CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
From birth to age eighteen children spend just a fraction of their lives
in school. Thus it is not surprising that many factors outside the school
environment can significantly influence student’s prospects for academic
success in schools. These factors (parental status) are in play both during the
years before children begin formal schooling and while they are actually
enrolled in elementary and secondary school. a diverse array of issues,
including parents beliefs and expectations about education, the availability
and quality of child care, family economic status, the persistence, or absence,
of violence in a child life, access to social services, physical and mental
health issues, opportunities for constructive, healthy activities outside of
school; and the nature and strength of school community connections, can make a
difference in a child’s opportunities to do well in school.
A commonly used phrase but one that has the ring of substantial truth is that
parents are their children’s first teachers. Parents beliefs expectations and
attitudes about education and their children’s achievement have a profound
early impact on students conceptions of the place of education in their lives.
What parents think about the importance (or unimportance) of doing well in
school is often mirrored in students results. A study into some selected
schools in Karu LGA of Nasarawa state found that nearly all students (97%) who
earned mostly A’s and B’s on their report cards reported that their parents
encouraged them to do well in school. among students who earned mostly C’s
nearly half (49%) said they received little parental encouragement. Some
families clearly have more resources to devote to their children and can move
easily find time to spend nurturing and encouraging them. When both parents work
can increasingly common phenomenon or when a child is being raised by a single
parent, finding time to read to the child to encourage the completion of
homework. Many children grow up in home with an abundance of fiscal and
materials resources. But not all do. Poverty takes a tool on student’s school
performance. Poor children are twice as likely as their more affluent
counterparts to repeat a grade to be suspended, expelled or drop out of high
school and to be placed in special education classes. Family composition and
economic circumstances are often intertwined. More than half of the poor
families are headed by an unmarried mother who must balance employment issues
(these women are often trapped in love – wage jobs) with child care and
parenting responsibilities. In sum, children from more economically affluent
home circumstances have a leg up in many areas of life, including education.
This research shows that despite the compelling importance of robust physical
and mental health to student’s prospects for academic success, not surprisingly
access to quality services is often a function of family income. The less
financially stable the child’s family the less likely the child is to have
regular medical care. Children covered by health insurance are more likely to
have better access to health care than children not covered by such insurance.
Uninsured students are under significant risks factors particularly for
adolescent, are drugs, and alcohol drinking, smoking cigarettes and using
harder drugs, from marijuana to cocaine can cause substantial long term
physical and mental health problems, in the short term use of many of these
substance can cause reduced school attendance and general in attention to
school studies.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
Having gotten a good understanding of the parental status in the academic
performance of the students, it will be of great importance to precisely and
with concise examine the statement of the problem. This study is aimed at
investigating Influence of parental status among some selected secondary school
students academic performance in Karu LGA of Nasarawa state. However, the
researcher will investigate this study in the following capacity.
To
identify the various problems faced by the students due to their parental
status that causes most of them to dropout of school, performing so low in
academic works and engaging in social vises.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Based on the above, issues discussed so far, the study will focus on seeking
answers to the following questions.
1.
What type of family do people of Karu Local Government Area practices?
2.
Does parental background affect student’s academic performance?
3.
Is there any difference between the children of high income ear5ners and low
income earners?
4.
Does the medical status (health) of the students affect his/her academics?
5.
Does parental involvement and family size affect student’s education?
1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
H0:
The socio-economic status of parents has no significant impact on the academic
performance of students.
H1:
The socio-economic status of parents has significant impact on the academic
performance of students.
H0:
Peer group curiosity does not affect the academic performance of students
H1:
Peer group curiosity affects the academic performance of students
1.5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main objectives of this study as intended by the researcher to investigate
and highlight Influence of parental status in the academic performance of the
students in Karu LGA of Nasarawa state. Though, this study is limited to Nasarawa,
its research findings may be applicable to other parts of Nigeria. Therefore,
the purpose of the study is to supplement the existing findings on the topic.
1.
To investigate Influence of parental status in the academic performance among
students of Karu LGA of Nasarawa state.
2.
To find out to what extent with which parental involvement in students academic
improve their performance either positively or negatively.
3.
To determine how good salary structure can upgrade or affect a student’s
academic performance.
4.
To identify the various factors to be considered in the academic performance of
students in relationship with parental status.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
The significance of the study, Influence of parental status in the academic
performance among students in Karu LGA of Nasarawa state cannot be over
emphasized. The study is not only much significant to Nigeria in general.
Amongst the importance of this research works are:
1.
It will serve as a reading text to knowledge about how parent’s socio-economic
status affect the performance of students.
2.
It will serve as a veritable tools for seminars, public lecturers as well as a
medium of awareness campaign on Influence of parental status.
3.
It will serve as an expository literature, on parents involvement irrespective
of the occupational status not only to secondary students but to all and sundry.
4.
It will help in exposing the teacher to the influence of parental status in the
academic performance of the student.
5.
It also help planners to know that children are from different family
background.
6.
It will be useful to educationalist.
Above
all this piece of work will offer very useful suggestion on the implication and
role of family and teacher play to prevent low parental engagements in the
students academic performance of Nasarawa Locality and the need to rehabilitate
the PTA (parents, teachers association) meeting.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Influence of parental status in the academic performance of the students, tends
to cover some selected recognized (private and government) secondary schools in
Karu LGA of Nasarawa state.
1.8 DEFINITION OF
TERMS
Students
– children (secondary school students) in Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa
State.
Parent
– the father and mother to a child (student) in Nasarawa
Academics
– educational study by a student
Role
– the duties
Performance
– the act of carrying into effect, to do a task
Academic
performance – this has to do with a student carry into effect either negatively
or positively his/her educational studies
Low
income earners – these are parents who salary structure are low due to their
kind of low occupation or no occupation at all e.g. the poor.
High
income earners – these are parents who salary structures are due to their kind
of job or business
Socio-economic
status – it has to do with parents occupation, moral, marital, educational
status and level of knowledge