CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            Background of the Study

Families play important role for children’s success in school. Parents tend to exert a lot of influence on the learning activities to their children through motivation. When school work together with families to support learning, children tends to succeed not just in school, but throughout their life time. The premise that strong family and school linkage improve children’s educational outcomes is well accepted (Fafunwa, 2009).

The impact of family background has been proved to help upset other possible impediments to children’s sources in school. Studies show that a child’s educational outcome is not solely a function of cultural background or such factors as family income or parental level of education. Researchers acknowledge a strong direct relationship between socio-economic status and academic achievements. They claim that motivated families regardless of their socio-economic status can help their children improve academic performance through several types of involvement.

Substantial body of evidence confirms the power of home involvement where parents spend a significant portion of their time in affecting their children’s educational outcome. In fact, family practices in the home that stimulate and support learning have a more significant impact on children’s achievement than such other factors as family structure. An educated home environment affects not only children’s achievement level, but their interest in learning and future educational plan as well (Kellaghan, 20111).

Researchers point to a number of processes that range from strong family values and routines to active family participation in school work. The most frequently cited process include stable family routine, parental support and encouragement about school work, discussion of ideas and events, high parental aspiration and standard for children’s achievement quite study places to study, emphasis on family literacy, monitoring of after school activities, community resources as needed, communicating or modeling of positive behaviour and knowledge of school experience. Home has special duties to perform in a child’s life because the family needs to teach the child the basic skills, discipline and behaviour that are passed on within the family lineage. For example, the ability to read and write and do other things may be developed before they start school (Combs, 2012).

Ezewu (2011) explained that it is very important to note that as much as the family may assist in child’s constellation of ideas, believes and practices, negative attitude of parents may militate against the internalization of such ideas, believers and practices. A good home from the view point of school is not necessarily one where the parents are clever or educated, but parents who have difficulty in reading can still provide their children with helpful stimulating background. The home is the first place where a child primary and school contact immediately he/she is born.

Olusala and Emeka (2014) explain that a child at any stage of his development is a product of his immediate cultural background and inherited genetic characteristics. Therefore, what the child becomes in life can be reflected to above factors. It is the family not the school that exerts the real rime and lasting influence of the child’s character. If there is development at home, there will be some form of deprivation in the child brings to school, therefore the personality will turn affect the child’s learning in school.

It has been widely observed that family background is a good and important factor which affects learning activities of a child in school. The school is not the starting point for children to learn. Before the children are brought to the school environment, they must have reached some certain age and live with their parents and neighbours at home. During this pre-school age, they already posses a variety of characteristics developed through experience at home (Aminu, 2010).

Social studies in several nations of the world are essentially introduced to meet specific needs and aspirations of their existing environment. The Nigerian society is not an exception. As such, social studies can be described as a solution to nation’s problem of integration. This partly explains why social studies have been given a place of pride at all levels of education. The priority of social studies is the teaching of the course as a core subject in primary and junior secondary schools. It is offered as a single-major and double major courses in most Colleges of Education. In various Universities, Social Studies can be studies from the first –degree level to the doctorate level (Aminu, 2009).

However, experts have expressed concern on certain constraints being faced in the teaching of social studies in Nigerian schools. The reason is attributed to lack of professionalism, lack appropriate teaching methods and poor innovative method in the curriculum, this implies that the goals of the curriculum must be restructured along side with the rapid technological age of the society.

The type of home a child is exposed to determines the nature and the way he learns. Home according to Komolafe (2012) is not just the physical structure. It consists of the parents (father and mother), the learners siblings, relatives, physical fitting like furniture, electronics and also the prevailing atmospheric conditions in the place. All these make a home.

The home invariably is the bedrock on which the future intellectual of the child lies. There is no doubt that the nature of each home will be reflected on the child’s learning.

The background of a child may consist of genetic characteristics in an individual, which may hinder or facilitate the child’s ability to learn or some factors surrounding the child which can limit the potentials of the child.

Education is very important in the development of an individual. The educational attainment of any child could be due to a number of reasons such as the natural interest of the person, the level of interest shown by the parents and the teachers, environmental factors and to a large extent the home background in which the person come from.

It is believed that each individual is a product of both biological and environmental factors which consist of both cultural and social determinants. The physical environment of a child is a very important that includes physical and mental background is mainly concern with status the parents occupy in the society.

