INFLUENCE OF PARENTS' SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The finest legacy a nation can leave to its population, particularly the youth, is education. This is because each nation's or community's growth is dependent on its young. Education aims to build a well-integrated individual who can fit into society. As a result, the goal of education may be defined as instilling in an individual board personality modifications such as attitudes, interests, ideas, ways of thinking, work habits, personal and social adaptability, and so on, in addition to teaching subject matter information (Priscilla, 2003). A child's education begins at a very young age in the family. A child's first teachers are his or her parents. This type of instruction is referred to as informal education. Education serves as a tool for social change that is first instilled in children in their homes. The socioeconomic level of parents plays a significant effect in the academic achievement and social conduct of pupils, which should be taken into account (Esther, 2005). Parents, policymakers, and school administrators are concerned about the performance variation and the increasing negative trend in biology student performance in secondary schools. The growing gap and dismal performance of pupils in Delta State's Burutu local government area has raised major concerns about the socioeconomic factors that impact kids' academic performance. Despite other variables such as genetic impact, the school environment, governance, and education policy, there are sociocultural aspects that may improve children's academic performance. However, the attitude of parents toward their children's education is the most important element impacting motivation and academic expectations in secondary schools (Olujimi, 2007). People are categorised in every community according to the social classes to which they belong. Wealth, power, reputation, poverty, and intellectual capability may all be used to categorize them. According to Danladi (2005), society is divided into two classes: rich and poor. Some students come from wealthy families, while others originate from poor homes. Whichever family they come from, their social class tends to impact their conduct and academic performance in secondary school. Johnson (1996) bemoaned the fact that parents become impoverished to the point that they are unable to afford shelter, clothes, and specific needs for their children in school, such as textbooks, school uniforms, and adequate medical care. A high percentage of parental and maternal deprivation of student academic demands, forced by the country's poor socioeconomic circumstances, has put farmers and other countryside dwellers into enormous financial troubles, such as a lack of money to acquire working materials for their children (Bege, 2006). Many rural and sub-urban people are also unable to pay their students' school fees, forcing kids to participate in subsistence farming, work as housemaids, or work in other mental vocations in order to finance their scholastic pursuits (Peter, 2005). As a result, many pupils regard schooling as a secondary duty and attend school on a regular basis. Poor academic performance in school tests such as the National Examination Council (NECO) and the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has resulted in a problem (WAEC). This tendency is causing major issues for parents, the government, political parties, and educational stakeholders. According to PISA (Program Internal Student Assessment) (2000), home background effects kids' academic and educational performance as well as schoolwork, whereas socioeconomic level encourages instructors' and students' actions and functioning. As a result of the above, it can be deduced that the quality of a student's parents and home environment go a long way toward predicting the quality and consistency of the fulfillment and provision of a child's functional survival and academic demands. Low parental care combined with a severe deprivation of a child's social and economic requirements frequently results in a child's poor academic achievement. Similarly, effective parenting combined with a strong economic foundation can boost a child's academic success (Jose, 2005). This also predicts academic accomplishment when the kid receives suitable guidance in selecting a course and career that matches his mental ability, interest, and capability. Children raised by illiterate moms will find themselves wandering the streets, working to make ends meet (Jane, 2007). A learning environment devoid of barriers, impediments, or distractions, such as noise, gas/smoke pollution, and so on, might be a health concern, affecting or reducing student attention or perceptual or conceptual focus of learning (2005). As a result, schools in both rural and urban locations, as well as sub-urban and metropolitan areas, should be positioned away from areas characterized by smoke/gas pollution, market centers, or garages for optimal learning and good academic achievement. Learning, comprehension, and excellent perception are all aided by a favorable learning environment. Excellent teaching, good counseling, good administration, good seating arrangement, and good building, according to Danes (2004), complement environment and socio-economic elements to promote high academic accomplishments and performance. Danes, on the other hand, lamented that innovative environments stimulate head start learning and mental perception. It has also been proven that students who are taught in a simulative environment with laboratory equipment or who are taught with rich instructional aids, pictures, and allowed to demonstrate using their functional nerves such as eyes, hand, and sense of taste perform better than those who are taught under the theoretical and abstraction canopy. As a result, teaching and learning should take place in a well-organized, well-planned, and well-fortified environment, with learning instructional aids to stimulate students' sense of conception and focus, allowing for systematic comprehension and acquisition of knowledge (Phil, 2004). Furthermore, research has revealed that several elements existing in the family have a significant impact on the student's academic success. Parental educational background, income, exposure, parental connection, family strength, population, religion, sex difference, occupation, and other factors are among them. All of these things influence a child's readiness to learn to a larger extent (Eche, 2003). Other variables, such as mental and physical infirmities, can, nevertheless, contribute to low academic performance in biology. Overall, the family backdrop, as an umbrella in the inflating of the kid into the world, should create favorable conditions that will boost the child's academic success, regardless of the limits he or she may face in his or her academic efforts. It appears that students' academic performance in biology has deteriorated in recent years, which led to the selection of this study's issue, which is to assess the influence of parents' socioeconomic level on students' academic performance in secondary schools.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Examination authorities such as WAEC, NECO, and JAMB have found that a large number of secondary school pupils continue to do badly in biology exams. This has been a source of worry for all education stakeholders. The socioeconomic position of students' parents appears to have an impact on their performance in secondary schools. However, it is thought that a student's academic success is influenced by his or her family's socioeconomic condition (Danes, 2004). It is said that a student's success in school is influenced by his or her family's socioeconomic level. However, it is not always true that children from well-off homes perform better academically than those from low-income families. At light of this, the researcher has opted to investigate the influence of parents' socioeconomic level on biology students' academic performance in secondary schools in Delta State's Burutu Local Government Area.

