influence of parental socioeconomic status on students academic performance

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PARENTS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the Study

Socio-economic state of the parents is based on the family income, parental occupation and social status in the community, group associations in which they belong. Primary schools today offer some subjects which prepare our children for future career. In an attempt to categorize there subject into broader areas. School subjects are very important for our day-to-day exercise and they are designed to relate to our experiences in life to achieve success. In other words, the teacher must be dedicated towards effective teaching and the pupils should strictly adhere to the rules governing hard work in order to succeed in the pursuit of an academic career in life.

According to Obina (2009) education is vital in human existence because society and education are inter-related and interdependent. This can also be seen in the nature and development of a child born in a given society. The school is like an umbrella covering children from the different parental background and social status and as such children learning and the rate of academic performance is closely related to other experiences.

The child’s academic performance in school is determined by the environment which the child finds him/her self. There are some certain factors which can affect the academic performance of the pupils such as social, economic, cultural and environmental factors. These factors can affect the academic performance of pupils in primary schools.

In a real sense, it is a clear fact that the socio-economic status of the parents can influence the academic performance of pupils in primary schools. It should be basically noted that socio-economic status of the parents has both negative and positive influence on the pupils’ academic performance in primary schools.

Consequently, pupils whose parents are on high socio-economic status are liable to perform better than pupils whose parents’ socioeconomic status is low.

1.2   Statement of the Problem

Education is supposed to equip individuals within the expected knowledge to live a functional life in their respective community. This perhaps informed Nigerian on her national policy on education to perceive education as an instrument “par excellence”. In the realization of this perception, there have been incessant poor academic performances among pupils in primary schools which are probably among pupils in primary schools which are probably caused by parental socio-economic status. There have been a series of failure among pupils in their various examinations. This is sometimes caused by the inability of the parents to meet up with their expected socio-economic status in society.

In a specific term, the main problem of this study is to examine the influence of socio-economic status of the parent and academic performance of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

1.3   Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of socio-economic status of the parents on academic performance of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Specifically, the study south:

1.     to examine the influence of parental occupation on pupils’ academic performance in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

2.     to investigate the influence of parental income level on pupils’ academic performance in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

1.4   Significance of the Study

It has been asserted that a child’s performance in school is determined to a large extent by the socio-economic of the child since social life is the primary source of writing. Therefore, the finding of his study would be of immense benefit because of the following reasons:

1.     The research work will assist school curriculum planners in planning of school curriculum because it will help them to recognize the principles of individual difference of parents.

2.     This study is also important because it would help the parents to provide the necessary learning materials for their wards in order to foster their ward’s academic pursuit.

3.     This study would interpret the influence of socio-economic status of the parents and the effects on the ward’s academic performance.

4.     This finding would be of great importance to future researchers, who are carrying out research finding concerning the issue of socio-economic status and academic performance.

1.5   Research Questions

The following research questions were raised to guide the process of data collection and analysis in the study:

i.      To what extent does parental occupation influence the academic performance of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area?

ii.      To what extent does parental income level influence the academic performance of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area?

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1.6   Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were postulated to guide the process of data analysis in the study.

H0₁:  There is no significant influence of parental occupation on academic performance of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

H0₂:  There is no significant influence of parental income level on academic performance of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.

1.7   Delimitation of the Study

This study is delimited to the socio-economic status of the parents and cp of pupils in public primary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. This study was also delimited to the variables, such as parental occupation and parental income level as well as the academic performance of pupils because of the factor that is going to be stated under the limitation of the study.

1.8   Limitation of the Study

This the research finding was restricted because of several problems encountered while undertaking this research work. Some of these problems include:

1.     The researcher also faced challenges like inability to reach out for enough print materials since it was carried out alongside with other academic work.

2.     Researcher’s other academic engagement also posed limitation.

1.9   Operational Definition of Terms

The following terms are empirically defined as they are related to this study:

Social Class: As used in the study refers to a level or class in society, this level is made up of individuals who see income and occupation, value and some attitude towards social issues.

Socio-economic background: This refers to the level which parents of the child attend it's academic or studies.

Parental occupation: As used in this study refers to the job done by the parents of the child.

Primary school: As used in the study refers to the foundation of education that admits pupils from two years and above.

Pupils: As used in the study refers to the group of learners in primary schools aged two to ten (2-10) years who are learning at the primary school level.