BIRTH ORDER AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL STUDIES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

Abstract: This study was carried out on birth order and academic performance of pupils in social studies in Obot Akara Local Government Area. Population of the study consisted of 3830 pupils. 200 pupils w\ere randomly selected for the study. Three research questions were raised to guide the study and three hypotheses were also used for the study. The instrument used for data collected were analysed using independent t-test formula. Survey design was use for the study. The findings reveal that there is significance between birth order and pupils academic performance. The study recommended that parent should always have the number of children that the can sponsors in school and cater for. The study conclude that birth order is very significance to the academic performance of pupils.

BIRTH ORDER AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL STUDIES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

Much money has been invested in education in Nigeria with a strong belief changes and development. Education has been identified as the bedrock of knowledge and value structure in Nigeria. As Nigeria entered the 21^st century, considerable attention is being paid to education as a key to sustainable development, peace and stability. Such recognition makes education indispensible means for effective participation not only in the socio-economics development of Nigeria but also in the rapid globalization (Akpan 2001). (Adams 2000) stated that it is within the family that the child acquired and organizes his first experience and the move to the school for his secondary experience. One question often addressed focuses on children’s academic success. The effectiveness of the school and the family in assisting intellectual development of the child. Oscar (2000) asserted that family size refers to the total number of children in the child’s family in addition to the child himself, while the birth order refers to the child’s position in the birth order.

Birth Order And Academic Performance In Social Studies Among Primary School Pupils

However, the family types that a child comes from either monogamous or polygamous family usually has impact on the child’s academic performance. It is important to note that either of the family type monogamous and family dictates is peculiar to Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular. According to Uba (1998) first birth or the oldest child is usually advantages by a good deal of attention and warmth during the early stage of life.

BIRTH ORDER AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL STUDIES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

Every family is composed of individuals of  different ages and each member will have interest related to his own development level. If the family cannot cater for the developmental interest, then academic progress will be a burden for the parents to handle. Parents who have few children can cater for the development needs of the children and can be sure of a steady academic progress. According to Amos (2008) modern families do not clamour for more children so that the children can be conveniently cater for parental care should not be over looked, from infancy, a good parent is very much concerned with the up bringing of the child. As the child enter school, the parental love and care would continue provided that the economy of the family remains stable. It can be seen that birth order is one of the real causes of pupils academic performance going down in secondary schools.

Pupils who are few in the family perform better than those who are many. (Halton 2007) was one of first scientists of venture into the field of birth order. While his primary motivation for doing so was to perfect the human race by eradicating those he considered an desirable, he did in fact uncover statistical information through his creation of research involving birth order among scientists. Scientists, who now accept the birth order effects, have devised several theories to explain birth order’s impact on the family. Zasonc (2009), states that there are three key factors in birth order effects: parents with few children have more time and attention for those children, first born children are exposed to more mature language, thus enabling them to be more successful academically, and the family’s intellectual environment becomes less mature and intelligent with each new addition to the family. Upon this background this research project seeks to examine the influence of  birth order and academic performance of pupils in social studies.

Originally posted on April 19, 2021 @ 4:52 pm