Socio-economic Status Of Parents And Students' Academic Performance
[A CASE STUDY OF LAGELU GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE]

As the child grows up and 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, few 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 insight 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 afford 3-square meals not to talk of meeting the educational needs of their children. The researcher attempted to study the serious implications 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’s academic performance.
Statement of the Problem
Poor academic performance of secondary school students has been associated with a 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 to investigated parents' socio-economic status and students’ academic performance in secondary schools.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the study was to investigate socio-economic status of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Government Area, Oyo State. Other purposes were to:
i.    determine the relationship between the educational status of parents and students' academic performance in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state.
ii.    Investigate the relationship between parents' occupation 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 which parents undertake in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo State?