Abstract

The study aimed at finding the effects of family background on students of International Relations and Conflict Resolution motivation to learn, at the University of Buea. The study objectives were to find out the extent to which parental level of education affects students’ motivation to learn, to find out the extent to which parental occupation affects students motivation to learn, to find out the extent to which parents motivation affects students motivation to learn.

The main research question guided the researcher to come out with a main research question which was; to what extent do family background affects students motivation to learn? Chapter one is the general introduction which is made up of background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, scope of the study and delimitations of the study. Chapter two is talking about review of related literature which is made up of theoretical review, conceptual review and empirical review.

Theories used parental attachment theory, self-determination theory, and Maslow’s theory of motivation. Chapter three is talking about research methodology, how the research was carried out. data was collected from both primary sources. The population of the study was a random selection of female and male students of the Department of International Relations and Conflict Resolution.

The data was analyzed using frequency tables for the descriptive statistics. The survey designed was choosing to carry out this study with the population of 50 students and the instrument collection of data being the questionnaire. In chapter four and five, results were reviewed that aspects of family background like parents occupation, income, and motivation has a great influence on students motivation to learn.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Access to education is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens especially the youths. This is because learning is very important in the development of any nation or community. Education is the process of transmitting what is worldwide to members of the society. Schools perform numbers of important functions that serve the needs of society and contribute to its smooth running operation.

These functions include transmitting skills, facilitating change and progress, contributing basic and applied research, integrating diverse populations, screening and selecting the most qualified students for careers, enable a student attend a school of any kind anywhere, where learning is applied the family of such a student is usually worried about the achievement of the student in general terms.

Some may even extend their worries to the level of achievement. Achievement in this circumstance is considered in positive terms. So when a student has made some academic achievement, people go on to acquire about the level of achievement that the student has attained. However, students attitude, motivation  towards learning and their academic performances have been found to be influence by several factors amongst which are family background and environment, Muroville, (200).

The factor can be divided into marital status of the student parent, the educational level, the income level of social-economic status of parents and birth order of students. There is controversy over the fact that there exist inequalities in educational opportunities in Cameroon. This issue is a crucial one, which requires the attention of well-meaningful and patriotic educating of the student on his achievement in the school that serves as food for thought to all the social strata of the society.

Frank [2003] added that the family exerts a powerful influence in the site changes of the young. He further observed that schools generally are remarkably ineffective in moderating the influence of the parent when such moderating factors are deemed necessary. According to Okafor (1981), Education embraces all those experiences of the individual through which knowledge is acquired and intellect enlightened.

Puzzles even the teacher who is expected to provide ready-made answers to such disparities. A group of students with approximately similar IQ scores may show dissimilar academic achievement when exposed to the same instructional materials. It is difficult to draw a clear line between the theory and practical aspects of the differences that exist in the achievement of students in the different strata of the society. In spite of this, the family background of the student will be investigated here to ascertain the level to which it influences their motivation to learn.

1.1 Background to the Study

Family background is a universal phenomenon. The history of the family emerged as a separate field of history in the 1970s, with close ties to anthropology and sociology.  The history of the family is a branch of social history that concerns the socio-cultural evolution of kinship groups from prehistoric to modern times.

Family has a universal and basic role in all societies. Research on the history of family background crosses disciplines and cultures, aiming to understand the structure and function of the family from many points of view. For example, sociological, ecological or economical perspectives are used to view the interrelationships between the individual, their relatives, and the historical time.

The study of family history has shown that family systems are flexible, culturally diverse and adaptive to environmental and economic conditions. Family can be defined as the co-residence and the organization by kinship are both integral in the development of the concept of the family. Where family background is concerned, the determinants found to be of importance for high level of motivation to learn have also been considered with respect to dropout (e.g., Rumberger 1983, Rumberger and Thomas 2000).

Parents’ level of education represents a potential predictor of dropout, that is, better educated parents spend more time with their children, thus supporting their accomplishments and increasing the likelihood that they will remain in school. Furthermore, these parents influence the motivation to learn of their children by imparting the values, aspirations, and motivation needed to succeed and remain in school. With regard to parental income, children from poor families probably feel more pressure to contribute to the family income, and thus leave school to seek work at an earlier stage.

Concept of Family: The concept of family can be defined, as the most important primary group and smallest unit of the society. Odo (1990:10) defined family as “a social group sharing a common residence and cooperating economically “.He went further to say that the institutions of the family is usually based on the marriage of one or more sexually co-habiting couples and usually there is the expectation of having children. Aio (1995) observed that the family is also the most personal social organization. For nothing is more personal than the interaction and relationship between members of a family. Alio (1995), pointed out that the extended system is a dispersal version of the joint family and the members of the constituent groups do not all live together.

Concept Of Family Background: Also, the concept of family background plays a very big role on a child’s life. Family background refers to all the objects, forces and conditions in the family which influence the child physically, intellectually and emotionally (Muola 2010). Children coming from different family backgrounds are affected differently by such variations and that is why some children have good family background while the family backgrounds of others are poor. Citing Fleege, Eke (1999) noted that with some families, the background may vary from time to time for the same individual.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Most students in the University of Buea, are in greater risk of developing negative attitudes towards learning. Arising out of the need for students to achieve academically in school, parents continue to have anxiety over the level of motivation to learn by their children. This concern arises out of the fact that children no longer developed positive attitudes towards learning.

Some parents do not care if there are any factors responsible for the less interest for schooling by their children. Individual poor and low level of motivation to learn in the teaching and learning process sometimes is due to the individual differences that exist amongst students. (Family Background). If the anxiety of parents towards their children performance are genuine then one is bound to ask if there are any factors which influence students’ motivation to learn in school. The question may be asked” Does the Background of students influence their motivation towards learning?

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 General question:

How do student from the University of Buea, department of international relations and conflict resolutions, family background affects their motivation to learn?

1.3.2 Specific questions

1. How does parental level of education affect international relations and conflict resolution students’ motivation to learn?
2. How does Parents occupation affect students of international relations and conflict resolutions motivation to learn?
3. How does parent motivation affect students of international relations and conflict resolution motivation to learn?

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