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ANALYSIS OF SOCIO- ECONOMIC FACTORS IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENUGU STATE

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 the development of any nation or community depends largely on the quality of education for her citizens. It is generally believed that the basis for any true development must commence with the development of human resources. Formal education remains the vehicle to social –economic development and social mobilization.However, in the case of Nigeria, inconsistencies in government policies has led to poor implementation of government programmes since 1970’s to the present time. This gradually laid the foundation for fallen standards in education at the primary and secondary school levels (Shittu, 2004). Frequent changes of ministers and commissioners of education by successive governments coupled with the politicization of education by political parties that emerged in the country’s political scene since 1999, have also brought about disparity in educational practices which caused differential academic performance and classroom functioning of both students and teachers from, state to state. Nigeria like any other developing country has witnessed series of political instability with obvious effects on educational policies at Federal and State Government levels. This gradually laid the foundation for a fall in standard of education at secondary school level, and differences in academic achievement of students. According to Olotu (1994), in the quest of finding survival, the nation has evolved series of socio-economic, educational measures and policies such as Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP), Austerity Measures, Universal Basic Education (UBE) and devaluation of the Naira. These measures have not improved the socio-economic and educational status of families in the country. They have rather increased their sufferings and widened the socio-economic gap between the rich and the poor. Johnson (1996) lamented that parents became poor due to the hard measures such that they can no longer provide shelter; clothing and special needs of their children in school/ such as provision of textbooks, school uniforms and good medical care and so on. High level of illiteracy, poverty and low socio-economic status coupled with high rate of paternal and maternal deprivation necessitated by poor socio-economic situation of the country. The effect is that, many families are subjected to serious financial challenges such as poverty, lack of money to purchase necessary textbooks and working materials for their kids. The differential and inconsistent policies had led to poor academic performance inexamination, such as National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) conducted school certificate examinations. This trend is posing huge problems to parents, governments, political parties and stakeholders in the education sector. Home background according to Programme International Student Assessment, (PISA, 2000) influences academic and educational successes of students at school work. While socio-economic status reinforces the activities and functioning of the teachers and students. The quality of parents and home background of students go a long way to predict the quality and regularity of the satisfaction and provision of a child’s functional survival and academic needs. Poor parental care with attendant deprivation of social and economic needs of a child, usually yield poor academic performance of the child. On the other hand, where a child suffers parental and maternal deprivation and care due to divorce or death, of two or one of the parents, the child schooling may be hampered financially. Inability to pay school fees, purchase books, uniformsand other needs could lead to truant behaviours, thus the child’s performances in school may be adversely affected (Shittu,2004). Similarly, good parenting supported by strong economic home background could enhance academic performance of the child. This could further predict academic performance where the child is properly counselled in the choice of his/her courses and vocation that matches his mental ability, interest and capacity whereas the children of the illiterate mothers will find themselves roaming around the streets hawking goods to make ends meet. A variety of factors are capable of influencing the academic achievement of senior secondary school government student. Over the years, assessment of factors that influence academic achievement of senior secondary government students have attracted the interest and concern of many researchers, teachers, parents and national leaders. It is a well-known fact that student’s achievement in school subjects vary, some students in government perform better than the others many disadvantaged students feel that the length of their student career would be limited by their finances, rather than by theiracademic ability and this make them lag behind in their academic performance. Students from particularly disadvantaged backgrounds often find themselves at odds with certain aspects of their academic engagements. In some cases, particularly males, an anti-education ethos seemed to be operating against participation in secondary education. Such pressures could emanate from friends and family, to whom secondary education may be an unimportant issue. Recent research in the area of steady decline in learning outcome in show that the social and economic disadvantage are major problems affecting academic achievement of students(Clemens and Oeike, 1967), and Emeke (1984) in their studies have attributed the causes of academic achievement to a combination of personal and institutional factors. Personal factors relate to the individual intelligence, knowledge and ability. Institutional factors are family or parental influence, and school related factors. Enclosed within the institutional factors are teacher related factors and school environment. Researchers have tried to