Impact of Parents Socio Economic Status on Academic Achievement of Secondary School Agricultural Students in Konshisha Local Government

Introduction

Education is a process by which the mind of human being develops through learning at homes, streets, religious institutions like churches and mosques, schools. It is also a process whereby a person develops attitudes and abilities that are considered to have value and relevance in the society [1]. Education does not only provide knowledge and skills, but also inculcates values, training of instincts, fostering right attitude and habits. According to Muhammed and Muhammed cultural heritage and values are transmitted from one generation to another through education [2]. It is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens especially the youth. The authors maintained that, every nation hoping to have bright future needs to emphasise on education because it is the only way to great development.

The responsibility of training a child always lies in the hand of the parents. Parents of different occupational classes, educational backgrounds, health status, and parental family size often have different styles of child upbringing, different ways of disciplining their children and different ways of reacting to their children. These differences do not express themselves consistently as expected in the case of every family; rather they impact the average tendencies of families for different occupational classes. These are some of the indices of socio-economic status.

Socio economic status is defined broadly as one’s access to financial, social, cultural, and capital resources [3]. Socio Economic Status (SES) plays pivotal roles in the learning process of the child. The author stressed further that the child’s achievement whether in the positive or negative could be attributed to the type of family such a child comes from. As submitted by Considine and Zappala, Socio-economic status is a person’s overall social position to which attainments in both the social and economic domain contribute [4]. They add that socio-economic status is determined by an individual’s achievements in education, employment, occupational status and income.Ushie, Owolabi and Emeka, confirmed that family type, size, socio-economic status and educational background play important role in children’s educational attainment and social integration. Udida, Ukway and Ogodo, also agreed that family characteristics are major source of disparity in students’ educational outcomes [5]. Huang confirmed that there is a correlation between parents’ educational level and children’s motivation and achievement in secondary schools. In this study, socio-economic status is characterized by family income, parental education and parental occupation. Ebenuwa-Okoh stated that students’ academic achievement may be enhanced if their financial needs are adequately met [6].

Academic achievement, in the opinion of Bossaert, Doumen, Buyse & Verschueren is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals [7]. In the same vein, Henrietta and Odozi submitted that academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in schools [1]. Academic achievement is commonly measured by examinations or continuous assessment. Academic achievement at any point is a cumulative function of current and prior family, community, and school experiences. According to Bacon, academic achievement is a standardized test scores, grades and overall academic performance outcomes. In the same vein, Santrock in Nurulafizan refer to academic achievement as a measure of what have been learned through assessments such as standardized tests, performance and portfolio assessments. In this study, academic achievement is the measure of the extent to which secondary school students acquired knowledge, competencies, skills and attitude in practical agriculture to achieve the objectives of the curriculum.The academic achievement of student in agriculture can be measured both terminal and standardized examinations.

In junior secondary school, agriculture is taught to students as pre-vocational studies using a recommended curriculum. Practical agriculture is an aspect of vocational education which emphasizes knowledge, skills and attitude required in all areas of agriculture for proficiency in agricultural production. The objectives of practical agriculture in junior secondary school according to NERDC [8] are to:

1. Stimulate and sustain students interest in agriculture;

2. Provide students the interest to progressively advance in farming;

3. Advance food production through improvement of agricultural production techniques in students;

4. Provide occupational entry level skills in agriculture to the interested students;

5. Prepare students adequately for producing and marketing farm commodities efficiently and profitably; and

6. Enable students acquire basic knowledge and practical skills required for future studies in agricultural field.

Ndem & Akubue explained that, the objectives of practical agriculture are not only to produce professional and skilled manpower but also to educate the rural community with the aim of ensuring complete transformation of agricultural production from the subsistence level to mechanized agriculture [9]. The academic achievement of students in junior secondary school is measured by the extent to which these objectives are attained.

School according to Sentamu is a social institution in which groups of individuals are brought together to share educational experiences and such interactions may breed positive or negative impacts on learners [10]. In this study, school is characterized by location of the school (urban or rural), school ownership (public or private schools), school academic status and school financial standing. Junior secondary school students in the opinion of Asogwa, Uko, and Omeh are those individuals who have completed basic education and are in the first three (3) years of secondary education [11]. According to Czech Act, junior secondary school is a school which children attend between primary school and senior secondary school [12]. These students differ in their attitudes towards school and particular subjects they offer based on socio economic status of their parents. The question therefore is, does socio economic status of parents have impact on academic achievement of students? Impact is the changes that can be attributed to a particular intervention, such as a project, program or policy [13]. According to Hendrik, impact evaluation is structured to answer the question: how could outcomes have changed if the intervention had not been undertaken? This involves a counterfactual analysis, that is, a comparison between what actually happened and what would have happened in the absence of the intervention [14]. Impact implies a change brought about by some sort of action. In this study it is an outcome, effect or change brought about in the academic achievement of junior secondary school students as result of socio economic status of parents. The plight of the researchers is to know whether the wellbeing of parents affects or cause a change in academic achievement of junior secondary school students.

