PARENTS ECONOMIC STATUS AND ITS EFFECT ON STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN IMO STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

PARENTS ECONOMIC STATUS AND ITS EFFECT ON STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN IMO STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background Study

The quality of education provided by a country or community has a significant impact on that country’s or community’s growth. It is widely acknowledged that human resource development must serve as the foundation for any meaningful progress to occur (Akanle, 2007). As a result, formal education remains the primary vehicle for socioeconomic progress and social mobilization in every community. The distinction between developed and developing countries is based on differences in education and knowledge rather than differences in skin color, ethnicity, or any other characteristic. Individuals are distinguished within a culture based on the level of education they have obtained during their lifetime (Mumthas, 2006). As a result, education has a significant impact.

influence on the evolution of human society. Education is the primary means of receiving and disseminating knowledge and information around the world. “Without education, man is as if trapped in a locked chamber, and with education, he finds himself in a room with all of its windows open to the outside world,” for example (Khan, 2003). Parents have a huge and significant impact on their children’s academic success. Parents who are well-educated would prioritize educational quality. Parents who have received an education are better able to recognize the importance of parent-student-school-community interaction in promoting educational attainment and academic achievement in their children, and they prioritize collaboration as a result of their education (Okantey, 2008).

Children’s Life is complicated, and parents have significant roles to play in their children’s lives. A parent’s involvement in the life of a child influences the course of that child’s future. Parental engagement is a catch-all term for a variety of actions that occur at home, such as excellent parenting, assisting with schoolwork, conversing with teachers, attending school events, and even participating in school governance. When schools and families collaborate to promote learning, children are more likely to succeed not only in school but also in other areas of their lives. The ability of a student’s parent to provide a learning environment and to have high expectations for their children’s academic progress and future jobs is, in turn, important. In fact, rather than money or social standing, the most reliable predictor of a student’s academic performance. When students are in an educational setting where the teaching and learning process is taking place, their academic success is directly related to their knowledge growth and development. Academic achievement is defined as a student’s performance in the subject(s) that they are studying at school (Pandey, 2008). The academic achievement of the student determines his or her standing in the class. It allows children to hone their skills, improve their grades, and prepare for the challenges of the future in the classroom. The significance of parental involvement in supporting children’s school achievement has been established as a critical factor influencing pupils’ academic performance.

performance in the classroom. Certain aspects of parental engagement are especially important to consider, but it is worth noting that parents from various occupational groups typically have different approaches to child parenting and different methods of disciplining and reprimanding their children. These disparities do not manifest themselves consistently in every family, as one might expect; rather, they have an impact on the average inclinations of families from various occupational groups. (1994) and (Rothestein, 2004). (Rothestein, 2004).

The family is the basic cell of society, and the child’s upbringing must begin in this cell as soon as he is born, while still in the cradle. According to V. Hugo, a person’s principles are formed from infancy. are like letters inscribed in the bark of a young tree that grow and expand with the tree, becoming an inseparable part of it. As a result, getting a good start is the most important aspect of raising and schooling. Nobody ever said that raising children from their positions was easy. Furthermore, there are no recommendations or directions, and there is no stop option (trust me, I checked!). They bring an extremely important collection of physiological and psychological demands with them, all of which must be addressed. Parents’ failure to address these specialized demands may have far-reaching and long-term consequences for the child (Christheisen, 2009). This is because of the

Parents are their children’s primary teachers at home. Children learn how to communicate verbally, listen, write, and read as they progress from baby to toddler to pre-schooler, all of which prepares them for academic success in school.

Several studies have clearly demonstrated that parents have an impact on their children’s academic success. According to Gadsden (2003), early parental involvement in children’s learning has a positive impact on the child’s school performance, including higher academic achievement. According to Harderves (1998), a family with academically successful children has the following characteristics: • Establish a daily family routine by providing time and a quiet place for the children to study, as well as allocating responsibilities for homework.

housekeeping duties.

• Supervise extracurricular activities such as limiting television viewing time, limiting playing time, and keeping track of the groups of friends that students walk with.

