EXAMINATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL CORRELATES OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
In today’s Nigerian society, basic education for children is a top priority. All parties involved in the process and duration of their basic education must nurture these children appropriately in order for them to perform well academically and otherwise. According to the National Policy on Education 2013, primary education is the foundational education provided in institutions to students aged 6 to 12. Pupils must be exposed to the majority of life-related information, skills, values, and attitudes at this level. The primary level is critical to the system’s success or failure because it serves as the foundation for the rest of the educational system. In reality, primary school serves as the foundation for all subsequent levels of education. This, according to Amadi (2020), emphasizes the need.
Every child in Nigeria who attends primary school should achieve good academic results.
Academic performance is defined as a person’s ability to perform both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Students’ academic achievement, particularly at the primary school level, is not only a barometer of school performance, but also an important predictor of youths’ and the nation’s future. Learning outcomes are becoming increasingly popular, which is why academics have been working hard to identify factors that impede successful academic achievement (Aremu & Sokan, 2022). In the literature, this phenomenon has been variously referred to as academic achievement or scholastic functioning. Academics, parents, legislators, and planners have all taken note of students’ academic accomplishments. The primary goal of the school, according to Adeyemo (2021), is to assist students.
in achieving academic success. According to him, the secondary goals of the school may vary, but the primary focus is always on producing high-quality scholarship. Furthermore, almost everyone involved in education places a premium on academic performance; parents typically expect their children to excel academically (Osiki, 2021).
Psycho-social variables are those that have an effect on a person’s psychological or social well-being. Anxiety, depression, distress, and positive affect are all multidimensional constructs, as are cognitive behavior responses (satisfaction, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control) and social factors (sociometric status, education, employment, religion, ethnicity, family, physical characteristics, locality, relationships with others, and changes in personal roles and status) (Shin-chi, Suzuki, and Yuko 2019) Students understand the impact of the home environment or family structure on academic performance. The
Home has a significant impact on students’ psychological, emotional, social, and economic well-being. According to Ajila and Olutola (2020), the status of the house has an impact on the individual because parents are the first socializing agents in a child’s life. This is because a child’s familial background and environment influence his attitude toward life events as well as his level of performance. Although the school is in charge of the experiences that make up an individual’s life during school hours, the individual’s experiences at home play an important role in molding the child’s personality and shaping the child into who he is.
Parental involvement in a child’s early education has been consistently linked to academic performance (Hara & Burke, 2018). Children who have
Children with more involved parents outperform those with less involved parents in terms of academic achievement. Importantly, studies have found that parent-child interactions, particularly engaged and responsive parenting styles, have a significant impact on a child’s intellectual development (Christian, Morrison, & Bryant, 2019). Programs to improve a child’s academic performance can be developed by evaluating modifiable parenting behaviors, such as parent engagement, and the processes by which these practices affect academic achievement. While parent involvement has been linked to higher academic achievement, the specific mechanisms by which parent involvement improves a child’s academic performance are not fully understood (Hill & Craft, 2021).
Self-esteem is now recognized as an important factor influencing children’s academic achievement. Self-esteem is a psychological term that refers to a person’s overall sense of self-worth or personal worth. value. Self-esteem is commonly regarded as a personality trait, implying that it is stable and long-lasting. Self-esteem can refer to a wide range of self-perceptions, such as one’s own appearance, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. According to (Branden, 2019), self-esteem is a basic human need required for survival, optimal development, and growth. It has been proposed that having high self-esteem can aid in academic success. Self-esteem is defined as a person’s overall evaluation of competence in relation to one’s own self-worth (Harter, 2018). When children compare their self-evaluation to their actual performance in a variety of tasks, this concept emerges. In general, high self-esteem helps people see themselves as active and capable individuals capable of encouraging change through effort and setting higher goals that they can achieve.