Statement of the Problem

It has been observed that there is low students’ achievement at both terminal and standerdised examinations. Evidence have shown that, terminal examination records of junior secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government especially in practical agriculture in the last few years is not encouraging. Meanwhile, out of three thousand seven hundred and fifty two students (3,752) who registered for 2015 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in twelve schools in Konshisha Local Government, only three hundred and five (305) passed practical agriculture. Similarly, 2016 BECE results showed that, only two hundred and eleven (211) students passed practical agriculture out of the three thousand four hundred and twenty seven (3427) candidates that registered (Benue State Examination Board, 2017). In an interaction with some secondary school agricultural teachers in Konshisha Local Government Area, they complained bitterly of this. Some of them attributed it to low income of parents in Benue State in recent years where workers go without salaries for months. The teachers are also parents and guidance to some students and were speaking from experience. This has affected the economy of the whole state as a result; parents cannot meet up with their personal and school needs of their students. Moreover, shittu stated that, when a child gets proper nutrition, health care, stimulation during school years, the ability to interact with and take optimal advantage of the full complement of resources offered by a formal learning environment is enhanced [15]. Does it mean the present socio-economic status of parents have impact on academic achievement of students? Will improvement in the socio-economic status of parents change the performance and achievement of students in agriculture in Konshisha Local Government? It is against this background that the study is being undertaken to empirically investigate the impact of parents’ socio economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in practical agriculture in Konshisha Local Government Area.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of parents’ socio economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1. Examine the impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school in Konshisha Local Government.

2. Investigate the impact of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government.

3. Ascertain the impact of parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government.

Research Questions

1. What is the impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school in Konshisha Local Government?

2. What is the impact of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government?

3. What is the impact of parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government?

Hypotheses

1. There is no significant difference in the mean rating of parents and students on the impact of:

2. Family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school in Konshisha Local Government.

3. Parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government.

4. Parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government.

Methodology

Three research questions were developed and answered by the study. Survey research design was adopted for this study. Olaitan stated that, survey research design is the investigation to research problems using questionnaire in collecting analyzing and interpreting the data [16]. Nworgu also reported that survey research design is a design in which a group of people or items are studied by collecting and analyzing data from a few people or items considered to be the representative sample. This design was suitable for the study because questionnaire was used in collecting data from the respondents. The study was conducted in all the 12 government owned secondary schools in Konshisha Local Government. The population for the study was 1002 made up of 600 junior secondary three (JS3) students and 402 parents in konshisha Local Government. The sample for the study was 440 obtained using Yaro Yamane formulas. Multistage sampling technique was adopted for the study. First, purposive sampling was used in the selection of the schools to be used for the study and simple random sampling technique was used in selection of students in each school. The parents were met at their joint Parents Teachers Association annual meeting and a comprehensive attendance list was used for selection through simple random sampling technique. An instrument tilted: Parents’ Socio Economic Status Questionnaire (PSESQ) was developed from literature review and experience of the researchers and used for data collection. The questionnaire had four-point response options of Highly Agree (HA), Averagely Agree (AA), Slightly Agree (SA) and Not Agree (NA) with a corresponding value of 4, 3, 2 and 1, respectively. Three experts validated the questionnaire items; two from the Department of Agricultural Education, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi and one from the Department of Agricultural Education, College of Education, Kastina-Ala, Benue State. Their corrections and suggestions of the experts were used to produce the final copy of the questionnaire. Cronbach Alpha Reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items. A reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained meaning that the questionnaire was reliable. The data were collected by the researchers from the respondents with the help of three research assistants who were familiar with the area of the study. A total of 440 copies of the questionnaire were administered and were retrieved on the spot. Data collected for the study were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. A mean of 2.50 was used for decision-making (4+3+2+1=10 ÷ 4 = 2.50). Any item with a mean rating of 2.50 or above was regarded as accepted. T-test analysis was used to test the null hypothesis at P≤0.05 level of significance and at 398 degree of freedom.

Results

The results of research questions are presented in Tables 1 to 3.

Research Question 1: What is the impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school in Konshisha?

Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in the mean rating of responses of parents and students on the impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school in Konshisha.

Data for answering research question one and testing the corresponding hypothesis are presented in table 1.

