TITLE PAGE

INFLUENCE OF FAMILY BACKGROUND ON THE ACADEMIC

ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN

NSUKKA EDUCATIONAL ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS, FACULTY OF EDUCATION,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE AWARD OF MASTERS DEGREE IN SOCIOLOGY OF

EDUCATION

BY

OMEH GABRIEL UGWUJA

PG/M.ED/08/49146

SUPERVISOR: DR. (MRS.) A.N. OKOLO

MAY, 2010.

ii

APPROVAL PAGE

This thesis has been approved for the department of educational

foundations, faculty of education, Universities of Nigeria Nsukka.

By

-------------------------------- --------------------------------- DR. (MRS.) A.N. OKOLO PROF. J.C. OMEJE

SUPERVISOR INTERNAL EXAMINER

------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------

PROF. I.C.S. IFELUNNI PROF. G.C. UNACHUKWU

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT EXTERNAL EXAMINER

--------------------------------------- PROF. S.A. EZEUDU

DEAN, FACULTY OF EDUCATION

iii

CERTIFICATION

Omeh Gabriel Ugwuja, a postgraduate student in the Department of Education

Foundation with Registration Number: PG/Med/08/49146 has satisfactorily completed

the requirement for research work for the Masters Degree in Sociology of Education

in the Department of Educational Foundations, faculty of Education, University of

Nigeria, Nsukka.

The work as contained in this project is original and has not been submitted in

part or full for any other diploma or degree programme of this University or other

institution of learning.

--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------

Omeh Gabriel Ugwuja Dr. (Mrs.) A.N. Okolo

(Student) (Supervisor)

iv

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God almighty for his mercy, guidance, and protection

throughout the period of this work and to my family members for their support and

understanding.

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher thanks God Almighty who made this work possible. He is

greatly indebted to his project Supervisor, Dr. (Mrs) A.N. Okolo who accommodate

him and painstakingly read through the research work. Only God can compensate her

adequately.

He also grateful to Dr. E.N. Nwosu, Dr. (Mrs.) Oforka, Mr. Ezema S.A. and

Dr. (Mrs.) G.T.U. Chiaha, who sometimes left their private and official duties to assist

him in this work.

He is equally indebted to be following people for their counseling and

encouragement during the period of this research work. Dr. J. Uroko, Dr. Uche

Asogwa, Prof. Uche, Eze, Prof. J.O. Ugwuanyi, Prof. J.C. Omeje, Mr. Abah Godwin.

The researcher is also grateful to Mr. Odobe who helped him to sorce some of the

material for this research work.

The researcher gives special thanks to his wife Mrs. Omeh M.O. for her moral

encouragement and his children, Ejike, Nnenna, Chiamaka and Chigozie for their

prayer and support through out the period of the study. May almighty God compensate

everybody who helped in one way or the other to make this work possible.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- i

Approval page --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ii

Certification --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- iii

Dedication --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- iv

Acknowledgment --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- v

Table of contents --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- vi

List of tables --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- vii

Abstract --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 1

Statement of the problem --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 11

Purpose of the study --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 12

Significance of the study --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 12

Scope of the study --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 14

Research questions --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 15

Research Hypotheses --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 15

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 17

Conceptual framework --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 17

Concept of family --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 17

Concept of family Background --- --- --- --- --- --- 19

Concept of achievement --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 20

Concept of academic achievement --- --- --- --- --- --- 20

Theoretical framework --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 21

Parental attachment theory --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 22

Self Determination theory --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 22

Maslow’s Motivational theory --- --- --- --- --- --- 23

Review of Empirical Studies --- --- --- --- --- --- 24

vii

Summary of related literature reviewed --- --- --- --- --- 26

CHAPTER THREE:

RESEARCH METHOD --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 29

Research Design --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 29

Area of study --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 29

Population of the study --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 30

Sample and sampling technique --- --- --- --- --- --- 30

Instrument for data collection --- --- --- --- --- --- 31

Validation of the instrument --- --- --- --- --- --- 32

Reliability of the instrument --- --- --- --- --- --- 32

Method of data collection --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 33

Method of data analysis --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 33

CHAPTER FOUR:

RESULT --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 35

Research question one --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 35

Research question two --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 36

Research question three --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 37

Research question four --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 38

Research question five --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 39

Hypothesis one --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 40

Hypothesis two --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 41

Hypothesis three --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 43

Hypothesis four --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 44

Hypothesis five --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 45

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULT

Discussion of the findings --- --- --- --- --- --- 49

Influence of parental level of education on students’

academic achievement --- --- --- --- --- 49

viii

Influence of parental occupation on students’ academic achievement - 50

Influence of parental income on students’ academic achievement - 51

Influence of family size on students’ academic achievement --- 51

Influence of parental motivation on students’ academic achievement 54

Educational implication of the study --- --- --- --- --- 54

Recommendations --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 57

Limitation of the study --- --- --- --- --- --- 58

Suggestion for further the study --- --- --- --- --- 59

Summary of the study --- --- --- --- --- --- 59

References --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 61-64

Appendices

I. Request for validation of instrument --- --- --- --- 65

II. Instrument – Questionnaire for the study --- --- --- 68

III. Population of SS2 Students in Nsukka Education in

2011/2012 Session --- --- --- --- --- --- 72

IV. Population of SS2 students in the Sampled Schools --- --- 74

V. Reliability analysis --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 76

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LIST OF TABLES

Table

1 Parental educational level and its influence on students’ academic achievement. 35

2 Influence of parental occupation on students’ academic achievement 36

3 Influence of parental income on students’ academic achievement 37

4 Influence of family size on students’ academic achievement 38

5 Influence of parental motivation on students’ academic achievement. 39

6 The mean ratings of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental

level of education 40

7 The mean ratings of urban and rural students on the influence of parents’ occupation

on students’ academic achievement. 41

8 The mean ratings of urban and rural students on influence of parental income on

students’ academic achievement.

43

9 The mean ratings of urban and rural students on influence of family size on students’

academic achievement. 44

10 The mean ratings of urban and rural students’ on influence of parental motivation on

students’ academic achievement. 45

x

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed at investigating the family background factors that can influence

students’ academic achievement in Senior Secondary School in Nsukka Education

Zone in Enugu State. To guide the study, five research purpose, five research

questions and five research hypotheses were formulated. The design adopted for this

study was Ex-post Facto design. The population of the study consists of all senior

Secondary students from the fifty three secondary schools in the three local

government areas in Nsukka Education Zone. The fifty three secondary schools in the

zone have a population of seven thousand, nine hundred and forty five senior

secondary students. Out of the fifty three schools, twelve schools were sampled using

proportionate random sampling technique. In the twelve schools, all SSII students

numbering eight hundred and sixteen (816) were used as the subject of the study. The

research instrument was questionnaire on family background influence (FBI),

designed by the researcher and validated by experts. The reliability of the instrument

was established using Crunbach alpha method. The data collected were analyzed using

mean and standard deviation while t-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses at

0.05 level of significance. The instrument was pilot tested in Obollo Afor Education

Zone, using 30 students. The reliability coefficient was 0.69. The finding of the study

revealed that: Students from educated parents achieve more than those from

uneducated parents in academics; students from high-income status parents enjoy

considerable advantage in academic achievement than students of low income status

parents because their parents were able to afford necessary materials and equipment

needed for effective learning in the school; parental level of motivation also

influenced students’ academic achievement because motivation and reward served as

a form of reinforcement for children’s learning at school. Based on these findings, the

study recommended among others that parents should diversify their sources of

income to be able to provide fund for their children’s schooling. Parents should

equally realize the importance of using rewards and other measures to motivate their

children.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens especially the youths.

This is because education is very important in the development of any nation or

community. Education is the process of transmitting what is worthwhile to members of

the society. According to Okafor (1981). Education embraces all those experiences of the

individual through which knowledge is acquired and intellect enlightened. For

Nwabachili and Egbue (1993) education is what goes on from one generation to another

generation. In this context, education is the process of socializing the child to grow up as

a fulfilled member of the society through informal, formal and non-formal process.

Informal education is the process of acquiring knowledge about the environment and

beyond through living with one another. According to Nwabachili and Egbue (1993)

formal education is a consciously planned form of socialization in a formal setting such as

school. They stressed that non-formal education involve all those systematic programmes

and processes of education and training that is done outside formal education setting. All

these forms of education cannot be achieved without the influence of the family.

Family is the first social environment the child finds itself. According to Clifford

(1981) family remains the primary environment of the child. The author emphasized that

family environment has more chances of increasing or decreasing the intellectual

achievement of the child. Akubue and Okolo (2008), defined family as a small kinship

structural group with the key function of natural socialization of the new born. Similarly,

in Okunniyi (2004), family is defined as a primary social group of parents, offspring and

possibly other members of the household.

2

Family background refers to all the conditions and circumstances in the family

which influence the child physically, intellectually and emotionally Muola (2010).

Children coming from different family backgrounds are affected different by such family

conditions, that is why some children have good family background while some have

poor background. Citing fleege, Eke (1999) noted that with some families, the

background way vary from time to time for the same individuals.

Formal education therefore remains the vehicle for human development which

must start from the family. There are different categories of families. The major

categories of families according to Anderson and Taylor (2000) includes: Traditional

families–where the father is the major breadwinner and mother at home rearing children;

divorced families–families that have been reconstituted following the breaking of

marriage; single parent families–likely headed by women; step families–with new

siblings and new parents stemming from re-marriage.

A family could also be categorized as extended or nuclear. Extended families are

those in which large group of related kin in addition to parents and children live together

in the same household. This is the type of families prevalent in African countries. Nuclear

families are families where married couple resides together with their children. This type

of family is common in Western countries (Andersen and Taylor 2000).

Families are of various sizes. Family size has to do with the total number of people

in a single family which may include the father, mother, children and even the extended

members – all living in one hamlet. According to Alio (1995) family size has implication

for education. The author emphasized that the size of the family determines to a great

extent the relative amount of physical attention and time which each child gets from his

parents. Large families are more common among the lower class of the society. Children

3

in large families may suffer poverty and lack parental encouragement and stimulus which

motivate their academic achievement (Eamon, 2005). Similarly, smaller family size has

been linked with high academic achievement (Majoribank 1996) Majoribank further

stressed that students with fewer siblings are likely to receive more parental attention and

have support that leads to better school performance Family (small or large size)

remains the primary environment of every child. The families begin the process of

education and provide physical and psychological needs of the child. This supports the

view of Maduewisi (1982), that the environmental experiences from family, peer group

and school location have great influence in determining child’s intellectual ability. She

maintained that bright children from under-privileged family environment may turn dull

due to impoverished family environment. She added that mental development influence

intellectual development. This is in line with Hebb (1987) who observed that the innate

potentials of children cannot be attained without adequate stimulating family environment

because the child cannot do well intellectually. The implication is that a proper

stimulating family environment with intellectual potential and appropriate teaching

methods will definitely enhance maximum performance of the child.