1.3       OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to see what effect a parent's socioeconomic status has on a student's academic achievement in secondary school.

The study's goal is to learn more about:

i.To determine the impact of biology students' socioeconomic position on their academic achievement in Burutu, Delta State's L.G.A.

ii.To see how much a parent's employment influences a biology student's academic achievement.

iii.To find out how parents' educational backgrounds affect their children's academic performance in biology in Burutu. Delta State's L.G.A.

iv.To discover a remedy to the influence of a student's socioeconomic status on their academic achievement.

1.4        RESEARCH QUESTION

i.What are the impacts of biology students' socioeconomic position on their academic achievement in Burutu, Delta State's L.G.A?

ii. How much does  a parent's employment influence a biology student's academic achievement?

iii. How do  parents' educational backgrounds affect their children's academic performance in biology in Burutu. Delta State's L.G.A?

iv. What is the  remedy to the influence of a student's socioeconomic status on their academic achievement?   

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Nigeria is a developing country whose future is totally dependent on the level of education it can provide to its people. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this research in the educational system. Students, teachers, parents, and the government will benefit from the study's findings if they are effectively applied.

i.The study project will introduce students to the varied effects of socioeconomic status on biology students' academic performance.

ii.The study's findings will assist parents in comprehending the need of providing proper parental care to their school-aged children.

iii.The findings will inform instructors on how to respond to pupils with differing family backgrounds, as well as school officials on how to alter their timetable.

iv.The study also attempted to offer solutions to bridge the academic divide between affluent and poor families, so that children from both parents can attain excellent academic standards regardless of their background.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research will be place in Delta State's Burutu Local Government Area. The research is confined to the effect of parents' socioeconomic position on the academic performance of biology students in senior secondary schools.

1.7     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Biology is a natural science that studies life and living organisms, as well as their structures, functions, and growth.

Secondary school, often known as high school, is a place where students, generally under the age of 18, attend to learn.

Student is a person who attends school to learn new things.

Impact is anything that occurs as a result of a cause or as a result of an action. It is also a change that occurs as a result of or as a result of an action or other natural or artificial factors.

Status refers to a person's legal, social, or financial standing in society.

Socio-economic: This is a word that refers to a mix of social and economic elements that define one's income and social standing, as well as how one's status is measured.

Upper Class: From an economic standpoint, this is the wealthiest category, which may include employees in grades 10 and higher. Professional managers, corporate tycoons, and certain graduate employees are among them.

Middle class: Professionals and business people belong to the middle class, which is defined as a socioeconomic group that is neither extremely wealthy nor extremely poor.

Lower Class: These are the people that are impoverished. They might be students in grades 0 through 6 or younger. Petty traders, subsistence farmers, messengers, typists, drivers, and workers are among them.

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