Table 1: Mean rating and t-test analysis of responses of parents and students on the impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school. (N=440)

SD= Standard Deviation, A=Agree, NS= Not Significant, P≤0.05.

Data in Table 1 revealed that all the 4 items had their mean values ranged from 2.58 to 3.68 which were above the cut off mark of 2.50. The table also revealed that the standard deviations (SD) of the items ranged from 0.00 to 0.91 which indicated that the respondents were not very far from the mean and one another in their responses. This showed that all the 4 items were impact of family structure on academic achievement of secondary school students. The hypothesis tested revealed further that all the 4 items had their p-values greater than the alpha value. This indicates that there was no significant difference in the mean rating of the two groups of respondents on the impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school in Konshisha Local Government Area. This indicated that there was no statistical significant difference in the mean rating of the two groups of respondents on impact of family structure on academic achievement of secondary school students. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for all the items.

Research Question 2: What is the impact of parents’ academic background on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha?

Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in the mean rating of responses of parents and students on the impact of parents’ academic background on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha.

Data for answering research question two and testing the corresponding hypothesis are presented in table 2.

Table 2: Mean rating and t-test analysis of responses of parents and students on the impact of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students (N=440)

SD= Standard Deviation, A=Agree, NS= Not Significant, P≤0.05.

Data in Table 2 revealed that all the 6 items had their mean values ranged from 2.57 to 3.31 which were above the cut off mark of 2.50. The table also revealed that the standard deviations (SD) of the items ranged from 0.11 to 0.90 which indicated that the respondents were not very far from the mean and one another in their responses. This showed that all the 6 items were impact of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students. The hypothesis tested revealed further that all the 6 items had their p-values greater than the alpha value. This indicates that there was no significant difference in the mean rating of the two groups of respondents on impact of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government Area. This indicated that there was no statistical significant difference in the mean rating of the two groups of respondents on impact of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for all the items.

Research Questions 3: What is the impact of parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha?

Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference in the mean rating of responses of parents and students on the impact of parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha.

Data for answering research question three and testing the corresponding hypothesis are presented in table 3.

Table 3: Mean rating and t-test analysis of responses of parents and students on the impact of parents’ economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students (N=440)

SD= Standard Deviation, A=Agree, NS= Not Significant, P≤0.05.

Data in Table 3 revealed that all the 6 items had their mean values ranged from 2.53 to 3.63 which were above the cut off mark of 2.50. The table also revealed that the standard deviations (SD) of the items ranged from 0.07 to 0.58 which indicated that the respondents were not very far from the mean and one another in their responses. This showed that all the 6 items were impact of parents’ socio-economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government Area. The hypothesis tested revealed further that all the 6 items had their p-values greater than the alpha value. This indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean rating of the two groups of respondents on the impact of parents’ socio-economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government Area. This indicated that there was no statistical significant difference in the mean rating of the two groups of respondents on impact of parents’ socio-economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was accepted for all the items.

Discussion of the Findings

The study identified 4impact of family structure on academic achievement of students in secondary school, 6impacts of parents’ educational background on academic achievement of secondary school students and 6impact of parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government Area.

The finding on research question 1 shows that academic achievement of students in secondary school could be impacted by 4family structure items. The socio economic status are number of wives, number of children, number of students been sponsored at the same time, level of extended family dependence. These findings are in opposition with the submission of Henrietta, & Odozi that the number of children in the family do not affects academic achievement of students and that level of parents’ exposure do not have significant impact on students’ academic achievement among others [1]. The findings conforms with the assertion of Ushie, Owolabi and Emeka that family type, size, socio-economic status and educational background play important role in children’s educational attainment and social integration.

The findings on research question 2 revealed that 6 items on parents’ educational background impact greatly on students’ academic achievement. The educational background of parents are: give children enough time at home to do their homework, enquiring from teachers about their children performance, involvement in the parents teachers association and check their children exercise books after school among others. The findings of this study agree with the report of Huang that there is a correlation between parents’ educational level and children’s motivation and achievement at upper secondary schools. The findings also conform to the submission of Ebenuwa-Okoh that students’ academic achievement may be enhanced if their financial needs are adequately met.

The findings on research question 3 shows that, six items were impact of parents’ income on academic achievement of secondary school students. The impact include provide school fees timely; provide complete school uniform, provide breakfast to students before going to school among others. The findings of this study are in consonance with the findings of Azhar, Nadeem, Naz, Perveen & Sameen in the study on impact of parental education and socio¬economic status on academic achievements of university students where they found that students from good economic background easily gain scholarship, students’ whose parents are highly qualified have scored high CGPAs among others [17].