Durosaro and Durosaro (1990) in their study attempted to investigate the

relationship between students’ family size and their academic achievement; they found

out that family size influenced academic achievement. Their study reveals that children

from small size families performed better at school than their counterparts from both

average size and large size families. Furthermore, Yoloye (1989) conducted a study to see

if the family background variables might be useful in explaining their academic

achievement. Some aspects of family background variables examined in the study include

family size and parents’ educational status. His findings were that the polygamous family

4

sizes which were naturally large, reduces the chances of children going to school in the

first instance. In addition, children from such backgrounds who are in schools have

reduced chances of achieving their goals. Thirdly, parents of such families are mostly

illiterate and incapable of providing adequate motivation for their children in schools as

compare with the literate nuclear families.

The economic implication of large family size is better explained in Okunyi

(2004) who observed from his study that as families get larger, parents cannot give their

children the same amount of individual attention. They could not afford to provide them

with so many of the things which will help them to make the best possible use of their

years at school such as educational aids, and quiet comfortable rooms in which to do

home work undisturbed by the television, outings to places of interest, leisure time

pursuits, and opportunities for traveling. What is most probably important of all,

according to him is the fact that the parents of large families were found not to talk with

their children to the same extent as parents of small families.

Another aspect of family environmental factor is the structure of the family.

Structurally, a family is either broken or intact. A broken family in this context is one that

is not structurally intact for various reasons; such as death of a parent, divorce, separation,

desertion and illegitimacy in which case, the family was never completed (Coukline

1996). Life in a single parent family can be stressful for both the child and the parent and

such families are faced with the challenges of diminished financial resources,

assumptions of new roles and responsibilities, establishment of new pattern in intra-

familial interactions and reorganization or routines and schedules, (Agulanna 1999).

In single parent families, children may suffer some psychological and social

problems which affect their academic performance. Danesy and Okedian (2002), in their

5

study, lamented that street hawking among secondary school students have

psychologically imposed other problems, such as sex networking behaviour, juvenile

delinquent behaviour, which take much of the student school time that necessitated the

poor academic performance and drop out syndrome noticed among young school

students. They also lamented that the maternal and paternal deprivation of essential needs

of the young students have promoted their poor performance in public examinations, such

as JSCE, WASSCE and NECO. Similarly, (Okunniyi 2004) asserted that a child who

suffer maternal and paternal deprivation may experience academic problems including

truancy in the school. This is because the child may lack some necessities like school

fees, books and uniforms. These conditions, according to the authors, are not conducive

for effective parenting because when the single parents are overburdened by

responsibilities and by the own, emotional, reaction to their situation, they often become

irritable, impatient and insensitive to their children’s needs.

Apart from the structural pattern of the family, another powerful variable in the

family that determines the students academic achievement is the family socio-economic

status (SES). According to (Jeynes 2002), the socio-economic status (SES) of a child is

most commonly determined by combining portent’s educational level, occupational

status, and income level. Social class and economic status of the parents determine the

type of school and the standard of training they desire for their children. The occupation

or profession of the parents, the educational level and whether the mothers are working or

non-working mothers places them at an advantage or disadvantage to evaluate their

children’s academic work and monitor their progress.

Status is often determined by the individuals economic attainment, though it is sometimes

ascribed on the individual. Okunniyi (2004), identified three distinct socio-economic

6

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 traders 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 food,

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 of

lack of financial support.

The socio-economic status of a family is capable of affecting the behaviour of

the children and determine 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

7

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 behaviour 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 school

8

has 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 had 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 behaviorual 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 families. 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 and

sleeping habit; adequate facilities for sleep, for study and for rest; satisfaction of 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 parental

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

9

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 cases,

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.

Students from low socio-economic status families may not be strongly motivated

to do well in school and may not be knowledgeable about techniques of being successful

in school. High socio-economic status parents who have benefited in a variety of ways

from education serves as effective and enthusiastic advocate of schooling (Carlson,

2003). In line with this Okwulanya (2003) opines that motivation from educated parents

strengthens the academic aspiration and language development in their children to

perform better in their academic work. According to the scholar, some children may come

from homes were academic is much valued, where there are books around them and most

of the time, they see their parents reading. Their parents may give them books as

Christmas presents. They encourage them to read many books wither by organizing mini

library for them at home or by encourage to use the state library. The author went further

to emphasize that some children may come from illiterate homes, where no importance is

attached to books. In such families children scarcely see their parents at home.

In all, the researcher’s conclusion is that motivated students are likely to engage in

an activity more vigorously and more effectively than unmotivated one. Motivation is

always goal orientated.

10

The importance of parental level of education to academic achievement of students

cannot be over emphasized. Students from professional and to a lesser extent managerial

occupational backgrounds exhibit higher academic performance (Gary, 2001). In support

of this view, Onochie and Okpalla (1985) opined that educational level of parents which

is an indicator of socio-economic status has direct influence on child’s values and

academic achievement in the school. They mentioned that children from illiterate families

may learn little or nothing from home that can help them develop interest in academics.

This is in contrast to what is obtainable from children from literature families where

parents provide atmosphere conducive for the formation of good study habits (Qeca,

1980).

Parental occupation is also an important family background variable. The

occupation of one’s parents may determine to a large extent one’s opportunity to attend

secondary school or not. Ezeji (2001) noted that parents like their children to take to their

occupation, like parents who are lawyers, doctors, musicians among others. Examples of

such people in the country include Gani faweiheni, the prominent human right lawyer,

Oliver Akalite (Oliver De coque) and Osita Osadebe who were famous musicians each of

these great men had one or more of his children in his type of occupation. Uwaoma

(2066) asserted that most vocational students were children whose parents were farmer or

craftmen. In Nigeria most children whose parents cannot afford to pay for high cost of

formal education enroll into apprenticeship programmes such as carpentry, brick laying,

petting trading and others. In the study area, there is a seeming general poor performance

among secondary school students. Evidences of the poor performances are seen in both

students’ internal and external examination. For instance, the available records of WAEC

result analyses from 2005 to 2011 indicate downward trends in students’ academic

11

achievement. According to the analyses, the achievement levels of students are as

follows: 2005-27.53%, 2006-15.56%, 2007-25.54%, 2008-13.76%, 2009-25.99%,

2010-24.94% and 2011 -30.99% (source: WAEC Lagos).

It is against this background that the researcher is interested investigating the

influence of family background on students academic achievement in Nsukka education

zone of Enugu state. The researcher intends to investigate the variables in the family

background with a view of assessing their relative influence on academic achievement of

senior secondary school student in Nsukka education zone.

Statement of the Problem

Most students in Nigerian secondary schools are in greater risk of poor academic

achievement in both internal and external examinations (WAEC and NECO). For

instance, the available records of WAEC result analysis from 2005- 2011 show a

continuous decline in students overall performance in school certificate examinations.

Government, parents, teachers and students blame one another for students’ poor

performance in schools. Parents blame teachers for lack of dedication to duties. The

teachers blame government for poor salaries hence they are poorly motivated, parents

also accuse government for not equipping the schools with learning materials,

government blame parents for not doing good home work and the students are blamed for

lack of discipline and dedication to their studies.

In light of the above issues, the outstanding and relevant question is: what is the

influence of family background on academic achievement of secondary school students?

12

Purpose of the Study

Generally, the purpose of the study was to find out the influence of family background

on students’ academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Nsukka

Education zone.

Specifically, the purpose of the study is to find out:

1. The influence of parental level of education on academic achievement of

senior secondary school students.

2. The influence of parental occupation on students’ academic achievement.

3. The influence of parental income on students’ academic achievement.

4. The influence of family size on students’ academic achievement.

5. The influence of parental motivation on students’ academic achievement.

Significance of the study

Theoretically, the findings of this study are considered significant because it can

help in providing empirical information in identifying and explaining the various family

background variables and the influence of the variables on students’ academic

achievement. This will help in better understanding of the phenomenon. Moreover, it is

expected that the findings will help to explain the functionality of the theoretical

postulations Maslow’s motivational theory. According to Maslow, motivation is very

important in learning, and a learner under motivated condition, exhibits purposeful

behaivour aimed to achieving the set goal. The students is motivated to learn when their

physiological need like shelter, food, water, rest and safety needs like love and belonging.

The satisfaction of these needs leads to the quest to satisfy higher needs which boarder on

self esteem and self actualization. The understanding of this theory especially as it relates

13

to students teachers and parents would be of particular significance to researchers in the

field of education and family studies.

Practically, the finding of this study will be useful to the following: the teachers,

students, parents, school guidance counselors, Parents Teachers Association (PTA),

educational administrators and the society at large.

The finding of the study will be of immense help to the teachers. The teachers will realize

the necessity of individualizing their teaching by structuring their teaching methods and

instructional resources to take care of the divergent parental backgrounds of the students.

This method may yield more positive result than the traditional system which assumes

that all children have similar family background. The findings of the study will also help

teachers to exercise patience with slow-learners as they vary methods of instruction to

accommodate divergent family background.

The findings will be of immense importance to students. The students will realize

that their poor performance might not necessarily be their fault alone, especially those

from low status families. Such knowledge will go a long way to reduce frustration in the

students and also reduce drop-outs which occur as a result of frustration. Rather, the

students should be made to adjust and help themselves by studying hard at home and also

make proper of the books and materials that are provided for them at the school library.

Through the findings of this study, parents will realize the importance of

improving their educational standard so as to influence their children’s academic

performance. Parents will also understand the need for them to improve their socio-

economic status so as to be able to provide the necessary motivation in form of learning

materials and other things which will enhance their children’s learning and their academic

performance. They will equally acknowledge the importance of positive motivations and

14

encouragement and provide some, by making the family environment more conducive for

their children.

The school guidance counselors will also benefit from the findings of this study.

They will be in position to guide and counsel students in the area of personal social

interactions, academic performance and career choice.

The findings of the study will help Parents Teacher Associations (PTA) of schools

in promoting the academic performance of student. This is because at PTA meetings,

parents know their functions and responsibilities at home, to help solve their children’s

problems both home and school environment.

The findings of the study will be of immense help to educational administrators.

They will use the findings in the formulation of policy that will regulate equal educational

opportunities for all children irrespective of their family background in the distribution of

equipment, facilities and amenities to schools.