find out the factor responsible for differences in academic achievement so as to devise on a way of helping those who do not perform well. Awareness of the significance of the home environment or family as it influences academic achievement has been developed and constantly studied by educational psychologist, counsellors and school administrators. This is to critically investigate how the home environment or family aspect such as socio-economic status affects students’ achievement. The family is a great influence on the students’ psychological, emotional social and economic state. A family’s socio-economic status determines its social and economics standing in the society. The family’s characteristic that is the most powerful indicator of its children achievement is socioeconomic status. Therefore, there is no doubt that a study on the analysis of social and economic factors student’s academic achievement in government is important at this time. Government as an academic field of study borrows ideas from other popular well established disciplines like philosophy, history, sociology, economics, and law. It also borrows ideas from renowned philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, John Locke, Karl Marx and others. That is to say that government as an academic field of study makes use of scientific methods, tools and statistics in carrying out its research and analysis. Government as an academic field of study is a vast subject, encompassing political institutions and political theories. There are several sub-disciplines within the field, including public administration (the human management of governmental institutions), international relations (the study of diplomacy and the relationships among countries), political theory, political economy (the way governments handle fiscal matters), and comparative politics (comparing the way different nations are governed). The study of government, also called political science, is important because it allows students to understand their role in our system as citizens and to understand the ways in which our government operates. This knowledge helps students become well-informed citizens who can make knowledgeable choices about how to vote and how to participate in the democratic system. In addition, the study of comparative government allows us to understand how our government is different than others and to study what makes government effective and ineffective in different contexts. Government is the mechanism by which people are ruled. Government allows for civil order by creating laws and protecting its citizens. In order to ensure enforcement of laws, government also creates punishments for those who break the law. The study of government can take on many forms. One can compare systems of government, such as comparing democracies and dictatorships. One can study political issues, such as health care and campaign finance reform. One can also study why one candidate prevailed over another, or why a dictator's leadership style allowed him to rule over a country so successfully. These topics usually fall under the collegiate major of political science. At the grade school level, courses in government are less about political theory and more about how government is structured and operates at the local, state, and national level. History is important in the study of government both at the collegiate and grade school level, and many people who study history also study political science, and vice versa. As a field of study, government explores many aspects of the human condition. It examines the notion of freedom, collectivity, liberty, justice, as well as how individuals interact within one another when their interests are at stake. In the academic world, the study of government can take some divergent paths. One such path is political science, which helps to analyze the study of government in a form that seeks to analyze the institutional hermeneutics of governing structures. Political theory is another branch of the study of government from a conceptual point of view. It seeks to analyze how different thinkers conceived of government in a theoretical point of view and contrasts these different understandings. According to Marnot, (2004) Occupations are ranked into most prestigious occupation and lower ranking occupation. The most prestigious occupations are physicians, surgeons, lawyers, chemical & biomedical engineers, and communication analysts. While lower ranking occupation are food preparation workers, counter attendants, bartenders and helpers, dishwashers, janitors, maids and housekeepers, vehicle cleaners, and parking lot attendants. The job consider as high status in classification provides more challenging works, ability and greater control over working conditions. While those considered less valued in classification paid significantly less and more laborious, very hazardous and provided less autonomy. Gachathi (1976) indicated that occupational prestige is a component of socioeconomic status encompasses both income and educational attainment. To him, occupational status reflects the educational attainment required to obtain a job and income levels. When parents have a better occupation, they make adequate provision for their children education. They provide economic, social, psychological and emotional support to their children, and this would make it possible for the children to perform well in their educational attainment. Memo, et al. (2010) in their research on the impact of socioeconomic status on students’ educational achievement at secondary school’s districts of Malir, Karachi, in Indian. They found that there was significance relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ academic performance in matriculation examination. Students whose fathers have better occupation performed well in matriculation examination than those students whose fathers have a less prestigious occupation. Fathers with the high occupation are in a better condition to assist and encourage their children toward