On the hypotheses tested, the study found out that there was no statistical significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of parents and students on the 16impact of parents’ socio economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha. This means that both groups support the findings since the experience of the respondents in their occupations did not significantly impact their responses on the impact of parents’ socio economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government.

Therefore, the researchers exposed the impact of parents’ socio-economic status on students’ academic achievement and have added to the existing body of knowledge in enhancing students’ academic achievement.

Conclusion and Recommendations

It has been observed that there is low students’ achievement at both terminal and standardized examinations. This situation is worrisome and threatening in that, it is students that achieve low in their academics that in most cases turn up to be school drop outs and finally involve themselves in most social vices such as robbery, kidnapping, cultism among others. It is the believe of the researchers that if the impact of parents’ socio economic status is revealed and published, many parents will be exposed to the impact and work towards improving their socio-economic status to facilitate their children’s academic achievement . Therefore there was need to investigate the impact of parents’ socio economic status on academic achievement of secondary school students in Konshisha Local Government. The study identified 4 items of family structure, 6 impact of parents’ academic background and impact of socio economic status of parents and 6 impact of parents’ socio economic status on academic achievement of students in secondary school. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made:

1. Students from good socio economic background should use the opportunity to attain good academic heights.

2. Parents should provide basic school needs for their children to enable them attain good academic heights.

3. Parents should have varying sources of income so that they can always meet with the school needs of their children.

References

1. Henrietta MC, Odozi IC (2014) Impact of Parental Socio-Economic Status on academic achievement of Students in Selected Schools in Nigeria: A case Study of Enugu State. Journal of Education and Practice 5: 2.
2. Muhamed FJ, Muhamed AK (2010) Impact of parental socio­economic status on students’ Educational achievements at secondary schools of District Malir, Karachi Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 6: 678-687.
3. Asikhia OA (2010) “Students and teachers’ perception of the causes of poor academic performance in Ogun State secondary schools, Nigeria: Implications for Counselling for National Development”, European Journal of Social Sciences. 13: 229-249.
4. Considine G, Zappala G (2002) Impact of social and economic disadvantage in the academic performance of school students in Australia. Journal of Sociology 38: 129-148. Retrieved on August 16, 2007 from http://jos.sagepub.com .
5. Udida LA, Ukway JK, Ogodo FA (2012) “Parental socio­economic background as a determinant of students’ academic performance in selected public secondary schools in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria”, Journal of Education and Practice 3: 129-135.
6. Ebenuwa Okoh EE (2010) “Impact of age, financial status and gender on academic performance among undergraduates” Journal of Psychology 1: 99-103.
7. Bossaert G, Doumen S, Buyse E, Verschueren K (2011) “Predicting Students’ Academic Achievement after the Transition to First Grade: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study”. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 32: 47-57.
8. Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) (2009) Senior Secondary School Curriculum: Practical Agriculture for JS1-3. Sheda, Abuja: University Press Plc.
9. Ndem JU, Akubue BN (2016) Status of Teaching Pre-Vocational Subjects in the Junior Secondary School Level (Agricultural Science and Home Economics. Journal of Education and Practice 7: 103-109. www.iiste.org
10. Sentamu NP (2003) School’s impact of learning: A case of upper primary schools in Kampala & Wakiso Districts. Uganda Education Journal 4: 291-301.
11. Asogwa VC, Uko EO, Omeh OM (2010) Quality Assurance of teachers Teaching Oil Palm Production to Students in senior Secondary Schools in Enugu State. Journal of Nigerian Vocational Association 15: 273-281.
12. Czech Act (2004) No. 561/2004 Collection of law on pre-school, Basic/secondary, Tertiary Professional and other Education (the Education Act).
13. Hendrik Stephanus van der Walt (2016). The impact of teacher mentoring on student achievement in disadvantaged schools. Project submitted in fulfillment of the requirements in respect of the Master’s Degree qualification Magister in Education in the Department School of Education Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State.
14. White H (2006) Impact Evaluation: The experience of the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank, Washington D.C.: The World Bank Publications.
15. Shittu MR (2004) “Socio-economic determinants of academic performance of secondary school students in Nigeria”, University of Ilorin: An unpublished B. Ed project submitted to the Department of Educational Foundations.
16. Rich A (2000) Beyond the Classroom: How Parents Impact their Children’s Education, CIS Policy Monograph 48, Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney.
17. Azhar M, Nadeem S, Naz F, Perveen F, Sameen A (2013) impact of parental education and socio-economic status on academic achievements of university students. International Journal of Academic Research and Reflection 1: 3.