Abstract: This study investigated home variables and learning of biology among secondary school students in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. To achieve this objective, two research questions were formulated to guide the study. The study employed a survey research design. The population of the study consists of all Senior Secondary School two (SSSII) students who offered Biology in the study area. A sample size of 120 students was chosen for the study using the simple random sampling procedures. The instruments for data collection were structured questionnaire and the data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using simple percentage.
The results showed that students whose parents are educated performed significantly better than those whose parents were not educated. Among others; it was recommended that every home should budget enough money for their wards educational programmes to enable the purchase of Biology textbooks and payment of school fees on time as this will guarantee improvement in students’ learning achievement in the subject.
Home Variables and Learning of Biology among Secondary School Students
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Over the years, the investigation of the factors that influence learning among students have attracted the interest and concern of teachers, counselors, psychologists, researchers and schools administration in Nigeria (wise-man, 1996). This is because of the public outlines concerning the low standard of education in the country (Imoje, 2002). The declining quality of education in the country and the breeding of graduates with little technical know-how has resulted in so many set backs to the industrial development of the nation. Different factors are capable of influencing learning among students. Such factors may be the students’ internal state (intelligence, state of health, motivation, anxiety) and their environment (availability of suitable learning environment, adequacy of educational infrastructure like textbooks and well equipped laboratories).
Investigations of these factors have produced several findings by researchers. Clements and Oelke (1997) and Emeka (1998) have attributed the cause of poor learning among students to a combination of personal and institutional factors. Personal factors relates to the individual intelligence, knowledge and ability while institutional factors are family or parental influence, societal influence, institutional influence and school related factors, students-teacher rapport, teacher related factors, accommodation and living conditions.
Every parent wants his or her children to become acceptable citizens in the society with acceptable norms, values and attitudes. Adams (2000) put it that it is within the family that the child’s learning and characters are organized. The home brings the first learning experience and then moves them to the school for his or her secondary experience (Ryan, 2004).
Muhammed (2010) is of the opinion that “the cultural heritage” of a society and other values reach to a generation from the previous one. The only means of this transfer is Education and the parents are responsible for training the children for this. Machebe (2012) has made the conclusion that the socio-economic status of parents influence learning among students to a certain degree in the school.
Education does not only provide knowledge and skills, but also inculcates values, according to Muhammed (2010), they are of the opinion that, cultural heritage and values are transmitted from one generation to another through education. This also is congruent with the common assertion by sociologists that education can be an instrument of cultural change which is being thought from home as relevant to this research. Therefore, it is not out of place to imagine that parental socio-economic status, parental marital status and parental educational background could possibly affect learning among students.
Whatever that affect the development stage of children could possibly affect the student disposition, parental status or attributes is one of the variables. Parents of different occupational classes often offer different styles of child rearing, different ways of reacting to their children. These difference do not express families, rather they influence the average tendencies of families for different occupational classes (Rothestein, 2004). In line with the influence of home variables on learning of biology among students in secondary schools.
Home Variables and Learning of Biology among Secondary School Students
1.2 Statement of the Problem
According to Kelley (1999), the frequency of contacts of the child with non-custodial parent is a factor that relate with the psychological adjustment of the child. Furthermore, other researches underline that children who have a positive relationship at least with the one of the parent, have fewer behavioural problems. Nzewunwah (1998) puts it that the home has a great influence on the student’s psychology, emotional, social and economic state.
The question raised by the public is which parental or home variables do influence learning among students? In an attempt to answer this question, the study reveals the home variables such as socio-economic status, parent’s educational background and others.