educational attainment. They can provide whatever is needed to support and encourage their children morally, intellectually, spiritually and psychologically. But parents with less prestigious occupation due to instability and financial problems cannot provide adequate modern facilities to enhance their children education. Mother’s occupation also influences students’ academic performance. It was observed that students with a mother who have better occupation performed well in matriculation examination than their peers from mothers with less prestigious occupation. Parents are the first teachers of their children. In the light of this, parental education influences student’s academic performance. Ahmad (2013) suggested that children from families where parents have less education tends to perform systematically worse in school than pupils whose parents have more education. To him, educated parents provide intellectual, economical, psychological and emotional support to their children who in turn make them to be more comfortable and adjusted to their learning development, and this result in high academic performance. Musarat (2013) in his research conducted on 250 students from University of Sargodha, Pakistan, found out that there is relationship between parental education and students G.P.A. To him, those students from educated parents have better G.P.A. than those from uneducated parents. He also pointed out that mother education has significant influence in students’ GPAs. Students whose mothers are highly educated have scored high GPAs. Also Femi (2012) came up with the result that the mean scores of students from educated parents were high than scores of students from uneducated parents. Therefore, parental qualification has significance effects on students’ academic performance. Poor academic performance has been associated with the location of community secondary schools in various studies. Numerous studies link learner’s poor academic performance in specific with the walking distance which the learners travel to reach their schools. For example; Engelbrecht et al. (1996) in a study which investigated the location of schools, revealed that distance travelled by learners from home to school correlated positively with the academic performance of the students. The researcher elaborates further that most of the learners were affected by the distance which made them use most of their time on travellingthan learning. The investigation by Morakinyo (2003) on the effect of distance to school students found that the falling level of academic achievement was attributed to teacher‘s non-use of verbal reinforcement strategy. Walking distance as it has been identified by several researchers appears to be a common factor for poor academic performance. Adeboyeje, Olaniyi and Adepoju (2003) identify home-school distance through involvement of stakeholders as one among several factors that causes poor performance of students in public examinations. Other factors were identified to include poor location of the school, incessant changes in government policies, closure of schools, which is contingent upon teachers strike action, high student teacher ratio, poor supervision, monitoring and evaluation machinery, lack of good textbooks, poor content and context of instruction, poor and non-conductive environment among others. Many Nigerian students are performing below expectation in their academics. The tread in the academic achievement of secondary school students in Nigeria in the last two decades has become a major source of concern to all stakeholders in the educational sector (Nwadinigu and Azaka-Obieke, 2012). There is a mass decline in the achievement of students in both National Examination Council (NECO) and the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) (Dawa, Adamu and Olayomi, 2005). Adesemowo (2005) further stressed the issue by explaining that the annual release of senior secondary certificate examination (SSCE) conducted by West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) depicts the problematic nature and generalization of poor secondary school students’ achievement in different school subjects especially mathematics and English language among secondary school students. The stakeholders in education agree that the huge investment on education is not yielding the desired dividend. According to Nwadinigu and Azuka-Obieke, 2012, poor academic achievement is an achievement that is adjudged by the examiners as falling below an expected standard. It is when a student performance is below his actual ability. It could be as a result of several factors such as poor teaching, psychological factors, unpreparedness on the part of the students, poor learning environment, location of schools and the evaluation process Several factors such as attitude of students and teachers, study habit, teachers’ qualification, teaching methods, school environment, government policy, school location, family types have been identified in several studies as factors influencing students’ academic achievement (Edwards, 2000; Aremu & Sokan, 2003; Asikhia, 2010; Akomolufe & Olorumfemi-Olabisi, 2011). Gender is the range of physical, biological, mental and behavioural characteristics pertaining to and differentiating between masculinity and feminist (Haig, 2004). Depending on the context, the term may refer to biological sex (i.e. the state of being male, female or intersex), sex based social structure (including gender roles and other social roles) or gender identity (Udry, 1994). Gender issues are currently the main focus of discussion and research all over the world, Nigeria inclusive. The question of gender is a matter of grave concern especially among academics and policy formulators. Intellectuals are worried about the role of male and female in the psychological, political, social, economic, religious, scientific and technological development of nations. Meanwhile, concerns about academic achievement with respect to males and females have generated a considerable