The findings of this study will help the society at large in identifying how family

environmental variables such as what parents’ level of education, parents’ income,

parents’ occupation, parents’ motivation and family size on student’s academic

performance. This will act as a check on increasing low academic performance among

students, occasioned by the fact that some parents, teachers and counselors do not have

adequate knowledge/input required of them.

Scope of Study

The study is limited to secondary schools in Nsukka education Zone of Enugu

state. The context scope of this study is limited to finding the influence of family

background on academic achievement of students with particular regards to parental level

of education; parental occupation, parental income, family size and parental motivation.

15

Research Questions

The study will provide answers to the following research questions:

1. What is the influence of parental level of education on students’ academic

achievement?

2. What influence does parental occupation have on students’ academic

achievement?

3. What is the influence of parents’ income on students’ academic achievement?

4. What is the influence of family size on students’ academic achievement?

5. What influence does parental motivation have on students’ academic

achievement?

Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses will guide the studying and will be tested at 0.5 level of

significance.

1. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban and

Rural Schools on the influence of parental level of education on students’

academic achievement

2. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Students in Urban and

Rural Schools on the influence of parental occupation on students’ academic

achievement.

3. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Students in Urban and

Rural Schools on the influence of parents’ income on student’s academic

achievement.

16

4. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Students in Urban and

Rural Schools on the influence of family size on students’ academic

achievement.

5. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of Students in Urban and

Rural Schools on the influence of parental motivation on students’ academic

achievement.

17

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The chapter presents a review of related literature under the following sub-

headings.

• Conceptual Framework

- Concept of family

- Concept of family background

- Concept of achievement

- Concept of academic achievement

•••• Theoretical Framework

- Parental attachment theory

- Self-determination theory

- Maslow’s motivational theory

• Empirical Studies on family background and academic achievement

• Summary of related literature.

Conceptual Framework

Concept of Family

Family has been described at the smallest, most personal and not intimate of social

groups. It is the most important primary group and the smallest social unit in the society.

Odo (1990:10) defined family as “a social group sharing a common residence and co-

operating economically”. The author went further to assert that the institutions of the

family is usually based on the marriage of one or more sexually co-habiting couples and

usually there is the expectation of having children for whom the adults of the family

accept responsibility. Alio (1995) observed that the family is also the most personal social

18

organization, for nothing is more personal than the interaction and relationship between

members of a family. He further said that married couple without children, though bound

by the strongest personal ties do not constitute a family for such ties can conceivably exist

among couples who are not married. For him, what gives a family its character are

children, for only in such a family can that intimate, personal relationship be established

by which the family can perform its functions of rearing, protecting and educating the

children, transmitting to them the social values it has inherited and a special bond

between all the members. This kind of family setting is similar to the Nigerian traditional

idea of family. Traditionally, it is believed that it is the children that cement the union of a

man and a woman together and makes it a lasting and a intimate one. The primary aim of

this union is procreation.

Family can be classified into nuclear and extended form. Nuclear family is basic

form of family organization. It is made up of the father (husband), mother (wife) and

children. The children may be the biological offspring; of the couple or/and the adopted

members of the family. According to Okafor (1992), the adoption of a child into the

family is a common culture in the British society, but less so in Nigerian society. He

added that nuclear family is found common among the urban city elites in Nigerian

society or as a component in both extended, nuclear and compound family in Nigerian

rural areas. The author maintained that one of the characteristics of the nuclear family is

that is tends to break up when the children marry, when the parents die or at any point in

human cycle. According to him, the male raised in a nuclear family usually begins his life

in house hold headed by his parents and concluded his life in a family that he himself

heads.

19

Extended family is the type of family that comprises of the father (husband) his

wife (mother), their children, the husbands and the wife’s relations etc. Alio (1995)

pointed out that the extended system is a dispersal version of the joint family and the

members of the constituent groups do not all live together in one dwelling. To him, the

extended kin-group includes a span of three or four generations within the total household

or closely adjacent households. The extended family system is commonly a

characteristics of most African society. Many Nigerian societies do not believe in nuclear

family but in modern times, urbanization and economic pressures are discouraging

extended family ties. However, extended family system is the popular and most common

type of family arrangement in the Nigerian society. Anybody who fails to practice or

show interest in the extended relations is regarded as a wicked and hopeless human being

by members of the society.

Concept of Family Background

Family background plays a very big role on a child’s life. Family background

refers to all the objects, forces and conditions in the family which influence the child

physically, intellectually and emotionally (Muola 2010). Children coming from different

family backgrounds are affected differently by such variations and that is why some

children have good family background while the family background of others are poor.

Citing Fleege, Eke (1999) noted that with some families, the background may vary from

time to time for the same individuals. The author further stated that because it is parents

who are primarily responsible for establishing the family and exercise control over it, they

are responsible for the type of family background that exists. This means that parental

attitudes are very important in promoting healthy family background, and healthy family

20

background is possible when parents adapt to the culturally defined roles of parents to the

needs of the changing young generation.

Concept of achievement

Achievement could be seen as something which was carried out successfully. It is

a product of effort or series of efforts. Achievement is usually good but in most cases

difficult. Eze (2009) described achievement as something which has been accomplished

successfully, especially by means of exertion, skill practice or perseverance. She sees

achievement as a test for the measurement and comparison of skills in various fields of

academic study. Ifeako (1999.30) regards achievement as a change in behaviour exhibited

at the end of a given period of time or within a given time range. Nwagu 1992:71) cited in

Eze (2009) defined achievement as “a systematic and purposeful quantification of

learning outcomes”. He explained that achievement involves the determination of the

degree of attainment on individuals in tasks, courses or programmes of which the

individuals were sufficiently exposed.

Achievement tests result in academics have many functions which include: to

enable us determine the relative position or rank of individual student with respect to their

test performance. It also enables us to obtain information on the extent to which a student

has attained the criterion performance.

Students, teachers, parents and the entire society are much concerned about the

academic achievement of students.

Concept of Academic Achievement

Academic achievement has to do with what a learn is able to accomplish by

execution of class work in the school. Stiggings (2001) sees academic achievement as

21

something a learner do or achieve at school, college or university, in class, in a laboratory

or field work. went ling (2000) said that academic achievement refers to achievement of

individuals’ objective to various types of knowledge and skills. According to the author

the objective are established based on the age, prior learning and capacity of individuals

with regards to education, socialization and qualification.

Some of the purposes of academic achievement measurement are enumerated in

Ukwuije (1989: 22) as follows: to determine the relative effectiveness of a programme in

terms of students’ behavioural outputs; to identify students growth or lack of growth in

acquiring desirable knowledge skills, attitudes and social values; to held teachers

determine the effectiveness of their teaching technique and learning material; to help

motivate students to learn as they discover their progress or lack of progress in given task;

to encourage students to develop a sense of discipline and systematic study habits; to

acquaint parents or guardians with their children performance ; to predict the general

trend in the development of teaching learning process; to make reliable decision about

education planning and to provide educational administrators with adequate information

about teachers effectiveness and school need.

In summary, academic achievement measurement is very important, is schools

colleges and universities. It is relevant instructional, administrative, guidance and

counseling and research purposes.

Theoretical Framework

For the research work to be intellectually sound, it must include a scientifically

based theoretical framework with which a systematic analysis will be carried out.

Therefore, the following theories are adopted for the study: parental attachment theory,

self determination theory and Mashow’s motivational theory.

22

Parental Attachment Theory

Parental attachment theory was proposed by Bowlby (1980). The theory states that

the child forms a strong emotional bond with anther person (caregiver) during childhood

with lifelong consequences. According to the theorist, sensitive and emotionally available

parenting helps the child to form a secure attachment style which foster a child’s socio-

emotional development and well being. Less sensitive and emotionally available

parenting or neglect of the child’s needs may result in insecure forms of attachment style,

which is a risk factor for many mental health problems.

The theory is relevant to this study in view of the fact that the proponent provides

clues in emotional development of children. He also made reasonable suggestions for

parents and guardians. Parents and guardians can now see the necessity of forming secure

attachment bond with their children. Such bonds will enable the children to end up with

secure attachment and secure state of mind later in life. Parents will learn to understand

the biological and psychological needs of the children, and to avoid unrealistic

expectations of the child behaviour. In this way, parents may seek to avoid frustration that

occurs when they expect things beyond the child’s capability.

Self-Determination Theory

Self-determination theory was propounded by Deci and Ryan (1985). The

proponents stated that people are active organisms, with the growing tendencies geared

towards mastering ambient challenges, and integrating new experiences into a coherent

sense of self. They stressed that these natural development tendencies do not operate

automatically, but rather requires on-going social nutriments and supports. According

them, the social context can either support or thwart the natural tendencies towards active

engagement and psychological growth furthermore the social context can catalyze to lack

23

of integration, defense, and fulfillment of need-substitutes. The proponents remarked that

the dialectic between the active organism and the social context is the basis for

predictions about behaviour, experience, and development.

Self-determination theory is applicable to this study, based on the fact individuals

or groups need to be self determined to achieve a set goal. The habit of determination can

help children in their academic achievement.

Maslow’s Motivational Theory.

This is another important theory that is relevant to this study. The theory was

developed by Abraham Maslow (1970) and popularized by many researchers including

Onyi (2007). According to Maslow, motivation is constant and never ending, fluctuating

and complex. He asserted that man always has needs to satisfy. These needs, according to

him are arranged in a hierarchical order starting from the basic or lower order needs to

higher order needs. The hierarchy is categorized into two, namely Deficit needs

(physiological, safety, belonging and self esteem) and growth needs (self-actualization).

Maslow explained that once a particular need is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivator of

behaviour and another need emerges.

The above theory relates to this study because motivation is very important in

learning. It is necessary at home and in school. One of the major problems confronting

teachers and parents is that of motivating learners to perform assigned tasks to meet or

even excel predetermined standards. Motivation energize and sustain behaviour, direct

and regulate behaviour and even enhance selective behaviour.

A learner under motivated condition, exhibits purposeful behaviour aimed at

achieving the set goals. The students are motivated to learn by their satisfaction of needs

like physiological: Shelter, food, water, rest etc. Safety: materials love and belonging.

24

The satisfaction of these needs leads to the quest to satisfy higher ones which are self

esteem and self-actualization needs.

Empirical Studies

This section reviews some empirical works that have been done on areas related

to the study.

Okunniyi (2004) carried out a research on how the family background influence

students introductory technology achievement among Junior secondary school students in

Abeokuta south local government of Ogun state. The study design was a survey which

involved the use of questionnaire in gathering data. The researcher use 500 students as

sample for the study. The data collected were analyzed using frequency table, percentage,

mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics. The researcher found, among other things

that social class of parents determines the students academic achievement.

