Home Variables and Academic Performance of Secondary Schools Students in Physical and Health Education

ABSTRACT: This research investigated home variables and academic performance of secondary schools students in physical and health education. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were used. The research design adopted was survey method. The population of the study consisted of all JSS2 students in the study area. Simple random sampling was used to select 200 students from four secondary schools in Ini Local Government Area to form the sample size. Home Variable Questionnaire (HVQ) and Students Assessment Records were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using independent t-test statistics.

Home Variables and Academic Performance of Secondary Schools Students in Physical and Health Education

The findings revealed that students from high educated parental background performed significantly better than those students from low educated background, students from parent with lucrative occupation performed significantly better than those from non-lucrative occupation and students from two parenting homes performed academically better than those from single parenting homes. It was recommended among others that parents should show greater involvement in the education of their children by providing them with adequate reading and writing materials to facilitate learning.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

The home is the primary social unit in the society and the source of early stimulations and experience to children. Home is where the child, the parents or guardians live and from where the child set out to and fro from school. Home is the first enduring environmental factor in promoting readiness for school work in the child. This is because parents or guardians in the home are children first teacher.

From the day child born and begins to hears, he or she begins to develop literacy as parents and others carrying adults and pre-school teachers speak, play, sing and read to them. As a child, he moves from infant to toddler and then to pre-schools, he learns to be able to reads, write, listen and speak. (Dickson, Tabors, Wasik and Band 2001).

More so, there is general notion that whatever a child is and hopes to becomes in life depends on the way and the foundation laid for him or her in home. The home becomes one of the influential teachers as it helps to mould the live of the child either positively or negatively. The home influences the child at a time when his or her mind is most receptive. The home is the first place of learning for the child.

In the home, there are considerable factors or variable factors or variables which may influence the child’s academic performance in school either positively or negatively these include parents’ educational background, parents’ occupation, family structure, single parenting and two parent status, family size, parents occupation and other variables pertaining to family life (Okeke,2009).

The family or home has the potential to influence a child’s academic achievement, (Nwachukwu, 2002). Home variables are the most predictive factors which contribute to influence the academic performance of students. Therefore, against this background that this study poised to investigate home variables and students’ academic performances in physical and Health Education in Ini Local Government Area.

1.2     Statement of the Problems

Observations and reports from examination bodies like WAEC, NECO and JAMB, revealed that a high percentage of secondary school students continue to perform poorly in physical and Health Education examinations. This poor performance may not be unconnected with some home variables such as parents educational background, parents socio-economic students, single parenting, among other variables.

Many conflicting views have been expressed by various authors as the factors that are responsible for this poor standard of academic performance of students in the subject. While some attributed the poor performance of students in physical and health education to home variables and others attributed it to school variables and yet some people linked it to teachers’ variables. It is therefore based on this views that the researcher sought to investigate the influence of home variables such as occupation and single parenthood, on students’ academic performance in physical and Health Education In Ini Local Government Area.

1.3     Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of home variables on students’ academic performance in physical and Health Education in Ini Local Government Area. The specific objectives are;

1. To determine the influence of parent’s educational background on students academic performance in physical and Health Education in Ini Local Government Area.
2. To find out the extent to which parents’ lucrative occupation influence students academic performance in physical and Health Education in Ini Local Government Area.
3. To determine the extent to which single parenting influence student’s academic performance in physical and Health Education in Ini Local Government Area.

Home Variables and Academic Performance of Secondary Schools Students in Physical and Health Education

1.4     Significance of the Study

The usefulness of this research work in the educational system cannot be over emphasis if the result of the study is properly utilized it is going to be benefit to the students, teachers, parents, educators and government in their effort to ameliorate the fallen educational standard.

It will contribute general to the advancement of knowledge and will also provide solution to education problem. Research scholars, research agencies, educational planners’ curriculum developers will find this research work as a very useful reference material to them. This study will also expose some of the home variable related problems that impede students’ academic performance in physical and Health Education.