CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            Education is the best legally a nation can give to her citizens especially the youth. This is because the development of any nation or community depends largely on the quality of education of such a nation. It is generally believed that the basis for any true development must commence with the development of human resources. Much them is said that formal education remains the vehicle for social economic development and social mobilization in any society.

            Nigeria like any other developing nation has witness prolong military rule and aborted civilian administrations, which necessitated the promulgation of decrees, edicts and laws concerning educational practice at federal state aand local government levels. The inconsistent of government, due to coup detach de – emphasized the continuity in the implementation of educational laws and policy since 1970’s till the present time. this gradually laid the foundation of fallen standard in education at the primary and secondary levels, (Shittu 2004 ) frequency changes of ministers and commissioners of education by successive governments coupled with the politicization of education by political parties that emerged in the country’s political scene since 1979 have also brought about disparity in educational parties, which caused differential academic performance and classroom functioning of both teachers and students, from state to state.

            According to Olotu (1994), in the quest of finding survival feet, the nation has evolved series of socio- economic and educational measures and policies such as structural adjustment programmes (SAP), austerity measures, universal primary education (UPE), universal basic education (UBE) and devaluation of the naira. these measures have not improved the social- economic and educational status of families in the country. They have rather increased their sufferings and widened the socio- economic gap between families. Johnson (1996) lamented that parents become poor due to these hard measures, such that they can no longer provide adequately for good education of their children.

            Also, they can no longer provide shelter clothing and special need for their children in school (such as provision of text books schools uniforms and good medical care and so on).

            High level of illiteracy, and low socio- economic status coupled with high rate of paternal and material deprivation of the country has thrown many farmers and old rural drivellers into untold financial problems such as poverty, lack of money to purchase necessary textbooks and working materials for their kids. Also many rural and suburban drivellers can no longer pay the school fees of their ward. These ugly situations have promoted young school students to drop out of school to engage in subsistence farming and become house maids or engage on rational basis. The resultant problem posed by this, is poor academic performance in school examination like national Examination Council (NECO) the West African Examiantion Council (WAEC). 

            This trend is posing huge problems to parents, government, political parties and stakeholders in education. This paper thus examined the socio-economics factors responsible for the poor academic performance of secondary school students in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State Nigeria.

1.1     BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

            According to PISA (Programme International Student Association, 2000) influences academic and educational success of students and school work, while socio-economics status reinforces the activities and functioning of the teachers and students.

            From the above, it is revealed that the quality of parents and home background of a student goes a long way to predict the quality and regularity of the satisfaction and provision of a child’s functional survival and academic needs.

            Poor parental care with gross deprivation of social and economic needs of a child usually yield poor academic performance of the child.

            On the other hand, where a child suffers parental and materials deprivation and care due to the parents, the child’s schooling may be affected as the mother alone may not be financially buoyant to pay school fee, purchase books and uniforms, such child may play truant, thus his performance in school may be adversely affected.

            Shittu 2004, similarly, good parenting supported by strong economic home background could enhance strong academic performance of the child. Thus further predicts academic performance where the child is properly counseled in the choice of his/her courses and vocation that matches his mental ability, interest and capability whereas the children to the care of the illiterate mothers will find themselves roaming about the street labouring to make ends meet.

            Dansey and Okediran (2002) lamented that street hawking among young school students have psychologically, imposed other problems, like sex networking, behaviour, juvenile delinquent behaviour, which takes much of the student school time that necessitated the poor academic performance and drop out syndrome noticed among young school students.

            Nevertheless, they also lamented that the maternal and paternal deprivation of the essential needs of the young students have prompted their poor performance in public examination, such as JSSCE, WASC and NECO.

            Learning environment: The learning environment that is free of barriers, or obstacles or distractions such as noise, gas/smoke pollutions and so on can constitute health hazards which in turn affects or reduces students concentration or perceptual or conceptual focus to learning environment.

            Sprintthall, 1987 markets and garages located near school have always posed a threat to students, noise and pollution from these sources have always endangered students life and concentration. Therefore for an effective learning and high academic performance, schools in both rural and sub-urban and urban areas should be located off zones characterized with smoke gas pollution, market centres or garages. As conducive learning environments stimulate learning understanding and high perception.  

            Other factors according to Dansey (2004) complimenting environmental and socio-economic factors to produce high academic achievements and performance include good teaching, counseling, buildings, lacking mental stimulating facilities that are characterized with low or no seating arrangement will also be destructive.

            Dansey, however lamented that the innovative environment do stimulate head start learning and mental perception not only that, it is has also been proved that students that come from simulative environment with laboratory equipments or those that are taught with rich instructional aids, pictures and allowed to demonstrate using their functional peripheral better than those trained under theoretical and canopy of abstraction.

            This teaching and learning should be done under organized, planned, and fortified environment with learning should be done under organized, planned and fortified environment with learning instructional aids to stimulate students sense of conception systematic understanding and acquisition of knowledge in them.          

            In sum, a combination of a healthy family background living in good environment plus the child being educated in a conducive with fortified learning or instructional aids or motivational in centures will prompt academic performances and lack of it will retard academic performance.

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

(1)        Problem of family background on achievement of student in tertiary           institution of learning.

(2)        Effect or problem of socio-economic status on students of higher institution           for examples political instabilities, strike action, funding (Government and           parents) cultism, student unrest etc.

1.3     PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

            This research or project is interested in find solution to the problem of poor academic performance as an effect to the development of education and the development of a nation.

            The project has the following objectives in view:

(1)               To know how the family background determine the academic achievement of students in higher institution.

(2)               Also, to know how the socio-economic factor or status or ones environment determine his/her academic achievement.

(3)               To find out the implication of family background and socio-economic status on students of higher institution of learning.

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTION

            The following are likely question that this research work is going to provide answers for:

(1)               How does family background determine the academic achievement of student of his/her institution of learning?

(2)               Also how can socio-economic status of one’s society contribute to his or her academic achievement?