As a result, you will learn new things. Interestingly, several studies have found that increasing students’ self-esteem is the most effective strategy for improving academic performance (Rubieet al., 2021). High self-esteem has also been shown in studies to have a significant impact on academic achievement, social responsibility, and personal accountability. Those who achieve more academically are more confident, whereas those who have low self-esteem achieve less. Keeping in mind all of the characteristics stated by various researchers, we selected only those that are recognized and relate to primary school settings. The majority of studies to date suggest that more research is needed to untangle the complex underpinnings of academic achievement.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Throughout the world, numerous psycho-social variables influence secondary school students’ academic progress. Especially in Nigeria. Psychosocial factors such as family support, school climate, and self-efficacy have an impact on learners’ lives and, as a result, academic achievement. There is a scarcity of empirical data on the combined effects of parental support, school conduciveness, and self-efficacy on academic achievement. Though academic achievement is closely related to both intellectual capacity and familial factors (Jacob & Harvey, 2018), a child’s ability to function well in a social situation is critical for optimizing intellectual potential. However, this is not always the most important factor, because academic achievement is influenced by both internal and external factors (motivation, attitudes, personality traits, and so on) (method, necessities, type of academic work, school texts, etc.). Ikott (2019) defines the intellectual factor as
Accounting for only a portion of academic results, this suggests that for a large number of students, poor academic achievement is primarily determined by non-intellectual factors such as high emotional insecurity, low motivation, a negative attitude, poor self-regulation, or other psycho-social unfavorable circumstances. While these are valid concerns, there is a need to investigate the role of family, teacher, and peer influence as social variables that influence a student’s cognitive efficiency and learning outcome. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the psycho-social correlates of academic performance among primary school students.
1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES
The primary goal of this study is to investigate the psycho-social correlates of academic performance in primary school students. The study was specifically designed to:
i. To investigate how parental influence affects
have an effect on academic performance.
ii. Determine whether teacher influence has a significant impact on academic performance.
iii. Determine whether peer group influence has a significant impact on academic performance.
iv. Determine whether self-esteem influences academic achievement.
1.4 Research Issues
The following research questions will be addressed by the study:
i. How does parental influence influence student academic performance?
ii. Does the teacher-student relationship have a significant impact on academic achievement?
iii. Does peer group influence have an impact on academic performance?
iv. Does self-esteem influence academic achievement?
1.5 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
This study has implications for addressing the issues that lead to poor academic performance in primary school children, particularly in Lagos State. This study is therefore relevant to teachers and school Administrators who want to ensure that students in their care are well nurtured in order to bring out the best in them and ensure excellent academic performance. The study is also important for parents who expect their children to perform well. This will assist them in understanding how to interact with and influence their children in order to ensure good academic performance. This study will also benefit schools by assisting them in ensuring that they have adequate human resources and the right environment to provide children with a balanced education that will ensure good academic performance. This study is also relevant to Learners because it will assist primary school students in making their basic education worthwhile.
in order to have a solid foundation for future higher education. The government will also be able to conduct proper school supervision to ensure that government education policy is followed in order for children to achieve good academic performance.
1.6 STUDY OBJECTIVES
The scope of this study includes psycho-social predictors of academic performance in primary school students. The study is limited to a few primary schools in Oyo State’s Ogbomosho local government area.
1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS
The researchers encountered minor constraints while conducting the study, as with any human endeavor. The significant constraint was the scarcity of literature on the subject due to the fact that it is a new discourse, so the researcher incurred more financial expenses and spent more time.
The researcher resorted to a limited sample size covering only selected primary schools in Ogbomosho local government area in Oyo State due to the time required in sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information and in the data collection process. As a result, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to other primary schools in other Nigerian states. Furthermore, the researcher’s involvement in this study while also working on other academic projects will impede maximum dedication to the research. Nonetheless, despite the constraints encountered during the research, all factors were minimized in order to provide the best results and make the research a success.
1.8 OPERATIONAL TERM DEFINITION
The following terms will be defined for the purposes of this study;
Elementary School
Pupils: Primary school pupils are children aged 6 to 11 who attend formal institutions of learning known as primary schools.
Primary/Elementary Education: According to Fafunwa (1974), primary education is a system of education that assists children in mastering the 3Rs of reading, writing, and arithmetic, developing sound standards of individual conduct, acquiring some skills, and recognizing the value of manual labor. Between early childhood education and secondary education, primary education is the first stage of compulsory education.
Academic performance is a student’s behavior that can be directly observed by evaluating what he or she has learned during a course of study.
Psycho-social Correlates: Psycho-social Correlates are psychological and social factors that are linked in some way. A method of influencing a child’s academic performance. In this study, we will concentrate on variables related to five of these factors: family/parental influence/involvement, teacher influence, peer group influence, and self esteem.
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