interest in the field of educational testing over the years. Differences in academic achievement of the two genders are likely to contribute disparities in the allocation of cognitive roles in the world of work. Numerous studies on sex differences in cognitive performance can be found. Colom and Lynn (2004) asserted that males have larger average brain sizes than females and therefore, would be expected to have higher average 1Qs. Mackintosh (1998) on the other hand, claims that there is no sex difference in general intelligence. Mackintosh proposes that general intelligence should be defined as reasoning ability and that the best measure of this is the progressive matrices. Examining two tests administered by the Israel Defence Forces which qualify as IQ tests-one of them is an adaptation of progressive matrices. Flynn (1998) found no sex difference. Arigbabu and Mji (2004) are of the opinion that in Nigeria, and perhaps the whole of Africa, gender bias is still very prevalent. Abdullahi, Kalejaiye-Matti, Garba and Balogun (2007) agreed that socialization patterns in Nigeria and most African setting, place enormous restrictions on the female gender and from her a higher input of daily domestic labour than from the male. This perception automatically scheme female out from any consideration for serious professional discipline even in cases where the female appears to be more brilliant than their male counterpart is. Raimi and Adeoye (2006) observed in their research on gender differences among college students in integrated science, that there is a significant difference between males and females in their attitude towards integrated science. Oludipe (2012) and Kola and Taiwo (2013) observed in their various studies that there is no significant difference between male and female performance Students attending rural schools face challenges of higher poverty than those attending urban schools. In Nigeria, the lingual Franca is English language, which in most cases is not widely spoken in rural schools. What obtains in most cases is the native language of that setting. This can greatly affect students’ performance in mathematics since it is with English language mathematics is been taught and assessed in schools. Urban schools have main advantages like availability of resources, library, opportunities, good environment, teachers etc. However, one of the greatest advantages of rural schools is the tendency for smaller classes, which promise increased student evaluation, and provide greater flexibility in teaching strategy. However, Owoeye (2002) found that urban students performed better than rural students in all forms of achievement test used. Kissau (2006) reported that students in urban and rural location performed in a similar manner. Obioma (1989) indicated that most mathematically deficient learners were found in major urban centres rather than other locations. Igboegwu and Okonkwo (2012) study indicates a significant difference in students achievement with respect to location of school and education zones. The study showed that urban schools achieved significantly better than students in the rural schools did. According to the Head of National Office, West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the causes of massive failure in WAEC can be attributed to some candidates’ lack of knowledge of common pitfalls, coupled with inadequate coverage of the syllabus and non-familiarity with test format. Specifically speaking by the head of WAEC National Office, the major issue is lack of strong reading spirit on candidates who prepare for the exam. Considerable research evidences abound to show that students are responsible for their poor academic performance. Aremu and Sokan, (2003) and Bakare (1994) found out that the students’ factors of poor academic performance were poor study habits, psychological adjustment problems, lack of interest in school programme, low retention, association with wrong peers, low achievement motivation and emotional problems. Oniemayin (1997) and Olajide (1998) separately expressed worries about the not-too-encouraging attitude of students which has been an impediment to their good academic performance in the country. Other studies, such as that of Salami (2004); Etsey (2005); Karande and Kulkarni (2005) and Ajayi and Ekundayo (2010) have shown that students’ lack of financial support, absenteeism, truancy, use of local language in the classroom, lack of interest and joy in teachers’ lessons and learning disability cause poor academic performance of students. Other causes include low cognitive ability, gender prematurity, medical problems and inability of students to understand examination questions. Parents play significant roles in the education of their children and wards. Apart from the fact that they pay school fees and other levies, they buy textbooks, uniforms and other materials required by their children and wards. In addition to this, they are expected to supervise their academic works and give them good moral training. They are also expected to visit schools from time to time to find out how their children and wards are behaving with a view to taking corrective measures where and when necessary. However, the failure of parents to play these roles could negatively affect the academic performance of the students (Ajayi and Osalusi, 2013). Studies have shown that the poor academic performances of students are caused by the parents. Ajala and Iyiola, (1988), polygamous families contributed to poor academic performance of the students. Parents’ inability to provide breakfast, textbooks and basic school needs for their children, less interaction with children’s teachers and less involvement in the ParentsTeachers Association (PTA) resulted in poor academic performance of students. Etsey (2005) also identified insufficient parental income and family type as causes of poor academic performance. Moreover, other causes of mass failure of students in public examinations that could be traced to the parents include lack of proper