Abstract

This study attempted to explain some of the influences of student’s family background on their academic performance in the Babessi Sub Division. Family background has been highlighted as of great importance in molding the performance of children in schools worldwide.

This study, therefore, investigated the relationship between family backgrounds on the academic performance of students in the Babessi Sub Division.  This study focused on the influences of family financial status, parent’s educational level, family size, parent’s occupation and the academic performance of students in the Babessi Sub Division.

They employed a survey research design used research design. The target population under study was 280 students. The study used a sample of 60 students drawn from two schools, selected by a random sampling method. Data were collected by the use of questionnaires for students. The data were analyzed by means of tables, percentages, and mean.

The results of the study showed that there was a positive relationship between family financial status, family size and parent’s occupation, and student’s academic performance which implied that these variables had a lot to do as far as student’s academic performance is concerned.

The study also showed that there was a negative relationship between parent’s educational level and student’s academic performance implying that student’s academic performance had nothing to do with parent’s educational level.

The researcher concluded that parent’s occupation, family size, and family financial status had a positive impact on student’s performance but for parent’s educational level which had no significant effect on students’ academic performance.

Parents should ensure that they provide their children with the necessary learning material to help them study well in school; this will help to boost their academic performance. The researcher recommended that; parents should be more involved in the education of their children and that students should get more concentrated in school despite the educational level of their parents.

The researcher suggested that the research can be carried out using sample size, The researcher also suggested a research topic that can be carried out in that same Sub Division, Which was the effect of classroom management on students’ academic performance.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Education can be defined as the acquisition of skills, attitudes, and values which are both important to the individual and the society in which he/she finds himself. Every child is unique and so he/she must react to the school environment in his/her own way since a child’s behavior is the product of heredity and environment, that is, a child’s family background, his/her upbringing, his/her peer group and all forces of his/her own environment, must play a major role in his/her school performance.

The family unit is the first and primary foundation of the child’s learning process. Apart from the material stimulation needed by the child and provided by the family for his/her intellectual development,

A child is also expected to be emotionally balanced. This enables him/her to cope with his/her emotional problems that may disturb him/her at school. All families do not have equal economic and social status.

Since children from different homes have different challenges, children under this condition would be disturbed at school. Much effect is therefore required of the teachers in identifying the child’s problems which may be traceable to his/her family. The teacher would need to study the child’s family background and correlate them with the child’s performance in school.

Historically, Burt (1937) asserted that the background of a child affects his/her educational achievement. In the words of Glenn (1976), the background may be due to individual courses such as poor health, emotional disturbance, and mental retardation. The family background of a child determines how he/she views himself/herself and the way he/she views others. The environment of the child at home determines his/her behavior as well as how he/she relates with others.

Since the home is the primary unit and agent of socialization from which the fundamental education of the child begins, the success or failure of any student depends largely on the encouragement of members of the family.

Theoretically, The home is the first social environment that the child finds himself/herself. According to Clifford (1981), the family remains the primary environment of the child; he goes further to emphasize that the family environment has more chances of increasing or decreasing the intellectual achievement of a child. The responsibility of training a child always lies in the hands of parents. It is not out of place to imagine that a student’s family background can have possible influences on students’ academic performance in school. Whatsoever influences the development of students would possibly influence their education.

The theory of Concerted Cultivation by Lareau (2003) holds that the different forms of parenting styles also affect the performance of the child in school. He went further to say that middle-class families can typically afford to spend more time and money on their children. They also provide opportunities for their children that are not taught in school, middle-class parents ultimately positively influence school performance and future job opportunities.

The theory of cultural capital by Bourdieu (1986) stated that children from middle-class families are advantaged in gaining educational credentials due to their possession of cultural capital which has a significant effect on students’ performance.

Contextually, In Babessi Sub Division it is well known that student’s educational outcomes vary sharply with their family background. Differences in academic performance with student’s family background emerge early at the preschool level and are reinforced in childhood and the teenage years through tertiary education.

There are some schools in the Babessi Sub Division where the majority of students in these schools are children whose parents are of the lower and middle class. Their parents are educated and ensure that their children get extra classes at home and during holidays because they believe their children do not have enough from these schools.

Due to the low socio-economic status of some parents, they can barely afford the basic requirements of their children. When a child is deprived of these essential needs, he/she can hardly perform well in school.

Conceptually, This research has to do with concepts related to family backgrounds, like parents’ level of education, family financial status, family size, and parent’s occupation.

The theories of cultural capital by Bourdieu, (1986), and the theory of concerted cultivation by Lareau (2003), were used by the student researcher to bring out the influence of family background on students’ academic performance.

Statement of the Problem

Education is a continuous process that begins from birth and ends when a person no longer exists.  Despite all guidance programs and counseling strategies mounted in schools to improve the students’ academic performance, poor performances are still recorded in these schools. It is therefore necessary to find out the cause of such poor performances.

There are family background factors that greatly affect the academic performance of students which include their parent’s educational level, the family size, parent’s financial status, and parent’s occupation.

Parents blame teachers for the lack of dedication to their duties; Teachers blame the government for poor salaries and poor working conditions hence making them less motivated. Students on their part are blamed for lacking in discipline and dedication to their studies. In this light, this study sought to find out the family background influences on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Babessi Sub Division.

Objectives of the Study

Main Research Objective

To find out the influence of family background on students’ academic performance in the Babessi Sub Division.

Specific Research Objectives

The specific research objectives were fourfold:

1. To establish the relationship between family parents’ occupation and academic performance of students in secondary schools in Babessi Sub Division.
2. To assess the relationship between parents’ financial status and academic performance of students in Babessi Sub Division.
3. To examine the relationship between parents’ educational level and academic performance of students in Babessi Sub Division.
4. To find out the relationship between family size and academic performance of students in Babessi Sub Division.