Abstract: This study examined family types and academic achievement of secondary school students in Business Studies. Four research questions were formulated to guide the study, and a survey research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 665 JSS3 students from all the four (4) public secondary schools in the study area. The sample consisted of 160 respondents selected from the four (4) public schools through a stratified simple random technique. A structured questionnaire and Business Studies Achievement Test (BSAT) were used for data collection. Data collected independent t-test statistics.
The findings showed that there is significant influence of monogamous family type and academic achievement of students in Business Studies polygamous family type had a negative correlation with student’s academic achievement, single-parenting was negatively associated with student’s achievement and broken family setting had also a negative influence with academic achievement of students. Therefore, it was recommended among other that teachers and guidance counselors should give adequate attention/assistance to students who come from unfavourable family background such as polygamous family, single-parent and broken homes or families.
Family Types and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in Business Studies
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The family is the child’s first place of contact with the world. The child as a result, acquires initial education and socialization from parents and other significant persons in the family. Agulana (2008) pointed out that the family lays the psychological, moral and spiritual foundation in the overall development of the child. Ayodele (2006) stated the environment where a child finds himself goes a long way to determine the level of his/her learning ability and ultimately his/her academic performance in school.
Furthermore, the family has been identified as an overwhelming factor affecting the student’s performance academically. According to Algulat (2010), the ability of a learner to perform well in academic work is often interwoven with various factors, some of which are usually beyond the control of the learner. Aremu (2000), stressed that the environmental conditions and the nature of social interaction that goes on in the family may have some positive or child. Albert (2001), posited that, it is within the family that the child acquires and organizes his first experience and then move to the school for his or her secondary experience and then move to the school for his or her secondary experience. He added that intelligence and most type of ability are not necessarily innate but they are usually modified by environment, nation and encouragement of both parents and members of the eexte3nded family.
According to Winkins (2007), family is the first and the most significance place of the child’s growth and development. It provides not only the hereditary transmission of basic potentials for the development of the child, but also the favourable environment in terms of interpersonal relationship and cultural pattern. Family types in this context refers to the total number of people that constitute a particular family which makes it to be either nuclear type of family member have or contribute to the academic success of the fellow family members.
Family Types and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in Business Studies
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It is believed that family types influenced academic performance of student either positively or negatively. In Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, some family are monogamous type, some polygamous while some families are broken as a result of devious, death of one parent. Ranging from the year 2010 when the free and compulsory education policy took full effect in Akwa Ibom State till date, Business Studies student in the area have been performing very low in their terminal examination as well as external examination.
And a lot of question has been ask as to what is the cause of this poor performance among students and accusing fingers is been pointed at the family blaming the parents for not providing the needed academic materials for their ward and not showing much concerned about their children academic well being. It is in the basis of the above phenomenon that the researcher decided to conduct this study in the area to find out whether family type has any effect on the student academic achievement in Business Studies.