Although this study was directed towards finding out how family background

influences the students academic performance, it is more concerned with how the family

background affect the students performance in introductory technology. However, it is

related to the present study as both are interested in finding our the influence of family

background factors on student academic outcome.

Izundu (2005), conducted a research on relationship between Home environmental

factors and academic performance of secondary school students in Onitsha local

government area of Anambra state. The design for the study was correlation design, while

the major instrument for gathering data was questionnaire. The sample for the study was

450 students. The data collected were analyzed through the use of mean, and standard

deviation while the null hypotheses were tested using ‘regressional analysis’. The finding

of the study was that most students in secondary schools in Anambra state come from low

25

socio-economic families but it does not affect their academic performance adversely. The

study also revealed that family size does not influence the students academic

performance. However, the study found that there is significant relationship between the

level of parents education and the academic performance of the students. The above

study relates with the present study as both are discussing about the home

variables/factors that affect students academic performance.

In another related study, Onyi (2002) conducted a research on the influence of

home on the academic performance of students in Enugu East local government area of

Enugu state. The researcher used survey design for the study. The sample for the study

consists of 240 students. The instrument used by the researcher for data collection was a

structured likert type questionnaire. The researcher used weighted means in analyzing the

data. The findings of this study are: home environment influences the academic

performance of the students, it was also found that students from peaceful homes share

their academic problems with their parents. It was also found that there is positive

correlation between parents encouragement and students academic performance. This

study is related to the present study in that it is geared towards exploring how home

environmental factors influence students academic performance.

In a similar work, Eke (1999) conducted a study on the relationship between home

environmental factors and academic performance of secondary school students in Gboko

local government are of Benue state. The purpose of the study specifically was to

examine how home environmental factors affect students academic performance. The

study design was correctional survey which sought to discover or clarify relationships

through the use of correlation coefficient to determine the extent to which home

environment mental factors relate with academic performance of students in schools. A

26

sample of 200 students was used for the study. He analysis the of data using conducted

using the Peason’s product moment correlation method. It was revealed from the study

that the socio-economic background of parents is not significantly related to the academic

performance of students in Gboko local government area of Benue state. Another finding

of that study was that parental occupation does not significantly affect academic

performance of students. The study also found that parental educational background is not

significantly related to academic performance of secondary school students in Gboko

local government of Benue state. The study is related to this present study because it

discussed some of the home related variables that influence students academic

achievement.

Agu (2010) carried out a study titled “relationship between motivational patterns

and students academic achievement schools in Enugu education zone were used. The

design for the study was correlation survey design. The instrument for data collection was

question. The sample of the study was 459 students.

The researcher analyzed the data using Pearson Product moment correlation

coefficient. The result of the study revealed that motivational patterns relate to students

academic achievement. They study further revealed that motivation is an integral aspect

of learning indicating that different motivational construct are correlated with effective

classroom learning and achievement. The above study relates with the present study since

it embarks on examining motivational factors that enhance students academic

achievement.

Summary of Literature Review

The literature for this study focused on three main headings: the conceptual

framework, theoretical framework and the empirical studies. Under the conceptual

27

framework, concepts such as family, family background, achievement and influence were

reviewed. Family has been described as the smallest, most personal and most intimate of

social groups. It is the most important primary group and the smallest social unit in the

society is usually based on the marriage of one or more sexually co-habiting couples, and

usually there is expectation of having children for whom the adults of the family accept

responsibility. Family background connotes all the objects, forces and conditions in the

family which influence the child physically, intellectually and emotionally. Education is

seen as the sum total of the experiences, whether formal or informal which as man comes

across in his journey to life. It is also seen as the transmission of what is worthwhile to

individuals to make them knowledgeable and contributing members of the society.

Achievement is as something which is carried out successfully, a product of effort or

series of efforts which is usually good but in most cases difficult. It is described as

something which has been accomplished successfully, especially by means of exertion,

skill, practice or perseverance. Influence is the capacity or power of persons or things to

be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behaviour, opinions of others.

Under theoretical framework such theories as parental attachment theory, self

determination theory and Maslow’s motivational theory were reviewed. Parental

attachment theory argues that a child has a tendency to seek closes to another person

(care-giver) and feel secured when that person is present. Self-determination theory states

that people are active organisms, with the growing tendencies geared towards mastering

ambient challenges, and integrating new experiences into a coherent sense of self.

Maslow’s motivational theory emphasizes that man always has needs to satisfy and these

needs are arranged in a hierarchical order staring from the basic or lower order needs to

higher order needs when one needs is met another will emerge.

28

Finally, although some empirical studies indicated the influence of family

background on students’ academic achievement, a major problem that was evident from

literature was a general dearth of such research studies in Nigeria especially in the study

area (Nsukka Education zone). Most of the available research studies were conducted in

the western countries. Therefore, there is the need to carry out the study in Nigerian

environment. It is the bid to fill this gap that motivated the study.

29

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter discusses the procedure that is adopted in carrying out this study. It

focuses on the research design, area of the study, population of the study, sample and

sampling technique, instrument for data collection, validation of the instrument, reliability

of the instrument, method of data collection and method of data analysis.

Research Design

The study was carried out using ex-post facto method in examining the influence

of family background on student’s academic achievement in senior secondary schools in

Nsukka education zone. Ex-post facto research design according Ngwagu (2005) is a

systematic empirical inquiry in which the researcher does not have direct control on

independent variables because they are inherently not easy to manipulate. The purpose of

ex-post facto research design is to find out factors that seem to be closely associated with

certain behaviours, occurrences, prevalence or conditions. Ex-post facto design is

considered suitable for this study because it is practical and versatile. The design enables

the researcher to collect original data from the respondents themselves and describes the

present conditions as they exist in their natural family settings.

Area of the Study

The study was carried out in Nsukka education zone of Enugu state. Nsukka

education zone is one of the six education zone in the state. There are three Local

Government areas in the zone, namely: Nsukka, Igbo Etiti and Uzo Uwani Local

Government Areas. Nsukka education zone is chosen for this study since it has a

30

representative sample of the target population. Again literature indicates high incidence of

poor academic achievement among students in the study area.

Population of the Study

The population of the study consists of all the senior secondary class two (SS 2) students

in fifty three public secondary schools in Nsukka education zone. These fifty three

schools have a population of seven thousand, Nine hundred and forthy five (7945) ss2

students. (see appendix- source: PPSMB Nsukka Zone) these schools are distributed

across three Local Government according to the statistical records available in the Post

Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB) Nsukka Zone - see appendix for details.

Sample and Sampling Technique

The sample size for the study comprised eight hundred and sixteen (816) students

from the public secondary schools in the study area. The schools for the study were

classified along Local Government Areas. For even representation, non-proportionate

stratified random sampling procedure was used to draw four schools from each of the

Local Government Area in the zone. This is to accommodate Local Government areas

with few schools. (see appendix for details). A total of twelve (12) schools were drawn. In

each of the sample school the entire Senior Secondary Two (SS 2) students was used

giving a total of eight hundred and sixteen students (816). The schools were further

stratified into urban and rural schools with a population of 408 respondents in each strata,

giving a total of 816 respondents in both urban and rural schools.

The researcher purposely used to use SS II students as the respondents,

considering the facts that students at that level have been academically exposed and may

be able to handle the questionnaire. Students in SS I are still new in senior secondary

31

level, while those in SS III are preparing for their terminal examinations (WAEC to

NECO).

Instrument for Data Collection

The Instruments for data collection was questionnaire. The questionnaire was

developed by the researcher and is titled: Family background influence questionnaire

(FBIQ). This questionnaire is constructed on the basis of research questions on a four

point likert amended scale. The instrument (questionnaire) is made up of twenty six (26)

items on influence of parental education, parental occupation, parental income, family

size and parental motivation. The questionnaire has three parts. Part one provides

demographic data of the respondents, part two provides information on students’ family

background. Part three has five clusters (A-E). cluster ‘A’ contains questionnaire items

concerning the influence of education level of parents, cluster ‘B’ contains questionnaire

items concerning the influence of parental occupation, cluster ‘C’ has item statements that

seek information on the influence of parental level of income, cluster ‘D’ contains item

statements concerning the influence of family size while cluster ‘E’ contains

questionnaire items concerning the influence of parental motivation.

The questionnaire was structured in form of four –point likert scale coded as

follows:

Strongly agree (SA)--- 4

Agree (A)----3

Disagree (D)---2

Strongly disagree (SD)----1

The study compared the responses of students from urban and rural school. In this

study students from schools located very close to Nsukka township (the zonal

32

Headquarters) are categorized as urban students. The students from schools that were not

close to Nsukka zonal headquarters are regarded as Rural students.

Validation of the Instrument

The instrument for data collection was face validated. The initial drafts of the

instrument were submitted to three experts: two in sociology of education, one in

measurement and evaluation-all in the department of educational foundation in University

of Nigeria, Nsukka. These experts subjected instrument to rigorous scrutiny in order to

ascertain the clarity, relevance, adequacy and other attributes which a good research

instrument should possess. The researcher reconstructed the instrument based on the

suggestions of the experts

Reliability of the Instrument

The FBIQ questionnaire was trial- tested using 30 students at Obollo Afor

educational zone which is entirely outside the geographical scope of the study. This area

is considered to have similar characteristics with the study area. For example the two

zones (Nsukka and Obollo Afor Zones) share similar cultural background and even share

the same curriculum.

To determine the reliability of the FBIQ questionnaire, the scores from 30

respondents in the trial testing of the instrument were used in establishing the internal

consistency using the Cronbach Alpha procedure. The internal consistency reliability

estimate yielded 0.69 for influence of parental education, 0.66 for influence of parents

occupation, 0.61 for influence of parents income, 0.70 for influence of family size and

0.84 for the influence of parental motivation (see appendix). These results showed that

the instrument was fairly reliable, which means it good for the study.

33

Method of Data Collection

In view of the large population of the respondents for the study, the researcher

made the use of two research assistants for each of the three local governments in the

zone namely: Nsukka, Igbo Etiti and Uzo-Uwani. The research assistants were recruited

from among secondary school teachers in the study area.

The researcher briefed the researcher assistants on the objective of the study. This

enabled them explain certain items on the questionnaire to the respondents so that the

questionnaire would be properly filled. The questionnaire was administered by the

researcher and the research assistants face to face to the respondents and collected on the

sport. This method ensured correct completion and high percentage return of completed

questionnaire. However, out of eight hundred and sixteen (816) questionnaire distributed

to the respondent, sixteen (16) were not recovered. The researcher had to work with eight

hundred (800) questionnaire.

