CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
educational sector in every part of the world faces financial challenge including the institution and student as a whole. It is essential to understand the factors that affect educational attainment, particularly in the context of developing countries where poverty is a major impediment in access to education. In the last three decades, the level of poverty in Nigeria has been on the increase, rising from 28.1 percent in 1980 to about 64.4 percent in 2004 (FOS 1999 and ADB 2010). In fighting and reforming policy to enable reduce  cost and management of institution fees in the state, yet private sector in educational setting makes it very stressful to the less unstable financial family, due to the income gap which has widened between Nigerian families. Educational outcomes are one of the key areas influenced by family income. Children from low-income families often start school already behind their peers who come from more affluent families. The incidence, depth, duration and timing of poverty all influence a child’s educational performance, along with community characteristics and social networks (Evan, 2004). However, both Nigerian and international organizations have shown that the effects of poverty can be reduced using sustainable interventions.  According to study carried out in United States (US), the gaps in attainment among poor and privileged students are substantial (Rowan et al., 2004). Base on multiple studies, The U.S. Department of Education (2001: 8) has shown results that “clearly established that student and school poverty adversely affected student attendance and achievement”.

 The cause of low attendance in secondary school today is as a result of financial challenge the lead to school fees driver in private schools.  Attendance has been stated as the physical presence of the students in schools/classes. Good (1973) explained further that attendance at schools is not merely being bodily present but including actual participation in the work and activities of the school.

Meanwhile, poverty remains a stubborn fact of life even in rich countries. According to Harris (2006) complex web of social relationships student experience with peers, adults in the school and family members exerts a much greater influence on their academic performance. This process starts with student core relationship with parents or primary caregivers in their lives, which form a personality that is either secure and attached or insecure and unattached. Securely attached children perform better in school (Bali, Granger, Kivlighan, Mills-Koonce, Willongby & Greeberg, 2008). Once students are in school, the dual factors of socialization and social status contribute significantly to academic achievement. The school socialization process typically pressure student to be like their peer or risk social rejection, whereas the quest for high social status drives students to attempt to differentiate themselves in some areas, for example, socio-economic status forms a huge part in this equation. Children raised in poverty rarely choose to behave differently, but are faced daily with overwhelming challenges that affluent children never have to confront and their brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that undermine good school performance.

The human conditions which we might classify as being in poverty have a long history with a variety of interpretations; these conditions are influenced by a number of factors including resources, contemporary standards and public perceptions of what is minimally acceptable (Evans, 2004).

One of the social issue facing students of poverty is emotional trauma. The emotional climate can often be very stressful and emotionally depriving. The lack of emotional nurturing can lead to feelings of alienation, inadequacy, depression and anxiety. Aggressive or impulsive behavior and social withdrawal can also result, which in turn can affect their academic performance. However, the overall goal of this study is to provide an insight into the influence of poverty on student academic performance. 

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Strong, secure relationships devoid of poverty and lack help stabilize children’s emotionally and provides the core guidance needed to build lifelong social skills. Student who grew up with such relationships learn healthy, appropriate emotional responses to everyday situations. But children raise in poor homes often fail to learn these responses, to the detriment of their school performance. For example, students with emotional instability may get so easily frustrated that they give up on a task when success was just moments away. Social dysfunction may inhibit students’ ability to work well in cooperative groups, quite possibly leading to their exclusion by group members who believe they aren’t “doing their part” or “pulling their share of load”. This exclusion and the accompanying decrease in collaboration and exchange of information exacerbate at risk students’ already shaky academic performance. However, the researcher is examining the effects of poverty on school attendance in private secondary school in Oji River local government area Enugu state 

1.3   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The following are the objectives of this study:

1.     To examine effects of poverty on school attendance in private secondary school in Oji River local government area Enugu state.

2.     To identify other factors affecting attendance in private secondary school in Oji River local government area Enugu state.

3.     To determine the factors encouraging poverty in the society.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.     What are the effects of poverty on school attendance in private secondary school in Oji River local government area Enugu state?

2.     What is the other factors affecting attendance in private secondary school in Oji River local government area Enugu state?

3.     What are the factors encouraging poverty in the society?

1.5   HYPOTHESIS
HO: There is no significant relationship between poverty and student’s attendance in private secondary school
HA: There is significant relationship between poverty and student’s attendance in private secondary school

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
the following are the significance of this study:

1.     The result of this study will educate the general public on the effects of poverty on school   attendance in private secondary school.

2.     This research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the effect of personality trait on student’s academic performance and attendance in private secondary school, thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.

1.7   SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study will cover the effects of poverty on school attendance in private secondary school in Oji River local government area Enugu state.
LIMITATION OF STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 DEFINATION OF TERMS

Poverty: It is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, shelter, transportation etc poverty is said to exist when people or individual lack the means of satisfying basic needs.   

Family: family is a social group which consists of father, mother and children in this work; we can classify family to be a man, his wife, or wives, and children.

School Attendance: these is the physical presence of the students in schools/classes

Academic performance/Achievement: This is how students can perform in academic. It also refers to as the score or grades obtained by students in examination in their various school. it could be high academic performance which means pass or low academic performance which means failure.

Home Environment: This refers to the surrounding in which the students live. In this study it means the adequate facility which the home has provided for students. It could be radio, sleeping space, television and reading room whether conducive for learning or not.

Poverty Alleviation: This is the act of reducing poverty. In this course of study, it refers to when the problem of poverty is resolved. 

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