guidance by parents, failure of parents to provide necessary materials for their children to work with in school and family breakdown (Ajayi and Ekundayo, 2010). Statement of the problem The study investigated the effects of socio-economic background of senior secondary school students on their academic performance in Nsukka LGA of Enugu state. In years past, it has been noticed that academic achievement of students from social and economic disadvantaged background is poor, because they are not enjoying equal level of success as their more advantaged peers. Not only are such students less likely to reach degree status, but even those who do are likely to have suffered from a number of barriers which may have hindered their progress and deterred them fromcontinuing further. Despite the effort of researches, parents, teachers and government, the poor achievements of student in government is still a recurring problem that is imperative this time.This poor performance is likely to be caused by social economic background of the family. It has been observed that the secondary education system in Nigeria is to an extent not achieving its predetermined goals and objectives due to the problems of high rate of failures in public examinations. Researchers have shown that there has been public outcry on students’ poor performance in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations. However, the researcher has observed that parents in Enugu state believed that social and economic disadvantage are major problems affecting academic achievement of students. This can be buttressed on the basis that, in spite of government assistance and low rate of tuition fees charged in secondary schools to build hostels for them, a lot of parents/guardians still desire that their children attend school from their various homes which are sometimes far from the location of the schools. In view of the above backdrops, the elements of the problem of this study, border on the factors that positively influences students’ academic performance in senior secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. To further delineate the study, the researcher examined the following factors; Infrastructural facilities; location of residences; gender; student home background; occupation of parents; educational qualification of parents and residential types respectively. Purpose of the study This research intends to study the analysis of socio-economic status of students on their academic achievement in senior secondary schools. The specific purposes of this study are to determine; 1. The level of student’s performance in Government in senior secondary schools in Nsukka Local Government Area. 2. Identify which socio-economic factors mostly influence government student’s academic achievement in secondary schools. 3. Determine whether location is a factor influencing government student academic achievement for students in different socio-economic groups. 4. Determine whether gender of government students in different socio-economic groups influence their academic achievement. Significance of the study The usefulness of this research work in the educational system cannot be over emphasized. If the result of the study is properly utilized, it is going to benefit the students, teachers, parents and government and policy makers as well as other researchers. The research work will expose the students to various effects of socio-economic status on the academic performance. Education in higher socioeconomic families is typically stressed as much more important, both within the household as well as the local community. In poorer areas, where food, shelter and safety are priority, education can take a backseat. Youth audiences are particularly at risk for many health and social problems in the United States, such as unwanted pregnancies, drug abuse, and obesity It will help the parents to understand the need for academic parental care on their school children. Parents play a vital role as far as their children’s performance and studies are concerned, such as disciplining and nurturing a child, and protecting the child through guidance and counselling. Parents helps to inspire children and may influence them in decision making, sometimes through career choices based on their aspirations.If a parents is concerned about their child, the performance improves since there is follow-up. Parents should follow up on goals set by students, and provide the necessary equipment’s for the improvement of their performance. It will educate the teachers on how toattend to students, since their parental background are not the same. Importantly, some groups of students may feel lower levels of belonging. This includes students with different cultural and language backgrounds. For example, student from immigrant background have more positive attitudes and greater academic motivations if theirteachers care about them, give academic feedbacks and guidance, and help them when necessary. Research suggestsschool strategies that increases a sense of belonging in at-riskstudents could reduce school dropout rates and lead to improve academic achievements. Scope of the study ​The research work is on the influence of social and economic status ofstudents on their academic achievement in senior secondary school’s government. It will be carried out in senior secondary school especially the ss3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The research questions formulated to guide this study are as follows: 1. What are the levels of student’s performance in Government in senior secondary schools in Nsukka Local Government Area. 2. What are the socio-economic factors mostly influencing government student’s academic achievements in secondary schools. 3. What is the influence of gender on the academic achievement of students from different socio-economic groups, in Nsukka Local Government Area. 4. What is the influence of location on the academic achievement of students from different socio-economic groups in Nsukka Local Government Area.