Method of Data Analysis

The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test

statistics. The mean was used to answer the research questions while the t-test statistics

was used to test the Null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.

A mean of 3.50 – 4.49 was accepted as strongly agree, 2.50 – 2.49 was accepted as

Agree while 1.50 – 2.49 was accepted as disagree and 0.05 – 1.49 showed strongly

disagree

The upper limit and the lower limit becomes 3.00 and 2.00 respectively, used the

interval scaling of 0.50. Any mean response of 3.00 and above was considered positive

while any mean response below 3.00 was considered negative.

34

For the test of hypotheses, the null hypothesis was accepted if the calculated t-test

is less than the t-table, and rejected if the calculated t-test was greater than t-table value at

0.05 level of significance.

35

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

In this chapter, data were presented on the basis of the research questions and

hypotheses that guided the study.

Research Question 1

What is the influence of parental level of education on students’ academic

achievement?

Table 1: Parental educational level and its influences on students’ academic

achievement

Urban Students Rural Students

S/N Items on parental education level X1 SD1 Deci

sion

X2 SD2 Deci

sion

1 Educated parents always want their children

to be educated.

3.69

1.41

A

3.44

1.48

A

2 Parents who all educated provide most of the

recommended textbooks and other learning

aids for their children.

3.80

1.05

A

3.82

1.02

A

3 Parents who are educated encourage their

children to study subjects which are pivotal

for good university courses.

3.71

1.28

A

3.40

1.30

A

4 In homes of educated parents, there are

conducive environment for studies.

3.97

1.06

A

3.20

1.60

A

5 Educated parents arrange for supportive

teachers for the subject/subjects which their

words/children find difficult in the school.

3.60

1.45

A

3.10

1.71

A

6 Parents who are educated guide their children

in school assignments and home work.

3.43

1.61

A

3.31

1.52

A

7 Educated parents always demand for progress

reports of their children to know the

children’s academic and social progress.

4.00

0.97

A

3.66

1.12

A

N1 = 400, N2 = 400

A = Agree, D = Disagree,

Table 1(one) reveals that items 1-7 have mean scores that are above the cut-off

mark of 3.00 that was regarded as acceptable limit as indicated by the researcher.

36

Therefore, all items under parental level of education were considered acceptable. This is

an indication that the respondents considered that parental level of education influenced

students’ academic achievement.

Research Question 2:

What influence has parents’ occupation on students’ academic achievement?

Urban Students Rural Students

S/N Items on parental occupation X1 SD1 Deci

sion

X2 SD2 Deci

sion

8 Parents on prestigious occupation want their

children to take up the same type of

occupation.

2.61

1.04

D

2.44

1.08

D

9 Some occupations do not give parents time

to attend to their children’s academic needs.

2.34

.786

D

2.29

1.15

D

10 Parents on poor occupations find it difficult

to provide learning aids for their children.

2.29

1.03

D

2.32

1.12

D

11 Parents who are poor farmers can only

enroll their children into minor

apprenticeship programmes.

2.50

.760

D

2.35

1.10

D

D = Disagree

The result presented on table 2(two) above showed that all items under the

influence of parental occupation had mean scores below the cut off mark of 3.00. This

shows that parents occupation do not necessarily influence students’ academic

achievement.

37

Research Question 3:

What is the influence of parents’ income on students’ academic achievement?

Table 3:

The influence of parents’ income on students’ academic achievement.

Urban Students Rural Students

S/N Items on parental occupation X1 SD1 Deci

sion

X2 SD2 Deci

sion

12 Children from high-income status parents

achieve better academically than those from

low-income status parents.

3.89

1.15

A

3.40

1.25

A

13 Parents on high-income can afford to

provide the basic necessities required for

their children’s education.

3.70

1.26

A

3.51

1.14

A

14 Children from upper-working class homes

perform better academically than those from

lower-working class homes.

4.00

0.90

A

3.91

1.02

A

15 Children whose parents are on high-income

status have higher career aspiration than

children whose parents are on low-income

status.

3.96

0.94

A

3.59

1.13

A

16 Only parents who are on high-income status

can train their children beyond secondary

school level.

2.36

1.96

A

2.11

1.17

D

The result presented on the above table shows that only one item (item 16) had a

mean score below the cut off mark of 3.00, while the remaining items have mean scores

above the cut off point. This shows that all the respondents considered that parental level

of income influenced students, achievement but disagree that only parents who are on

high income status can train their children beyond secondary school level.

38

Research Question 4:

What is the influence of family-size on students’ academic achievement?

Table 4:

The influence of family-size on students’ academic achievement

Urban Students Rural Students

S/N Items on family size X1 SD1 Deci

sion

X2 SD2 Deci

sion

17 Students from small size families enjoy

more parental attention than those from

large size families.

2.80

0.740

D

2.75

0.76

D

18 Students from small-size families achieve

better academically than those from large

size families.

2.84

0.738

D

2.72

0.78

D

19 Small size families facilitate the provision

of recommended textbooks and equipments

for effective learning.

2.28

1.15

D

2.86

0.70

D

The result on table 4 showed that all the items on influence of family size had

mean scores below the cut off mark of 3.00. This showed that family size did not

influence students’ academic achievement.

39

Research Question 5

What influence does parental level of motivation have on students academic

achievement?

Table 5:

The influence of parental level of motivation on students’ academic

achievement.

Urban Students Rural Students

S/N Items on parental motivation X1 SD1 Deci

sion

X2 SD2 Deci

sion

20 Students perform better academically when

their parents provide basic educational aids

and equipment for their studies.

4.03

0.98

A

4.00

0.75

A

21 Students harder when their parents reinforce

them for good academic performance.

4.27

0.71

A

4.00

0.75

A

22 Parents’ concern about students’ grades and

performances motivates students’ academic

achievement.

4.25

0.75

A

3.92

0.72

A

23 Home libraries and books motivate students

for better performance in the school.

3.91

1.06

A

3.96

0.70

A

24 Students feel happy and motivated when

their parents discuss their academic career

with them.

4.04

1.04

A

3.28

0.99

A

25 Students perform better academically when

their school fees and other school levies are

paid promptly.

3.98

1.02

A

3.60

0.96

A

26 Parents motivates students by paying for

their school field trips and excursions.

4.30

0.86

A

3.26

1.02

A

The result presented on table 5 showed that all items had mean scores which were

above the cut off of 3.00. This is an indication that the respondents considered parental

motivation as capable of influencing students’ academic achievement.

40

Hypothesis I:

There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and rural schools based on the influence of parental level of education on students’

academic achievement.

Table 6:

The mean ratings of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental

level of education on students’ academic achievement.

df = N1 + N2 – 2, N1 = 400, N2 = 400

Stu

den

ts

in U

rban

sch

oo

ls.

Stu

den

ts

in

Ru

ral

sch

oo

ls

S/N Items on parental education X1 SD1 X2 SD2 Prob.

level

t-cal df t-

crit

Rmk

1 Educated parents always want

their children to be educated.

3.69

1.41

4.00

0.19

0.05

3.26

798

1.96

S

2 Parents who all educated

provide most of the

recommended textbooks and

other learning aids for their

children.

3.80

1.05

3.92

1.12

0.05

5.25

798

1.96

S

3 Parents who are educated

encourage their children to

study subjects which are pivotal

for good university courses.

3.71

1.33

4.00

0.10

0.05

13.14

798

1.96

S

4 In homes of educated parents,

there are conducive

environment for studies.

3.97

1.06

3.99

1.13

0.05

7.43

798

1.96

S

5 Educated parents arrange for

supportive teachers for the

subject/subjects which their

words/children find difficult in

the school.

3.60

1.45

3.72

1.25

0.05

12.10

798

1.96

S

6 Parents who are educated guide

their children in school

assignments and home work.

3.43

1.61

3.38

1.02

0.05

2.13

798

1.96

S

7 Educated parents always demand

for progress reports of their

children to know the children’s

academic and social progress.

3.22

0.97

3.36

1.06

0.05

1.13

798

1.96

S

S= significant; NS = Not significant; RMK = Remark

41

The t-calculated value of each item in table 6 (influence of parental level of

education) was obtained. The degree of freedom for all the items was 798, while the

critical t-value of 1.96 was obtained at 0.05 level of significance. From the table, it can be

seen that the t-calculated values for all items were more than the t-table values. Hence,

the Null hypothesis was rejected. That reveals that there is significant difference in the

opinion of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental level of education on

students’ academic achievement.

Hypothesis II:

There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in urban and

rural schools on the influence of parental occupations on students’ academic

achievement.

Table 7:

The mean responses of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental

occupation on students’ academic achievement.

Stu

den

ts

in U

rban

sch

ools

.

Stu

den

ts

in

Ru

ral

sch

oo

ls

S/N Items on parental occupation X1 SD1 X2 SD2 Prob.

level

t-cal df t-

crit

Rmk

8 Parents on prestigious

occupation want their children

to take up the same occupation.

2.60 1.04 2.00 0.91 0.05 0.62 798 1.96 NS

9 Some occupations do not give

parents time to attend to their

children’s academic needs.

2.34 0.78 2.15 0.82 0.05 0.51 798 1.96 NS

10 Parents on poor occupations

find it difficult to provide

learning aids for their children.

2.29 1.13 2.29 1.02 0.05 0.66 798 1.96 NS

11 Parents who are poor farmers

can only enroll their children

into minor apprenticeship

programmes.

2.50 0.76 2.60 1.03 0.05 0.43 798 1.96 NS

42

In the above table, the t-calculated value of each item was obtained, the degree of

freedom of all items was 798, while the critical t-table of 1.96 was obtained at 0.05 level

of significance. From the table, it can be seen that the t-calculated values for all items

were less than the critical t-value. Therefore, the Null hypothesis of no significance

difference between the responses of Urban and Rural students on influence of parental

occupation on students’ academic achievement was upheld.

43

Hypothesis III:

There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of parents’ income on students’ academic

achievement.

Table 8:

The mean ratings of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental

income on students’ academic achievement

S

tud

ents

in U

rban

sch

oo

ls.

Stu

den

ts

in

Ru

ral

sch

oo

ls

S/N Items on parental income X1 SD1 X2 SD2 Prob.

level

t-cal df t-

crit

Rmk

12 Children from high-income

status parents achieve better

academically than those from

low-income status parents.

3.89 1.33 3.51 1.52 0.05 8.43 798 1.96 S

13 Parents on high-income can

afford to provide the basic

necessities required for their

children’s education.

