-
Influence Of Family Background On The Academic Achievement Of Senior Secondary School Student
[A CASE STUDY OF BABCOCK UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL, OGUN STATE]
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 5]
Page 2 of 5
-
-
-
Status
is often determined by the individuals’ economic attainment, though it
is sometimes ascribed on the individual. Okunniyi (2004), identified
three distinct socio-economic groups or status which are common in many
countries. They are: upper class- which is made up of rich business men
and top government officials among others; middle class- which consists
of skilled workers, professionals and middle ranked government workers
and the lower class- which is made up of manual workers, petty trader
and low income government officials.
Francis (2007) opines that the
lower income families may be aware of the importance of education in the
society, but at the same time, they are also aware of their limited
resources to measure up with such educational demands. According to the
author, a family that can scarcely provide for the basic needs of the
family which include rood, shelters and clothing will hardly motivate
the academic excellence of their children, instead they will pressurize
their children so seek for job opportunities with the little education
they acquired so far to support the family. The implication of the
agreement is that for families are likely to give their children poor
academic background because- ol lack of financial support.
The
socio-economic status of a family is capable of affecting the behavior
of the children and determines their aspiration. Families with high
socio-economic status often have more success in preparing their
children for school because they typically have access to wide range of
providing their young children with high quality child-care books and
encourage children in various learning activities at home. They also
have easy access to information regarding their children's health, as
well as social, emotional and cognitive development (Ojo and Yilma
2010),
Ojo and Yilma also noted that in all socio-economic groups,
parents face major challenges when it comes to providing optimal care
and education for their children and these challenges are more
pronounced in poor families. This, according to them, is because
sometimes, when the basic necessities are lacking, parents must place
top priority on housing, food, clothing and health care, regarding
education materials and books as luxuries. They added that poor families
may also have inadequate or limited access to community resources that
promote and support children's development and school readiness. They
further asserted that these disadvantages can negatively affect
families’ decisions regarding their children development and learning.
This situation, according to Ojo and Yilma, may also expose the infants
in poor families to a greater risk of entering kindergarten schools
unprepared, unlike their peers from rich families.
Parents'
motivation is another family background factor which influence the
academic achievement of students. Students under motivated condition,
exhibits purposeful behavior aimed at achieving academic set goals. The
achievement of these goals determines the motive, Hickey and Lindsey
(1995) clearly distinguished two- perspectives of motivation; these are
situational and dispositional perspectives. According to them,
disposition perspective asks questions about students' general
orientation to learning which relates the students' priority and
students' nature. The situational perspective according to the scholars
focuses on learning context. These scholars further identified to
factors that greatly influence students' motivation. These are:
interpersonal factors such as curiosity, perseverance, and autonomy
(intrinsic-factors) and environmental factors such as parents, peers and
sibling (extrinsic factors).
Research shows that supportive and
attentive parenting practices positively affect academic achievement
(Eamon, 2005). In addition, high parental aspirations have been
associated with increasing students' interest in education (Majoribanks,
2005). The effect of parental motivation and involvement in their
children's school has on academic achievement is less clear (Domina
2005), parental motivation and involvement in schoolhas been linked to
both positive and negative influences on academic achievement (McNeal,
2001, Domina, 2005). Explanations for this discrepancy are not
conclusive. It is thought that the type of involvement and motivation
may make a difference and that in some cases parents become involved
after their child has already academic difficulties (Domina, 2005,
McNeal, 2001). Other recent research has found more conclusively that
while parental motivation may not help academic achievement, it does
help prevent behavioral problems (Domina, 2005).
Students with fewer
siblings are likely to receive more parental attention and motivation
and thus have more access to resources than children from large family.
The additional attention and motivation leads to better school
performance (Majoribanks, 1996, Thondike, 1997 and Samon, 2005).
Thondike
reorganized seven ways of motivating students viz: awareness on the
part of the parents of the value of education whether such parents are
literature of illiterate; existence of books, newspapers, comic books;
good nutrition am' sleeping habit; adequate facilities for sleep, for
study and for rest; satisfaction physical needs like food, shelter and
clothing; objects in the home which challenges the child's curiosity.
Douglas
(1984) established a positive correlation between children's academic
achievement and motivation. The author laid considerable emphasis upon
interest as a factor governing children's chances of being awarded
grammar school admissions. For the author, the simple most important
factor that influence educational attainment of children appears to be
the degree of parents interest in their children's education. Douglas
further stated that middle class parents express great interest in their
children's education as indicated by more frequent visits to school to
discuss children’s progress, buying relevant textbooks and other
necessary materials needed in the school for their children. The author
also found from his study that parental interest and encouragement
become increasingly important as a spur to high attainment as the
children grow older. He also attached importance to the child's early
years, since in many ease:*, performance during the first years of
school is reflected throughout the secondary school. He suggested that
during primary socialization, middle-class children receive greater
attention and stimulus from their parents. This forms basis for high
achievement in the educational system.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 5]
Page 2 of 5
-
-
ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]The study examined the influence of family background on the academic achievement of senior secondary school student in babcock university high school, ogun state.More specifically, the study sought to assess the academic performance within sound family background and paltry family background in Senior secondary schools.The study consist of all senior secondary school students in Babcock high school (SSS1-3), simple random sampling technique was use to pick the respondents and 122 senior secon ... Continue reading---
