Abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of parental motivation and academic performance in social studies among junior secondary school students. Two hundred (200) JSS II students from five (5) public Secondary Schools, 40 students per school formed the subjects of the students. They were randomly chosen with the simple random sampling technique. The research questions were used to guide the study. A questionnaire instrument and achievement test was designed and use for data collection. The data was analysed with the use of simple percentage statistics. The analysis revealed that: Parental rewards have significant influence on students’ academic performance, Parents’ involvement in homework of their children have significant influence on students’ academic performance, Provision of school materials by parents significantly influences students’ academic performance.
Parental Motivation And Academic Performance In Social Studies Among Junior Secondary School Students
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Societies all over the world have used education as an instrument for achievement of their national interest. No wonder, Adebayo (2000) sees education as a edifice constructed specially for meeting the needs of the society, whose foundations must be firmly built for strength and durability. Ajelabi (2001) defined education as the process by which a person or group of people lead in the act of acquiring new knowledge or experience.
According to Ajelabi (2001) education implies experience that an individual acquires as a result of his interaction with the environment. Everything that happens to an individual, whether deliberately or accidentally is an experience and every experience which teaching and learning provide. Education is an instrument par excellence for effective national development. It fastens the worth and development of the individual, for the sake and for the promotion of progressive and united country. Therefore, school programmes need to be relevant, practical and comprehension, while interest and ability, should determine the individual direction in education. For the purpose of this research the discussion is limited to secondary school education.
The goal of secondary education is to prepare the individual for useful living within the society. In other to realize the above goal of secondary education the parents play an important role of motivating the students.
Motivation according to Denga (2003) as force which ignite, propel, poke, spar, energize, direct and sustain behavior towards goal attainment.
Motivation is a state being aroused to action. Parental motivation is a state by which parents arouse the interest of their children toward academic success. The motivation can be through giving of rewards to children, involvement in the homework of their children and provision of the needed school material which all contribute to excellence in academic performance.
The above definitions revealed the need for parents to motivate their children in order to bring academic excellence. There can never be any effective learning if learners are not energize, propelled and ginger into action. Parents therefore, have a duty to try and help their children to have interests zealous and be committed to their studies. Motivation being an important determinant of learning and learning outcomes goes a long way to form a basis for learning and good performance which are intentionally goal oriented activities. However, the merits derive from parental motivation an academic performance of their children include: Better or excellent academic performance of students; motivation directs and regulates children behavior towards learning.
A motivated learner or a child is better prepared to tackle learning task than an unmotivated child. Awanbor (2005) holds that students who lack sufficient level of academic motivation exhibit a weak drive towards the pursuits of in difference and apathy towards school. Majority of such students if not all, are those who are involved in examination malpractice.
It suggested that students should be academically motivated as this will go a long way to solving most of the problems faced in educational system and also increase students’ academic performance. He further remarked that motivating students will help them to be more responsible and have ore interest in studies. He also holds that motivations of students will reduce, if no completely, eliminate high school dropout rates, low enrolment, truancy, etc. in view of this Renchle (2008) stated that every educator needs to be concerned about motivation. It is quality that students, teachers, parents, school administrator and other members of the community must have, if our educational system is to prepare young people adequately for challenges and demands of the coming century.
Students’ needs motivation to learn, parents needs it to track the educational progress of their sons and daughters social studies is the integrated study of the social science and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provide coordinated systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology political science, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics and natural science. Social studies is the study of people, social studies should help students acquire knowledge, master the processes of learning, and become active citizens.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
According to Essien (2003) infancy is the right time to begin the training of children. The role of the teachers is to perfect brain circulation began from the home by the parents. The child’s educations, which is a life transition and begun at home continues in school by teachers. Due to the economic trend prevailing in the country, the parents are noted to be neglecting their God giving role of training and supervising their children, including their academic pursuits in schools. These roles are now carried out by teachers, who themselves probably were products of this neglect. It is in the school that formal education is given to the pupils by the teachers, while the informal teaching school has been given by the family. In the schools teacher continues to teach the process of socialization obedience and respect of society rule been at home. Home background can produce bad academic performance.
Seen as a problem, the researcher investigates parental motivation variables such as parents’ rewards, parents’ involvement in home work and provision of school materials which are known significance predicators of students’ academic performance. Unfortunately, this researcher is not aware of any studies to determine the relative influence of these factors on students’ academic performance in social studies in Oron Local Government Area.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of parental motivation and academic performance of students in Social Studies in Secondary School in Oron Local Government Area. The study looked into the following objectives:
(i) The examination of influence of parental reward on academic performance of students in social studies.
(ii) The assessment of the influence of parents’ involvement in homework for academic performance.
(iii) The examination of the influence of provision of school materials by parents and academic performance.
Parental Motivation And Academic Performance In Social Studies Among Junior Secondary School Students
1.4 Significance of the Study
The researcher is encouraged to carry this study to make parent and government to be aware of the fact that the students’ motivation by parents effect students’ academic performance. This study is significant in the following ways.
- Parent will know that exercise of inadequate financial support to a child may lead him/her to some indulgences or constitute on important variable that may affect high and low academic performance.
- It is expected that the finding of the study will provide useful information to guidance counselors for effective counseling of parents, teachers and students on academic and related matter.
- The school administration to see the need to provide adequate instructional facilities in school to cater for the needs of the children from deprived homes.
- Increase the volume of the existing literature and parental motivation and academic performance of students in Social Studies.
Originally posted on September 23, 2021 @ 2:55 am