3.70 1.26 3.80 1.06 0.05 12.45 798 1.96 S

14 Children from upper-working

class homes perform better

academically than those from

lower-working class homes.

3.75 1.08 3.28 0.85 0.05 12.45 798 1.96 S

15 Children whose parents are on

high-income status have higher

career aspiration than children

whose parents are on low-

income status.

3.96 0.94 3.78 0.85 0.05 11.80 798 1.96 S

16 Only parents who are on high-

income status can train their

children beyond secondary

school level.

2.96 1.94 2.40 1.72 0.05 1.13 798 1.96 NS

In table 8 above, the t-calculated value of each item was obtained. The degree of

freedom for all the items was 789, while the t-table of 1.96 was obtained at 0.05 level of

significance. From the table, it can be seen that the t-calculated value of item sixteen (16)

44

is less than the critical t-value. Therefore, the Null hypothesis of no significant difference

in the responses of Urban and Rural students was upheld for the item (16), while the Null

hypothesis of no significant in the responses of Urban and Rural students was rejected for

the remaining four items (items 12, 13, 14 and 15).

Hypothesis IV

There is no significant different in the mean ratings of students in Urban and

Rural schools on the influence of family size on students’ academic achievement.

Table 9

The mean ratings of urban and rural students on influence of family size on

students’ academic achievement.

Stu

den

ts

fro

m

Urb

an

sch

oo

ls.

Stu

den

ts

fro

m

rura

l

sch

oo

ls

S/N Items on family size X1 SD1 X2 SD2 Prob.

level

t-cal df t-

crit

Rmk

17 Students from small size

families enjoy more parental

attention than those from large

size families.

2.80

0.74

2.92

0.62

0.05

0.15

798

1.96

NS

18 Students from small-size

families achieve better

academically than those from

large size families.

2.84

0.73

2.85

0.81

0.05

0.18

798

1.96

NS

19 Small size families facilitate the

provision of recommended

textbooks and equipments for

effective learning.

2.28

1.03

2.32

1.01

0.05

0.25

798

1.96

NS

In table 9 above, the t-calculated values of each item was obtained. The degree of

freedom (DF) for all the items (items 17, 18 and 19) was 798. The t-calculated values for

all the items were less than their critical table values. Hence the Null hypothesis of no

significant difference was accepted for all the items. That reveals that there is no

45

significant difference in the opinions of Rural and Urban on the influence of family size

on student academic achievement.

Hypothesis V:

There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of parental motivation on students’ academic

achievement.

Table 10:

The mean ratings of Urban and Rural student on the influence of parental

motivation on students’ academic achievement

Stu

den

ts

in U

rban

sch

oo

ls.

Stu

den

ts

in

Ru

ral

sch

oo

ls

S/N Items on Family Size X1 SD1 X2 SD2 Prob.

level

t-cal df t-

crit

Rmk

20 Your parents provide the basic

educational aids and equipment

which you need for studies.

3.80

0.98

4.00

0.75

0.05

4.05

798

1.96

S

21 You are always positively re-

enforced by your parents for

your good academic

performance.

33.95

0.77

4.00

0.75

0.05

4.02

798

1.96

S

22 Your parents are always

concerned about your grades

and academic performance in

the school.

3.92

0.78

3.81

0.99

0.05

4.83

798

1.96

S

23 You have private libraries and

books for studies at home.

3.91

0.66

3.00

1.02

0.05

3.49

798

1.96

S

24 Your parents always discuss

your future academic career

with you.

4.00

0.75

3.28

1.03

0.05

7.98

798

1.96

S

25 Your school fees and other

school levies are paid

promptly.

3.18

0.05

3.60

0.96

0.05

7.12

798

1.96

S

26 Your parents pay for your field

trips and excursions organized

in the school.

3.10

0.86

3.26

1.04

0.05

5.00

798

1.96

S

S = Significant, NS = Not Significant

46

The result presented in table 10 showed that the items have their t-calculated

values obtained. The degree of freedom for all items was 798, while the critical t-value of

1.96 was obtained at 0.05 level of significance. From the table it can be seen that the t-

calculated values of the seven items were greater than the critical t-value. Hence the Null

hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected. This reveals that there is significant

difference in the opinions of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental

motivation on students’ academic achievement.

Summary of the Findings

Based on the data analyzed, the findings of the study are presented and

summarized in the same order in which the research questions and hypotheses are

arranged.

A) Influence of parental level of education on students’ academic achievement

The findings of the study showed that:

i. Parents who are educated want their children to be educated.

ii. Educated parents provide most of the recommended text books and other learning aids

for their children.

iii. Educated parents provide conducive atmosphere for their children’s studies at home.

B) Influence of parental occupation on students academic achievement.

The findings of the study showed that:

i. Parents’ occupation does not necessarily influence students’ academic achievement.

ii. The respondents (students) did not agree that parents’ on prestigious occupations like

lawyers and doctors want their children to take up the same type of occupation.

iii. There was no agreement among the respondents that parents who are poor farmers can

only enroll their children into minor apprenticeship.

47

C) Influence of parental level of income on students’ academic achievement.

The findings of the study showed that:

i. Students from high-income status parents achieve better academically.

ii. Parents on high income status can afford to provide the basic necessities required for

students’ education.

iii. Students whose parents are on high-income status have higher career aspiration.

D) Influence of family size on students’ academic achievement

The findings of the study include:

i. Students from small size families are not always better achievers in

academics.

ii. The size of the family does not determine the ability of the parents to provide

books and learning materials for their children’s education.

E) Influence of parental level of motivation on students’ academic achievement.

The findings revealed that:

i. Parents motivate their children by supervising their home work and

assignments.

ii. Parents use positive reinforcement to encourage their children to study hard.

iii. Students agreed that they were motivated by prompt payment of school fees

and other school levies.

HYPOTHESES TESTING

Hypothesis one indicates that there is significant difference between the mean

ratings of Urban and Rural students on the influence of parental education of student

academic achievement. This shows that parental level of education determines students’

academic achievement.

48

Hypothesis two indicates that parental occupation does not necessarily influence

students’ academic achievement.

Hypothesis three indicates that there is significant difference in the mean ratings of

Rural and Urban student in four of the items. Here, the students agreed that parents

income influence students academic achievement. However, one of the items (item 16)

shows that there is no significant difference between the mean responses of the students.

That indicates that parents income has no influence on students’ academic achievement.

Hypothesis four shows that there is no significant difference between the mean

ratings of the Urban and Rural students on the influence of family size on students’

academic achievement.

The implication of no significant difference in the mean ratings to all items is that

family sizes do not necessarily influence students’ academic achievement.

Hypothesis five indicates significant difference in the mean ratings of Rural and

Urban students in all the items. The implication is that parental motivation influences

students’ academic achievement.

Finally, having tested the hypotheses stated for this study, it become clearer that

educational level of parents, income and level of motivation do have influence on the

academic achievement of students in Nsukka Education Zone. However, the occupation

of the parents and family size were found out as non-contributory factors that influence

students’ academic achievement.

49

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULT

In this chapter, data presented in the previous chapter are discussed under the

following sub-heading: Discussion and interpretation of findings, Implication of the

Study, Recommendation of study, Limitation of the study, Areas for further studies,

Summary and Conclusion.

Discussion of the Findings

The findings of this study are discussed and compared with empirical studies done

previously by other researchers. These discussions are carried out based on the issues

relevant with the research question and null hypotheses that guided the study.

Influence of parental level of education on students’ academic achievement.

The focus of this research question was to establish the influence of parental level

of education on students’ academic achievement. The result of these findings as

summarized in table 1 (one) showed that students (respondents) overwhelmingly agree

that parental level of education is a contributory factor in students’ academic

achievement. The findings of this study tend to agree with the opinions expressed by

Onochie and Okpalla (1985) that educational level of parents which is an indicator of

socio-economic status has direct influence on child’s value and academic achievement in

the school. The scholars further maintained that children from illiterate families may learn

little or nothing from home that can help them to develop interest in academics.

The result of the study also indicates that educated parents provide conducive

atmosphere for studies at home. This is in line with Qeca (1980) who asserted that

children from literate families where parents provide atmosphere conducive for the

formation of good study habit are in better chance of performing well in schools. Again

50

the result also agrees with Izundu (2005) who asserted that there is significant

relationship between the level of parents’ education and the academic achievement of the

students. Again, Gary (2001) said that the importance of parental level of education to

academic achievement of students cannot be over emphasized. Accordingly the scholar,

students from professional and to a less extent managerial occupational backgrounds

exhibit higher academic performance.

Influence of Parental Occupation on Students’ Academic Achievement

With reference to research question two, it is the view of students (respondents)

that parental occupation is not a contributory factor in students academic achievement.

This finding is contrary to the view of Ezeji (2001) who noted that parents like their

children to take to their occupations. Such parents include lawyers, doctors, musicians

among others. Uwoma (2006) in her study was also the opinion that most vocational

students were children whose parents were farmers or craftsmen. However the findings

do not agree with Eke (1999) who observed that parental occupation does not

significantly influence academic achievement of students. The difference in the findings

of this scholars and others may be as a result of data analysis. For example, while Eke

(1999) used product moment correlation coefficient method, other researchers (Uwoma

2006 and Ezeji 2001) use t-test for data analysis.

The researcher do not agree that parental occupation can determine students’

academic achievement. This is because of the fact that variables that determine one’s

occupation may not be the same in parents and children. For instance a child may not be

as brilliant as his/her parents who are doctors or lawyers and vice versa.

51

Influence of Parental Income on Students’ Academic Achievement

With regard to the third research question, the students (respondents) agreed that

parental level of income influence students’ academic achievement. This is in conformity

with Francis (2007) who 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 food,

shelter and clothing will hardly motivate the academic excellence of their children.

Instead, they will pressurize their children to seek for job opportunities with the little

education they acquired to support the family.

The result also indicate that students whose parents are on high income status

higher academic aspiration than children whose parents are on low income status. This

findings is in conformity with the view of Ojo and Yilma (2010) that the Socio-economic

status of a mainly is capable of affecting the behaviour 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, and books. They also

encourage their children in various learning activities at home.

Research question four examines the influence of family size on students’

academic achievement. The respondents disagree in all the three items. This is an

indication that the size of family does not necessarily influence students academic

achievement. Also, children from small size families do not necessarily perform better

academically than those from large size families.

52

The above findings are contrary to the findings of Durorsaro and Durosaro (1990)

who found out in their study that family size influence students’ academic achievement.