According to Aroseh (2010), factors which may affect educational background of a child are the operational status of the parents, the parent attitude and interest towards their children’s education that will enhance the abilities of the children to learn, etc. Child learning is influenced by the interplay of individuals, family and school characteristics. Families differ widely on how they shape their children’s behaviour and attitude towards school and the ability to provide learning opportunity for their children hence such difference influence children’s readiness to learn even before they start school.

To ensure that children reach their full potentials, it is important for educational system to provide appropriate and equitable learning opportunities to schools.

Family characteristics are the major sources of disparity in children’s educational outcomes. The family’s financial resources, which are associated with parents’ occupation and educational attainments often increase learning opportunities at home in school (Johnson, 2013).

Educated parents contribute to their children learning by involving themselves in their learning activities. The educated parents who are gainfully employed offer better educational career options to their children which may have impact on children’s motivation to learn. Parent with higher occupational status and educational attainment may also have higher aspirations for their children’s occupation and education, which in turn can influence their commitment to learn.

Qualitative education helps to enhance one’s performance and achievement both at home and in school. From the point of view, the educational achievements of most children presently have enhanced greatly as a result of role being played by parents at home. This may be due to the interest on the part of the parents as regard to their children’s learning activities due to adequate learning materials that are needed by them.

Parental factors are very important in the life of the children and their learning activities. Parent acquires important information about their children’s development through parent education programs. Parents can easily learn new techniques for working with their children through effective programs.

Therefore, this study tends to examine the impact of family background on pupils’ academic achievement in Social Studies in Selected primary schools in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

1.2            Statement of Problems

Parental role is expected to provide a good and conducive climate for social, intellectual and emotional development of child, further it provides love, security, guidance and care that contributes to good academic performance. Carter (2012) suggested that, family background is a powerful factor for good as well as bad for development of some of basic characteristics of a child that are fundamental for father learning in school.

Today, as the educational sector is faced with series of changes and reforms, it is good to reflect on matters concerned with social studies and the dissemination of social studies knowledge and lessons. Numerous teaching strategies have been developed which correspond to the accommodation of pupils' need and diverse learning method. This has emphasized on the effort of family backgrounds.

1.3            Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of family background on pupils’ academic achievement in Social Studies in Selected primary schools in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Specifically, it seeks to:

1.     Determine the influence of parental job on the learning activities of the children.

2.     Determine how parent are involved in the school work of their children.

3.     Find out the interest of parents towards children learning activities.

1.4            Significance of the Study

It was expected that the outcome of the study would be significant to different levels including school, teachers, parents and government. This would bring awareness to educational planners, policy makers, educational administrators and community at large to make sure that, there is good parental role at all school level.

The study was expected to provide inputs on how family background set up is needed to facilitate the pupils’ learning as various roles of the parents in financing, supporting and counseling would be revealed in assisting the pupils to learn.

1.5            Research Questions

1.     What extent the influence of parental job has on the learning activities of the children?

2.     In what way does parent involved in the school work of their children?

3.     What are the interest of parents towards children learning activities?

 1.6    Scope of the Study

This study is to investigate the impact of family background on pupils’ academic achievement in Social Studies in Selected primary schools in Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The activities of the

Parents and pupils would be looked into in the course of this research work.

1.7  Limitations of the Study

The study had encountered a number of constraints in the event that some of the findings of the research do not happen to be accurate. The reason should therefore be attributed to some of the factors, however less relevant effort have been made so far towards making this research findings as authentic as in other research.         

Notably among these constraints includes the following administration, this is the effort of research towards data collection as noted in non-challant attitude exhibited by the respondents, low return rate of questionnaire despite all frantic effort to retrieved them.

1.6            Definition of Terms

Home: Home according to the oxford advanced learners dictionary is a house or flat/apartment that one live in especially with one’s family.

Background: Background according to the oxford advanced learners dictionary is the details of a person’s family, education, experience, etc. it can also defines background as the circumstance or past event which helps to explain why something is how it is.

Learning: learning according o oxford advanced learners dictionary is the process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying from experience, from being taught, etc.

Activities: Activities according to the oxford advanced learners dictionary is a situation in which something is happening pr a lot of things are being done.

School:-  A place where young people aged between 5 and 8 eight years are educated.

Child:- According to Learner’s Dictionary, a child can be defined a young human who is not yet an adult.

Development:- The process of producing or creating new or more advanced in production.

You either get what you want or your money back. T&C Apply

Talk to us right now: (+234)906-451-7926 (Call/WhatsApp)

---