• Support children’s growth and success in school by providing a warm and supportive environment, taking an interest in their school progress, assisting them with homework, and emphasizing the importance of a good education and future profession with them.

1.2 Definition of the problem

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of a parent in a child’s life at any given time. The home is extremely important and critical to a child’s future well-being and development. Izzo et al. conducted a three-year longitudinal study. (1999) evaluated 1205 kindergarten through third grade students in the United States. Teachers assessed four types of parental involvement: frequency of parent-teacher contact, quality of parent-teacher interaction, participation in educational activities at home, and participation in extracurricular activities at school. These variables, as well as variables related to family history, were investigated to see if they had any relationship with academic success as measured by school grades. Izzo et al. discovered that all types of parental participation decreased with the child’s age, and that involvement in the home ‘predicted the broadest range of performance variation’. This result was consistent with previous research. Dubois (1994) discovered in a second longitudinal study that family support and In a two-year longitudinal study of 159 young US teenagers (ages 10-12), the quality of parent-child connections was found to be strongly related to school adjustment. At-home parental involvement has been shown time and again to have significant benefits on child performance and adjustment that outweigh the effects of other types of parental involvement. When schools and families collaborate to promote learning, children are more likely to succeed not only in school but also in other areas of their lives. With the challenges of single parenthood, family crises, and the increasing involvement of women in various areas of community and national development, it is reasonable to wonder whether parents are still capable of being parents.

committed to their wards; or whether they are making enough effort to ensure that their children learn and perform at an appropriate level.

The preceding discussion established that a student’s socioeconomic status, along with a variety of other factors relating to the student’s home environment, such as the parents’ educational background, the students’ health status, the parents’ occupation, and the size of the family, could have an impact on their academic achievement.

Given the importance of education to development, it is perplexing that it is not taken seriously, as evidenced by low school pass rates. In the case of secondary school students, what is the most important factor influencing their academic performance?

When we consider why some students perform better than others in a real-world setting, we can generate a number of hypotheses: is it because they spend more time studying at home? Do they have a better learning ability than others? If so, does the student’s personal history, way of life, and surrounding environment help him or her perform academically?

1.3 Purpose of the research

The study’s overarching goal is to investigate parents’ economic status and its impact on student academic achievement in secondary schools in Imo State. The research will be guided by the following criteria:

i. To see if the job type of the parents affects the academic achievement of their children.

ii. Determine whether parental educational background influences students’ academic performance.

achievements.

iii. To assess the impact of parental involvement on secondary school student academic performance.

iv. To look into ways to improve secondary school students’ academic performance.

1.4 Research Suggestions

In order to address this issue, the following research questions will be raised:

i. Does the job type of the parents affect the academic achievement of their children?

ii. Does the educational background of the students’ parents influence their academic performance?

iii. What is the level of parental involvement in the academics of secondary school students?

iv. How can academic achievement in secondary school students be improved?

1.5 Importance of this Research

This study is important for parents because the responsibility of raising a child is always in the hands of the parents. This is consistent with the widely held belief among sociologists that education can be a tool for social change.

Cultural change taught at home is relevant in this discussion. It is not unreasonable to believe that parental socioeconomic status may have an impact on children’s academic achievement in school.

The study will be important to the academic community because it will add to the existing literature.

1.6 Scope of the Research

This study will look at how parents’ job types affect their children’s academic achievement. The study will also investigate whether parental educational background influences students’ academic achievement. The study goes on to assess the impact of parental involvement on secondary school student academics. Finally, the study will look into how to improve secondary school students’ academic performance. As a result, this study will be limited to Ebonyi State.

1.7 Restrictions of the Study

The researchers encountered minor constraints while conducting the study, as with any human endeavor. Inadequate funds tend to impede the researcher’s efficiency in sourcing relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in the data collection process (internet, questionnaire, and interview), which is why the researcher chose a moderate sample size. Furthermore, the researcher will conduct this study alongside other academic work. As a result, the time spent researching will be reduced.

1.8 Definitions of Terms

Economic status: an individual’s or group’s social standing or class.

Academic achievement: performance outcomes that indicate how far a person has progressed toward specific goals that were the focus of instructional activities. environments, particularly those in school, college, and university