Their study revealed that children from small size families perform better at school than

their counterparts from both average size and large size families. This is also in line with

Yoloye (1989), who concluded from his study that polygamous family sizes which were

naturally large reduces the chances of children going to school in the first instance. Again,

children from such backgrounds who were in schools have reduced chances of achieving

their goals. Parents in such families are mostly illiterates and incapable of providing

adequate motivation for their children in schools as compared with the literate nuclear

families.

The researcher attributes the varied opinions of the respondents in his study and

that of the former researchers (Durosaro and Durosaro) to difference in Areas of study.

The present study had most of its respondents who live Urban areas and parents are

wealthy and could provide their children with necessary facilities and amenities needed to

facilitate academic work despite their family size. Again there were still some other

parents in rural areas who were rich and could provide for their children in large families.

Research question five examined the influence of parental level of motivation on

students’ academic achievement. The respondents agreed on all the seven items that

parents’ level of motivation influences students’ academic achievement. This result is in

conformity with Douglas (1984) who identified motivation as the most important factor

that influence educational attainment. The scholar observed that the simple most

important factor that influence educational achievement 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

53

frequent visits to school to discuss children’s progress; buying relevant text books and

other necessary materials needed in the school for their children.

In support of this view, Agu (2010) asserted that motivation is an integral aspect

of learning, indicating that different motivational constructs are correlated with effective

classroom learning and achievement. This view implies that motivational patterns relate

to students’ academic achievement.

54

CONCLUSION

From the findings of the study, it was concluded that family background factor

influence academic achievement of students in schools. Prominent among the family

background factors include parental educational level, parental income and parental

motivation. Educational statuses of the parents and students’ academic achievement have

a close relationship between them. This is because parents themselves having being to

school realized the importance of being educated. They stand better chance to support

their children for better academic achievement.

On parental motivation, it was found that students who received encouragement

and motivation from the family perform better in schools than their counterparts from non

encouraging families. The major reasons for the observed difference in performance are

the motivation and positive attitude of the parents towards their children’s academic

progress.

The acceptance of hypotheses two and four was based on the result of statistical

data from the field. Personal observation equally showed that parental occupation cannot

determine student academic achievement. This is because education which is the major

determinant of occupation may not be the same in the parents and children. Again, a child

from large family size, who has strong determination can compete favorably with another

child from small family size. Moreover, most children from small families are over

pampered and undetermined.

Educational Implication of the Findings of the STUDY

The findings of this study have some implications for the parents, students and the

teachers.

55

The first hypothesis revealed that students from educated parents perform better in

academics than students from uneducated parents. This phenomenon is as a result of

intellectual stimulation and direct involvement of educated parents in their children’s

education. This helps students from such background perform better than those from

uneducated parents.

This phenomenon can be corrected by stimulating school environment and

teachers’ positive reinforcement strategy which can compensate for non stimulating and

negative reinforcement prevalent in an uneducated families. For students from

uneducated families, this school situation aids to maintain the same home conducive

atmosphere for academic career and facilitates learning and academic achievement.

Another major finding revealed that students from parents of high income status

posses most of the necessary materials for their learning, unlike students from parents of

low income status. This is an indication that children come to school from different

background and these backgrounds presents their own problems for the children. The

teacher having realized this condition should be conscious when dealing with the

students. Students who came from low income class parents should not be mocked or

compared with their counterpart from high income status parents when they failed to meet

up in providing most of the materials needed for their studies. If such comparison occurs

the students from low income status parents would feel inferior and that will affect their

academic performance the more, and may even lead to the exhibition of abnormal

behaviour trait.

All the above facts not withstanding, more efforts are still required from the

parents, especially from the low income group in ensuring that adequate facilities are

provided for the students. Students from low income parents requires virtues like

56

dedication, honesty, determination, integrity and tolerance to pursue their career by

making use of school facilities during and after school hours to enable them attain high

academic performance.

Findings of the study also revealed that parental motivation is one of the major

determinants of students’ academic achievement. Therefore, the need for parents to learn

how to encourage their children cannot be overemphasized. There is equally the need for

parents to be involved in the teaching-learning process of their children, particularly this

period where most of the students come to school from their respective homes.

There is also the need for teachers to be more motivational in their teaching. This

is possible when they vary their method of teaching and teaching aids to take cognizance

of the individual differences inherent in the students from their different family

backgrounds. Teachers can ameliorate through filling the parental motivational needs by

individualizing instruction and taking special interest in the slow learners who suffer from

deficient parental motivational pattern.

Another vital implication from this study is that school authorities should try to

avoid grouping or streaming the school children especially according to ability and

intelligence. Since the student come from different family background, there is every

tendency that they differ in many respects. To have balanced and competitive class, the

students should be randomly distributed, avoiding grouping intelligent ones one side and

dull ones the other side.

This study equally implies that there is a greater need for more literacy and

awareness campaign than before to awaken illiterate parents and instill awareness in

literate parents who seem to attach much importance to education. The programme should

be extended to rural areas where it is needed most.

57

Recommendations

Education is an important instrument of change in modern societies. Provision of

adequate and relevant education is the best thing a nation can do for its citizens. This is

more so, because education is a virile weapon against ignorance, disease, poverty and as a

means of producing enlightened, responsible and industrious citizenry and prosperous

nation.

Based on this background, the researcher makes the following recommendations:

1) One of the major findings of this study is that parental income level has a great

influence on students’ academic achievement. For example, most cases, parental

income is proportional to students finding which also determine to a large extent, the

level of academic achievement of students. In this case, it is recommended that

parents as a matter of importance should diversify their sources of income so that

they can be able to provide fund their children in school for better academic

achievement.

2) Parents should be made to realize the importance of motivation in determining their

children academic achievement in schools, especially the realization that most of the

male students are abandoning school for business. Parents should be actively

involved in encouraging students to learn and also in supervising students academic

work at home

3) Students’ should give serious attention to studies at home, in addition to other

various works done, since the amount of effort they put in their studies influence

their academic achievement.

4) Teachers should understand that teaching is a job of conscience. Teachers should

handle the students as their own children; try by all means to meet the students’

58

academic social and psychological needs. They should be motivational in their

teaching and use different teaching methods so as to go along with all categories of

students. This will help bridge deficiencies from negative family background.

5) The state and Federal Governments should legislate against examination

malpractices. Such situation will force students to sit up and take their studies

serious. Again, the various governments should create employment opportunities for

the graduate of various institutions of higher learning. Lack of job opportunities

contributes to the loss of interest and zeal for education by students. The current

situation in Nigeria where graduates are left with little or no hope of employment

gives no encouragement to the secondary school students for further education.

Rather, the students see going to school is a waste of time.

Limitation of the Study

Like any other human endeavour, this study faced certain limitations.

Some of these limitations include:

1. Choosing the topic for this study, constructing and administering the instrument and

getting it validated were not easy exercise.

2. The researcher paid repeated visits to some schools before he was permitted to

interact with the students (respondents).

3. Although the researcher and the research assistants gave the students adequate

instructions and guidance for completing the questionnaire, some of the students

awarded scores arbitrarily to the questionnaire items.

4. The study was carried out in three local government areas that made up Nsukka

Education Zone. It was assumed in the study that the schools sampled in Nsukka

Township where the zonal headquarters were located constitute the Urban schools and

59

the students from those schools were regarded as Urban students as used in the study.

This poses a limitation to the study as this does not portray a pure or ideal

representation of Urban students.

5. The researcher’s zeal for the study was initially seriously undermined by the

intermittent strikes of secondary school teachers and university lecturers.

Suggestions for Further Research

Research work remains an important exercise as far as human existence on earth

continues. Such being the case, the following areas have been suggested for further

research work:

1. Influence of peer pressure on academic achievement of senior secondary school

students.

2. Academic and environmental stress affecting academic achievement of secondary

school students.

3. Gender and Age as predictors of academic achievement in secondary school.

4. Influence of poverty on students’ academic aspiration.

5. A similar study should be carried out in other parts of the country to compare the

findings.

Summary of the Study

The problem of this research is whether there is influence of family background on

students’ academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Nsukka

education zone of Enugu state. Although many think that students perform poorly in

academic because the teachers did not teach well, some other people believe that this

problem is not caused by teachers. They traced the problem to the family background of

students which has the capacity to promote or retard students’ achievement.

60

Bearing this problem in mind, the focus of this study is to find out whether there is

any influence of family background on students’ academic achievement by examining the

influence family background variables like parental education level, parental occupation,

parental income level, family size and parental motivation on students’ academic

achievement.

To Achieve the Objectives:

This study was carried out on fifty three (53) public secondary schools in Nsukka

education zone with a total population of Seven thousand, nine hundred and forty five

(7945) students. However, proportionate random sampling was used to draw four schools

each from the three local government areas in the education zone. In this respect, twelve

(12) schools were sampled for the study. In each of the twelve schools, senior secondary

two (SS2) students formed the subject for the study giving a sample size of eight hundred

and sixteen (816) respondents (subjects).

Five research questions and five research hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of

significance were used. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire designed by

the researcher through the review of related literature and validated by experts. The

questionnaire contained twenty six (26) items. Likert-type of scale was used to rate the

responses. The reliability of the instrument was established using trial test method.

The data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research

question and t-test statistics to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The

results showed that: Students’ academic achievement is influenced by parental level of

education, parental level of income and parental motivation while parental occupation and

family size are not significant determinants of students’ academic achievement.

61

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65

APPENDIX I

School of Postgraduate Studies,

Department of Educational Foundational,

University of Nigeria, Nsukka

5th September, 2011.

Sir/Madam,

REQUEST FOR VALIDATION OF INSTRUMENT

I am a postgraduate student of the Department of Educational Foundations

(Sociology of Education Unit) of the University of Nigeria Nsukka. I am currently

carrying out a study on “Influence of Family Background Variables on the Academic

Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students in Nsukka Education Zone Enugu

State

Your assistance to this research work will be of immense help. I am soliciting your

co-operation to help in correcting, modifying or restructuring, the items of the instrument,

attached here.

Yours Student

Omeh Gabriel U.

Reg. No: PG/M.Ed/08/49146.

66

TOPIC

INFLUENCE OF FAMILY BACKGROUND ON THE ACADEMIC

ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT IN NSUKKA

EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

Purpose of the study

Generally, the purpose of the study is to find out the influence of family background

on students’ academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Nsukka

Education zone.

Specifically, the purpose of the study is to:

1. The influence of parental level of education on academic achievement

of senior secondary school students.

