EXAMINATION OF PARENTAL STATUS AND ITS EFFECT ON STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The growth of any nation or society is heavily reliant on the quality of that nation's education. It is widely assumed that the foundation for any meaningful progress must begin with the development of human resources (Akanle, 2017). As a result, in any community, formal education remains the vehicle for social-economic growth and social mobilization. The distinction between developed and developing countries is based on education and knowledge rather than color, race, or any other criterion. Even within a culture, people are distinguished based on the kind of education they get (Mumthas, 2016). As a result, education has a huge effect on the evolution of human society. Knowledge and information are absorbed and transmitted around the world through education. In other words, "without education, man is as though in a closed chamber, however with knowledge, he finds himself in a room with all its windows open to the outer world" (Khan, 2019). Parents play a huge and essential effect in their children's academic achievement. Educated parents would place a greater focus on academic performance. Educated parents are equipped by their education to recognize the importance of the parent-student-school-community interaction in promoting educational attainment and academic accomplishment of their children, and they make the partnership a priority (Okantey, 2018).

A parent's role in a child's life is critical. The influence of a parent on a kid influences the youngster's future. Parenting engagement is a catch-all word for a variety of actions ranging from 'at home,' effective parenting, homework assistance, communicating with teachers, attending school functions, and even participating in school governance. When schools and families collaborate to enhance learning, children tend to achieve not only in school but also in life. In reality, the most reliable predictor of a student's academic performance is not wealth or social standing, but the amount to which that student's parent is able to build a home atmosphere that encourages study and express high expectations for their children's achievement and future jobs. Academic accomplishment is strongly tied to students' knowledge growth and development in an educational setting where the teaching and learning process occurs. Academic accomplishment is defined as pupils' performance in the subjects they learn in school (Pandey, 2018). Academic achievement determines a student's class standing. It allows youngsters to hone their skills, increase their grades, and prepare for future academic difficulties. Parental participation in boosting children's school achievement has been highlighted as an important element influencing pupils' academic performance. Various facets of parental engagement in particular, despite the fact that parents from different occupational groups typically have distinct styles of child parenting, different ways of disciplining their children, and different ways of reacting to their children. These inequalities do not manifest themselves consistently in every family as predicted; rather, they impact the average inclinations of families across occupational groups (Rothestein 2017). The family is the basic social cell in which the child's upbringing must begin even before birth, in the cradle.

Failure of parents to address these specialized demands can have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences (Christheisen, 2019). This is because parents are the children's first teachers at home. As a kid grows from newborn to toddler to pre-schooler, he learns to speak, listen, write, and read, which prepares him for academic success. Numerous studies have found that parents have a significant impact on their children's academic success. According to Gadsden (2019), increased parental participation in children's learning at an early age has a good impact on the child's school performance, including higher academic accomplishment. According to Harderves (2018), families with children who are doing well in school establish a daily family routine by providing time and a quiet place to study with the children and assigning responsibility for house hold chores, monitor out-of-school activities, such as setting limits on television watching, reducing time spent playing, monitoring the groups of friends the pupils walk with, and encouraging children's development and progress in school; that is, maintaining a worm and a worm and a worm and a worm and Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study is to look at the relationship between parental status and student academic achievement in ondo State secondary schools.

1.2 Statement of the problem

At any given time, the role of a parent to a child cannot be overstated. The house is incredibly important and critical to a child's future well-being and growth. In a three-year longitudinal study, Izzo et al (2019) evaluated 1205 US students from kindergarten to grade three. Teachers evaluated four types of involvement: frequency of parent-teacher contact, quality of parent-teacher interaction, engagement in home educational activities, and participation in school activities. These parameters, as well as family background variables, were investigated to see if they had any association with academic accomplishment as measured by school grades. In another two-year longitudinal study, Dubois (2014) discovered that family support and the quality of parent-child connections strongly influenced school adjustment in a sample of 159 early US adolescents (ages 10–12). At-home parental participation clearly and consistently has considerably greater benefits on child achievement and adjustment than other types of involvement. When schools and families work together to encourage learning, children tend to achieve not only in school, but throughout their lives. The preceding discussion demonstrated that socioeconomic position and a variety of other factors linked to students' home environment, such as parents' educational background, students' health status, parental employment, and family size, might all have an impact on their academic ability. Given the value of education to progress, why is it not taken seriously, as evidenced by poor pass rates? What, then, primarily impacts academic success in the specific situation of Lagos State secondary school students? In a factual context, numerous thoughts come to mind when we consider why certain students outperform others: is it because they study more at home? Do they have a greater ability to learn? Is the student's personal background, way of life, and surroundings beneficial to his or her performance? In the quest to answer these question, the study seeks to examine parental status and its effect on student academic performance.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate parental status and its effect on student academic performance. Other specific objectives include:

i.          To determine whether parent involvement influences academic performance.

ii.        To ascertain whether parent income level impacts student academic performance.

iii.      To investigate whether parent educational level influences student academic. performance.

iv.      To establish whether  parent authoritativeness  affects student academic performance.

1.4 Research Questions

In addressing this problem, the following research questions will be raised:

i.          Does parent’s  involvement influences academic performance?

ii.        Does parent’s income level impacts student academic performance?

iii.      Does parent’s educational level influences student academic performance?

iv.      Does parent’s authoritativeness  affects student academic performance?

1.5 Significance of this Study

It is envisaged that the findings of this study may expose some factors that might be responsible for poor performance of students in school. The identified areas where government at different levels could come in will be brought into focus in other to bridge the gap of educational attainment of children of low and high income earners in the society The responsibility of training a child always lies in the hand of the parents. This is congruent with the common assertion sociologist that education can be an instrument of cultural change which is being taught from home is relevant in this discuss. It is not out of place to imagine that parental socio–economic background can have possible effects on the academic achievement of children in school. Whatsoever affect the development environment of children would possibly affect their education or disposition to it. The outcome of this study will no doubt serve as a means of enlightening on the relevance of parental status and student academic performance in Lagos State secondary schools.The study will also serves as reference material to scholars who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6   Scope of Study

This scope of this study borders on parental status and its effect on student academic performance.. The study is however delimited to  selected secondary schools in Ore Local Government in Ondo State.

1.7 Limitation of study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only secondary schools in Ore Local Government in Ondo State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other private schools in other states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

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