ABSTRACT
The study is concerned with the influence of parental support on self-concept and academic achievement of secondary school students in Udi education zone of Enugu state. Four research questions and four null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted an ex-post facto design. A sample of 300 senior secondary II students were randomly selected from the 53 secondary schools that make up the zone. The sample consisted of 150 male and 150 female students. Two instruments were used for data collection. The first instrument was parental support styles questionnaire (PSSQ)/ students’ high and low self-concept questionnaire (SHLSCQ). The second instrument had to do with examination results. The instruments were validated by four experts. A pre-test/trial run to ascertain the internal consistency and reliability of the instruments was done in two secondary schools outside the area of study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions whereas t-test was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings have indicated that parental support has significant influence on the self-concept and academic achievement of secondary school students. Also the results of the study have equally shown that gender exercises significant influence on both the self-concept and academic achievement of students in the study area. One outstanding recommendation is that positive parent- child interaction should be initiated and intensified from birth till maturity.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
One of the aims of education is to achieve positive change in the self-concept and academic achievement/performance of an individual. One could be said to be doing well if there is steady improvement in one’s learning achievement. The generally held notion is that one’s academic progress depends solely on the effectiveness and efficiency of the teachers. Regrettably, many parents nurse the conviction that teachers have extraordinary powers to achieve academic transformation on the part of the students. Those parents fail to realize that no student can attain good academic heights without the right parental encouragement, understanding and support (Templar, 2008). This partly explains why students’ academic achievement in many schools is on the decline.
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Achievement may be regarded as behaviour exhibited at the end of a given period. This implies the act or process of finishing something successfully. Marsh and Martin (2011) viewed achievement as the attainment of one’s objective. The authors were of the view that careful planning, hard work and perseverance often precede achievement. In the school setting, achievement may be regarded as behaviour manifested by students at the completion of a course of study. This is often termed academic achievement.
Academic achievement relates to the degree of attainment of learning objectives. Hunt (1997) perceived academic achievement as how well a student is accomplishing school tasks and studies. The author explained that the term refers to any outstanding performance by a student. Hunt went further to adduce that a student’s score, ranking in the class and grade point average (GPA) level are among the well- known indicators of academic achievement.
Academic achievement is a learning feat accomplished in schools by completing classes, maintaining good grades and getting high scores on tests. It is a term used in school when a student does well in academics. Academic achievement is the out come of education, the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved stated educational goals (Okpara and Smith, 2001).
For the purpose of this study, one might be inclined to believe that success in the school and learning activities as well as in tests and examinations could be regarded as academic achievement. It might equally be viewed as corresponding to excellence in educational activities. It is the level of actual accomplishment or proficiency one has achieved in an academic area, as opposed to one’s potential.
In recent times, it has been observed that secondary school students’ academic achievement especially in public examinations has been consistently poor. This has been revealed by various examination bodies such as the West African Examination Council (WAEC).In May/June 2012 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), 38.81 percent of candidates who sat for the examination obtained five credits and above including English and Mathematics. In 2013, the percentage declined to 36.57 percent.
Eguridu (2014) went on to announce the results of May/June 2014 WASSCE results. According to the head of WAEC national office in Lagos, a total of 1,705, 976 candidates registered for the examination. But only 1,692, 435 students, consisting of 929,075 males and 763, 360 female candidates actually sat for the test.
It is instructive to note that only 529, 425 of them, representing 31.28 percent, obtained credits in five subjects and above, including English and Mathematics. This figure when compared to the 2012 and 2013 May/June WASSCE results shows a marginal decline in the performance of candidates. (Source-head of WAEC national office in Lagos). These poor academic achievements of students have been a worry to all, and have attracted a lot of studies in recent times. Many studies have sought to find out the factors that influence the academic achievement of students in secondary schools. One of the factors is believed to be individual self-concept (Elbaum and Vaughn, 2001). Self-concept is a term used to explain how people value themselves.
Hanushek, Rivkin and Kain (1998)sees self-concept as the set of perceptions or reference points that one holds to be true about oneself, which include the set of characteristics, attributes, qualities, deficiencies, capacities and limits as well as values. Manning (2011) opines that self-concept refers to a student’s perception of competence or adequacy in academic and non-academic domains, for instance social, behavioural, and athletic and is best represented by a profile of self- perceptions across domains. As students grow and develop, they acquire the skills to understand how others view them and could better distinguish between their abilities and perceptions. In this regard, self-concept could be viewed as a product of people’s opinions and self-perception. McLeod (2008) viewed self- concept as a general term used to refer to how people think about or perceive themselves/valuate themselves; adding that to be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself.
Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs (2003) were of the opinion that self-concept fundamentally relates to an individual’s belief about own self including one’s attributes, who and what the self is. The authors stated that self-concept denotes the sense of being separate and distinct from others and the awareness of the constancy of the self. The theorists added that self-concept is a factual description of how one perceives oneself, an accurate statement of what one believes about oneself. If one’s perception is distorted, then the description might not be an accurate depiction of the individual. For the present study self-concept might refer to how one views and holds oneself in relation to others in the immediate environment. In this study the self-concept of an individual may be viewed from two perspectives: high and low.
Pickardt (2011) opined that the foundation of self-concept is laid in the initial emotional attachment parents have for their children. The theorist further explained that an individual’s self-concept is substantially influenced by the individual’s interaction with parents who provide care and support in a persons life.
It is highly believed that parental support may exercise considerable influence on students’ self-concept. It has been increasingly recognized in the fields of education and psychology that parents have significant impact on the students’ self-concept (Green and Walker, 2005). Parental support is fundamental in the development of sound self-concept.
The recognition of the invaluable roles parents play in students’ self-concept is reflected in the educational policies of many nations, including Nigeria. These policies mandate that schools implement procedures that actively involve parents in the educational process (Epstein, 2001). It is likely that these policies are based on the large body of research that has documented the substantial influence of parental support on students’ self-concept. Much of the empirical research on parental support originate from a pervading theme in various developmental and social-psychological theories that parent influences, to a considerable extent, shape individuals’ world view. As an example, social cognitive theory of human behaviour and learning lends credence to the generally held view that individuals’ functioning has its foundation primarily in parental behaviour and tutelage (Bandura, 1977). Epstein (2005) believes that parental support is very essential to the development of healthy self-concept of students.