2. The influence of parental occupation on students’ academic achievement.

3 The influence of parental income on students’ academic achievement.

4. The influence of family size on students’ academic achievement.

5. The influence of parental motivation on students’ academic achievement.

Research Questions

The study will provide answers to the following research questions:

1. What is the influence of parental level of education on students’ academic

achievement?

2. What influence does parental occupation have on students’ academic achievement?

3. What is the influence of parents’ income on students’ academic achievement?

4. What is the influence of family size on students’ academic achievement?

5. What influence does parental motivation have on students’ academic achievement?

67

Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses will guide the studying and will be tested at 0.5 level of

significance.

1 There will be no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of parental level of education on students’

academic achievement.

2 There will be no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of parental occupation on students’ academic

achievement.

3 There will be no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of parental income on students’ academic

achievement.

4 There will be no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of family size on students’ academic

achievement.

5 There will be no significant difference in the mean ratings of students in Urban

and Rural schools on the influence of parental motivation on students’ academic

achievement.

68

APPENDIX II

Department of Educational Foundations

University of Nigeria,

Nsukka.

31st August, 2011.

Dear students,

REQUEST FOR CO-OPERATION

I am a postgraduate student in the Department of Educational foundations of the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka. May I solicit your co-operation in the study I am

conducting. The study titled influence of family background on students’ academic

achievement. The result of the study may help to reveal how best to improve your

academic achievement.

In recent years, there have been reports of poor achievement among large number

of students in senior school certificate examination (SSCE). Several factors may have

been responsible for it. To enable concrete factors to be discovered in order to tackle the

problem, I am enclosing herewith, a questionnaire in which a variety of information is

requested from you.

I would be grateful to you if your could supply true perception of what the

problems are. I wish to assure you that the information you supply will be treated with

strict confidence. It will be used only for the above study.

Thanks you.

Yours sincerely

Omeh Gabriel U.

Student.

PG/M.ED/08/49146

69

QUESTIONNAIRE ON FAMILY BACKGROUND INFLUENCE (FBIQ)

PART ONE

PERSONAL DATA OF STUDENTS

1. Your school roll Number---------------------------------------------------

2. Name of your school --------------------------------------------------------

3. Number of years in the above school -------------------------------------

4. Your present Class------------------------------------------------------------

PART TWO

FAMILY BACKGROUND OF STUDENTS

Please mark ‘X’ where applicable and supply other information where necessary

5. Indicate your family type: Nuclear [ ], Polygamous [ ]

6. How many children are there in your family 1-4 [ ], 5-8 [ ]

9 and above [ ]

7. Are your parents living in: Urban [ ], Rural [ ], Area

8. Indicate your father highest literacy level

I. Below primary school level [ ],

II. FSLC [ ], III. Junior Secondary [ ], IV. WASC/GCE [ ],

V. TC II [ ], VI. NCE/OND [ ], VII. First Degree VIII.

Masters Degree IX. Ph.D [ ], X. Others --------------------------(Please specify).

9. What is the occupation of you parent /guardian?

I. Petty Trader [ ], II. Trader [ ], III. Lawyer [ ], IV.

Medical Doctor [ ], V. Pharmacist [ ], VI. Farmer [ ],

VII. Engineer [ ], VII. Teacher [ ], IX. Civil Servant [ ],

X. Driver [ ], X. Contractor [ ], (XI) Lecturer

XII. Others -------------------------------------------- (Please specify).

10. What is the average monthly income of your parents/guardian?

I. Below N10,000.00 [ ], II. N10,000-20,000.00 [ ],

III. N30,000.00-N40,000.00 [ ], IV. N50,000-60,000 [ ],

V. N70,000.00-N80,000.00[ ]. VI. N90,000 and above

11. Indicate your family structure I. Two Parents [ ],

II Single parents [ ].

70

PART THREE

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS

This section is made up of questions with response coded as follows:

Strongly Agree – (SA), Agree- (A), Disagree (D), Strongly Disagree (SD).

Please read the respond carefully and indicate with a tick (√) the items you believe

to be obtainable in your families.

Cluster A: The influence of parents education level on

students’ academic achievement

SA A D SD

1 Educated parents always want their children to be educated

2 Parents who are educated provide most of the recommended

textbooks and other learning aids for their children.

3 Parents who are educated encourage their children to study

subjects which are pivotal for good university courses.

4 In homes of educated parents, there are conducive environment

for studies.

5 Educated parents arrange for supportive teachers for the

subject/subjects which their words/children find difficult in the

school.

6 Parents who are educated guide their children in school

assignments and home work.

7 Educated parents always demand for progress reports of their

children to know the children’s academic and social progress.

Cluster B influence of parents occupation on students

academic achievement

8 Parents on prestigious occupation want their children to take up

the same type of occupation.

9. Some occupations do not give parents time to attend to their

children’s academic needs.

10 Parents on poor occupations find it difficult to provide learning

aids for their children.

11 Parents who are poor farmers can only enroll their children into

minor apprenticeship programmes.

71

Cluster C: influence of parents level of income on students

academic achievement

12 Children from high-income status parents achieve better

academically than those from low-income status parents.

13 Parents on high-income can afford to provide the basic

necessities required for their children’s education.

14 Children from upper-working class homes perform better

academically than those from lower-working class homes.

15 Children whose parents are on high-income status have higher

career aspiration than children whose parents are on low-income

status.

16 Only parents who are on high-income status can train their

children beyond secondary school level.

Cluster D: influence of family size on students’ academic

achievement.

17 Students from small size families enjoy more parental attention

than those from large size families.

18 Students from small-size families achieve better academically

than those from large size families.

19 Small size families facilitate the provision of recommended

textbooks and equipments for effective learning.

Cluster E: Influence of parental level of motivation on

student academic achievement

20 Students perform better academically when their parents provide

basic educational aids and equipment for their studies.

21 Students harder when their parents reinforce them for good

academic performance.

22 Parents’ concern about students’ grades and performances

motivates students’ academic achievement.

23 Home libraries and books motivate students for better

performance in the school.

24 Students feel happy and motivated when their parents discuss

their academic career with them.

25 Students perform better academically when their school fees and

other school levies are paid promptly.

26 Parents motivates students by paying for their school field trips

and excursions.

72

APPENDEX III

POPULATION OF SS II IN NSUKKA IN 2011/2012 SESSION

NSUKKA L.G.A

S/N Name of school Population of SS II Students

1 Community Secondary School Isi Enu Nsukka 141

2 Opi High School Opi 150

3 Opi Girls Secondary School Opi 91

4 Community Secondary School Opi Agu 20

5 Model Secondary School Nsukka 175

6 Urban Girls Secondary School Nsukka 131

7 Community Secondary School Alor Uno 75

8 Community Secondary School Akpotoro Obimo 52

9 Community Secondary School Nru Nsukka 172

10 Community Secondary School Obimo 62

11 Community Secondary School Obukpa 120

12 Community Secondary School I Ede Oballa 189

13 Community Secondary School II Ede Oballa 150

14 Community Secondary School Edem Ani 115

15 Edem Ani High School Edem Ani 157

16 Community Secondary School Lejja 53

17 Lejja High School Lejja 70

18 Community Secondary School Ibagwa Ani 83

19 Community Secondary School Okpuje 60

20 Community Secondary School Okutu 35

73

21 Community Secondary School Umabor 157

22 Community Secondary School Agu Umabor 157

23 Community Secondary School Eha Ndiagu 42

24 Community Secondary School Breme Eha Alumona 42

25 Community Secondary School Ezebinagu 50

26 Community High Ejona Obimo 52

IGBO ETITI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

S/n Name of school Population of SS II Students

1 Girls Secondary School Aku 125

2 Community Secondary School Aku 54

3 Premier Secondary School Ukehe 195

4 Community High School Ukehe 78

5 Orinandu Community Secondary School Ukehe 83

6 Community High School Ekwebge 162

7 Community Secondary School Opi 43

8 Community Secondary School Ohodo 62

9 Community Secondary School Umunna 88

10 Community Secondary School Ozalla 67

11 Community Secondary School Ohebe dim 115

12 Community Secondary School Umunko 140

13 Igbo Etiti Community Secondary School Ikolo 86

14 Aku utara Community Secondary School Ohodo 29

74

UZO-UWANI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

s/n Name of school Population of SS II Students

1 Community Secondary School Nkpologu 31

2 Uzo Uwani Secondary School Ada Ani 46

3 Community Secondary School Abi Ugbene 83

4 Community Secondary School Nhobo 40

5 Model Secondary School Ukpata 26

6 Urban Girls Secondary School Nimbo 87

7 Community Secondary School Ogwurugu 41

8 Community Secondary School Akayi Umuluokpa 34

9 Community Secondary School Umuluokpa 34

10 Attah Memorial High School 06

11 Welfare Secondary School Opanda 120

12 Uvuru Secondary School Uvuru 45

13 Community Secondary School Ajima 36

APPENDIX IV

LIST OF SAMPLED SCHOOLS AND POPULATION OF SS2 STUDENTS IN

2011/2012 SESSION.

S/No Name of School Local Govt.

Area

Locatio

n

No of SS2

Student

1 Urban girls secondary School Nsukka Nsukka Urban 131

2 Orinandu Community Secondary School

Ukehe

Igbo-Etiti Rural 83

3 Community Secondary School Obimo Nsukka Rural 62

4 Uvuru Scondary School Uvuru Uzo-Uwani Rural 45

75

5 Community Secondary School Isi Enu

Nsukka

Nsukka Urban 102

6 Adada Secondary School Nkpologu Nsukka Rural 31

7 Community Secondary School Ugbene

Ajima

Uzo-Uwani Rural 36

8 Model Secondary School Nsukka Nsukka Urban 175

9 Community Secondary School Aku Igbo-Etiti Rural 54

10 Community Secondary SchoolOhodo Igbo-Etiti Rural 62

11 Community Secondary School Umunna Igbo-Etiti Rural 88

12 Community Secondary School Ogwurugwu Uzo-Uwani Rural 53

Total 816

76

APPENDIX V

RELIABILITY ANALYSIS

Case processing summary

Cases N %

Valid 30 100.0

Excluded 0 0

Total 30 100.0

Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability statistic for cluster A

Cronbach’s Alpha No. of items

.688 7

Reliability Statistic for cluster B

Cronbach’s Alpha No. of items

.661 4

Reliability Statistic for cluster C

Cronbach’s Alpha No. of items

.612 5

Reliability Statistic for cluster D

Cronbach’s Alpha No. of items

.703 3

Reliability Statistic for cluster E

Cronbach’s Alpha No. of items

.835 7

Reliability

Scale: ALL VARIABLES

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach’s Alpha No. of items

0717 26