Full Project – EFFECT OF PARENTS’ SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the Study

Agricultural science is a discipline that is concerned with the art and science of crop and animal husbandry to the benefit of man and his environment. It involves moving crop and animal products from production until that reach the final consumer. Rubentein (2003) sees agricultural science as a deliberate effort to modify a portion of the earth‟s surface through the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain. Rimando (2004) views agricultural science as the systematic raising of useful plants and livestock under the management of man. Agricultural science is therefore seen as the cultivation of soil for raising crops and livestock for producing plants and animals and the preparation of such products for man‟s use and their disposal through market outlet. Agricultural science also seeks to prepare and develop students‟ abilities to make a beginning in farming to be efficiently done.

In line with this assertion, socio-economic status according to Banks (1991) is an economic and sociological measure of a person‟s work experience and of an individual‟s or family‟s economic and social position based on income, education, and occupation. Income as a factor of measuring socio-economic status emphasize on the income level or earning of an individual and how such income effect the social and economic life of his or her dependants. Education on the other hand describes the level of training and awareness of parents, whereby those with high quality education could have better job or occupation and earn good pay for service delivery. Occupation in the opinion of Falex (2003) is a broad term that encompasses employment sectors or the categories of jobs which an individual is undertaking to earn a living. Anonymous (2012) stated that occupation includes one‟s vocation or job or something that one undertakes to provide one‟s livelihood regularly. If parents take up good occupation, they can make a worthwhile living, in addition to having more interest in catering for their children‟s education. For instance, Eamon (2005), stated that children of highly educated mothers obtained higher test scores in schools than those with less education. Occupation has to do with what parents are doing to earn a living. Those parent that are well trained in some specific disciplines for instance medicine, laws or are even engaging in business transaction at formal level could have their socio- economic status enhanced. When analyzing a family‟s, socio-economic status (SES), the household income earners, education, and occupation are examined. Hill, Castelino, Lansford, Nowlin, Doge, Bates, and Pettit (2004) explained that these socio-economic factors /statuses of parents do not only affect the academic performance, but also make it possible for children from low background to compete well with their counterparts from high socio-economic background under the same academic environment. Fan (2008) opined that parents who are rich provide adequately for the physical and educational needs of their children. For instance, children from such families have access to radio, newspapers and magazines, television, toys, libraries and other materials that stimulate learning Moreover, Smith, Fagan and Ulvund (2002) asserted that significant predictor of intellectual performance at the age of 8 years included parents’ SES. In the same vein, other researchers had posited that parents’ socio-economic status could affect school children as to bring about flexibility to adjustment to the different school schedules Guerin, Reinberg, Testu, Boulenguiez, Mechkouri, Touitou, (2001). In a previous local finding in Nigeria, Oni (2007) and Omoegun (2007) stated that there was significant difference between the rates of behavior in educational activities among students from high and low socio-economic statuses.

The health status of the children which could also be traceable to parents’ socio-economic background can be another factor that can affect the academic performance of the students. Adewale (2002) reported that in a rural community where nutritional status is relatively low and health problems are prevalent, children academic performance are greatly hindered. Esu (2000) contends that poor diet can retard a child‟s growth or rate of development which may affect his or her academic achievement. This assertion is also buttressed on the nature of parents’ socio-economic background. From the above views, one can conclude that socio-economic status and a host of other factors relating to home environment of students, such as educational background of parents, health status of students, parents’ occupation and family size could have effects on academic performance.

Academic performance is the outcome of an educational process and the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved educational goals. Academic performance is commonly measured by examination or continuous assessment but there is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are most important (Ward, 1996). Academic achievement can also be referred to as the level of attainment of performance obtained by a child from lessons taught which may include experiences, knowledge and skills. Gerda and Dennis (1980) explained that the child‟s good or poor performance does not depend on any attributes a child is born with, but is a complex response to his family, home environment and the overall climate of his school and its assessment procedures.

1.2         Statement of the Problem

Agricultural science has been playing a very vital role in the development of the nation as it has introduced agricultural consciousness in the minds of the youths towards the provision of food, employment and raw materials for the sustainability of the economy of the nation. Its inclusion in the NPE as a course of study right from primary to the university level may not be unconnected with these laudable roles it has to play in the development of the Nation. However, the study of agricultural science at Senior Secondary School level in Kano State is not encouraging as a result of the poor academic performance of students of agricultural science over the years. Students‟ performance in agricultural science in May/June WAEC 2013 and 2014 in the schools under investigation is very dismal and discouraging. Poor performance of the students is attributable to a number of factors such as teaching and learning environment, unavailability of instructional materials, poor emphasis on practical, inadequate teachers of agriculture as well as the general commitment of students toward the study of agricultural science. The researcher’s interaction with some secondary school students revealed that some students complained of some basic necessities such as feeding, health problems, learning materials, unavailability of qualified agricultural science teachers and not having access to the laboratory as some of the challenges confronting their academic achievement in school. The researcher felt that the socio-economic background of the parents cannot be divorced from these apparent lacks of some basic needs such as feeding, shelter and learning materials by the students. It is a known fact that no meaningful activities such as learning can actually take place among students that are lacking its basic needs such as food, shelter and learning materials. These can lead to discouragement, frustration and withdrawal of students from academic activities thereby affecting their overall academic performance. It is these observations from the interaction with some of the students that spurred the researcher’s interest to carry out this study.

1.3         Objectives of the Study

The general objective of the study is to investigate the effect of parents’ socio-economic status on the academic performance of agricultural science students in secondary schools in Kano State, Nigeria.

The specific objectives are to determine the effect of parents’:

1. Educational level on the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.
2. Occupational status on the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science  .
3. Income level on the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.
4. Residential location on the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.

1.4         Research Questions

The study sought to answer the following research questions.

1. How does parents’ educational level effect the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science?
2. What are the effects of parents’ occupational status on the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science?
3. How does parents’ income level effect the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science?
4. What are the effects of parents’ residential location on the academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science?

1.5            Research Hypotheses

The following Null Hypotheses are formulated to be tested in the study:

1. There is no significant effect of parents‟ level of education on academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.
2. There is no significant effect of parents‟ occupational status on academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.
3. There is no significant effect of parents‟ level of income on academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.
4. There is  no  significant  effect  of  parents‟  residential  status  on  academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.

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Full Project – EFFECT OF PARENTS’ SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA