
REFERENCES 57
APPENDICES 58
Reference code: C081
Reference code: C081
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