ABSTRACT: This study Family Variables and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools was conducted in Abak Local Government Area. Two hundred and forty (240) students were randomly selected from six public secondary schools out of ten (10) public secondary schools in the study area. Two null hypotheses were stated to guide the study. A survey research design was used for the study and the instrument used for data collection was a researcher made questionnaire and the obtained data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient.
The findings showed that there was significant relationship between family variables such as parents’ educational attainment and socio-economic status of parents and students’ academic performance in Agricultural science in secondary schools. It was therefore recommended that: government should encourage parents with low educational background to attend adult education classes, create more employment opportunities so that parents who are not employed get employed, and that parents should encourage their wards to study hard.
Family Variables and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools
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 requires initial education and socialization from parents and other significant persons in the family. Agulana (2009) pointed out that the family lays the psychological, moral and spiritual foundation in the overall development of the child.
According to Fraza (2001), psychological home conditions arise mainly from illegitimacy of children, the label of adopted child, broken home, divorce and parental deviation. Such abnormal conditions of the family are likely to have a detrimental effect on the academic performance of the child. Schltz (2006) noted that if adolescents from unstable home, poor socio-economic status are compared with those from rich and stable homes, it would be seen that those from poor background have more social, academic and emotional problem.
Scales and Roehkepartain (2003) are of the opinion that the family and its structure play a great role in children’s academic performance. Levin (2001) also state that children of unmarried parents, separated families, poor socio-economic status, low educational attainment and so on often fail and are at risk emotionally and academically. However, this may not be completely applicable in all instances of low family and home background as the children may work hard and become successful in life. Moreso, Ayodele (2006) stated that the environment where a child finds his/herself goes a long way to determining his learning ability and ultimately his/her academic performance in school.
Furthermore, the family has been identified as an overwhelming factor affecting the students’ academic performance in schools. It would then appear that family variables such as socio-economic status of parents’, parents’ literacy level, occupation of parent and social class placement, if it is in poor condition may present a serious danger to the emotional, personality and mental adjustment of the young adolescent. These have a noticeable effect on students’ academic performance.
Family Variables and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It is the desire of parents and government to produce knowledgeable and skillful citizens from all levels of learning. To complement the efforts of the federal government, each state established a mass literacy agency as part of the overall national effort to eradicate mass illiteracy in Nigeria (National Policy on Education, 2004).
This aim cannot be achieved if some students are deprived of the opportunity of being literate by the family background they came to meet right from birth.
This formed the basis for this research which was to examine whether there exist any relationship between family variables such as socio-economic status of the parents, parents educational attainment levels and the academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools.
