PARENT’S EDUCATIONAL STATUS ON STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF UYO
ABSTRACT
This study investigated Parent’s Educational Status On Student’s Academic Performance In Nigeria Universities, Uyo Capital City. The purpose of the study was to determine parents’ level of education as predictors of academic performance of NCE students in Colleges of Education in the NorthEastern States, Nigeria. One research question and a hypothesis was answered and tested in the study. Survey design was used in the study. A sample of one thousand two hundred out of a population of 13,529 (8,422 males and 5,107 females) NCE 2 and 3 students from six Colleges of Education in the North-Eastern States, Nigeria participated in the study. The sample of the study was selected through simple random and stratified sampling techniques. The research instrument used for data collection was a Proforma developed by the researchers. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. The results revealed that students have high level of academic performance in Colleges of Education in the North-Eastern States, Nigeria because those that form the majority of distribution range from merit (C) to distinction (A), which stands at 66.7%. While fail and pass grades consisted of 33.3%. Parents’ level of education did not significantly predict academic performance. Based on the findings, it was recommended that there is need for adequate counselling of students by trained counsellors and teachers in the Colleges of Education in order to improve the levels of
students’ academic performance in the Colleges. Mothers should be encouraged to spend more time with their children at home, continuously nurturing them with practices such as reading, speaking English language and holding discussions with them on how they can best handle their studies.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Background of the Study
Education is a basic tool used by society for transmission of its societal values. It has become an area of prime importance not only for government or voluntary agencies but also for individuals, families, governments and communities. “Voluntary agencies and individuals are committing a lot of resources in order to achieve success in the educational enterprise” (Orhungur, 1990).
In recent times, there has been an attitude behaviour formation, modification and crises over the deplorable level of academic performance of the Nigerian students particularly, University of Uyo. Parents, professionals, academicians and concerned social critics a like claimed that students are not learning as much as fast expected. Some complained that it is embarrassing to notice child colleges of education and cannot communicate effectively skills learnt, to a reasonable degree of proficiency and effectiveness; it is a well known fact that the level of parent education affects the academic performance of the child in school. In other words, parents that are intelligent academicians well educated and professionals provide their children with favourable environments to initiate or encourage them to develop similar interest and perform well in their parent’s subjects areas. Parents who are relatively higher to levels of education tend to transmit to their parents who are illiterates or semi illiterates. Parents positive values attach to education is a function of their educational achievement. Valencia and Renald, (1991).
Academic performance has always been the centre of educational research and despite varied statements about the aims of education, the academic performance and development of the student continues to be the primary and the most important goal of education. Therefore, the importance of academic performance of students in the Nigerian universities cannot be over emphasized. It acts as an emotional tonic. Good foundation is laid in the school in early years of life. Sound academic records of parents which influence students are the pillars on which the entire future personality stands. While considering the factors of student’s performance in the Nigerian universities, particularly University of Uyo especially, one possibly ignores those aspects in which individuals differ from one another. The starting point may be academic performance itself where ranging variations occur from the point of outstanding performance. If we consider a group of students, a few students are found to be high achievers while others are low achievers and a size-able number of students always appear as moderate achievers. The question arises, why such difference in academic performance exist? This question often appears in the minds of psychologists, educators and educationalists. For poor academic performance of students in the Nigerian universities and University of Uyo; many factors such as lack of study facilities, uncomfortable academic environment, indiscipline, unfavourable home environment, low intelligence, lack of commitment to their study, anxiety and student’s need to achieve have been found as being the causes (Cantu and Ndirangu, 2007). Home environment was also found to be important factors in determining academic performance of students in University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. “From the beginning, parents have been the major persons involved in raising children in every society. This is why the family is recognized as an important agent of socialization. It is mainly through parent’s efforts and abilities that students are socialized to become productive citizens. So, whenever parents possess the resources and skills, and apply them effectively and joyfully in raising their children, the entire society benefits. This brings joy and pride to the nation, and encourages development and peaceful co-existence”. (Adekeyi, 2002). The level of educational status or attainment of parents could influence the academic performance of students in university of Uyo. According to research carried out by European Union monitoring report (2013), students from parents of high educational status performs significantly better in class assignment, test and examination than those students from parents who only have basic schooling or none.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Parents in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, are not that different as compared to the parents in other region in the country. Their impact on students’ growth cannot be underrated. Being a civil service state and economic growing domain, embedded with citizens of political class, filled with farmers of large, medium and small scale; with its good geographical landscape, so many parents are characterized by on stolen activities and the busy schedule on daily basis, trying to meet the end needs, polygamy, broken homes and illiteracy. All these may pose a critical challenge on the overall educational performance of students in Uyo. Moreover, it can be noted that in the district, the performances of most student in schools is not that up-to-standards.
The importance of education in an individual can not be overemphasized; education has a long lasting impact on one’s life. The acquisition of knowledge and skills and all other things that is worth while which are transmitted to a person through formal and informal education determines his/her potential in future.
Societies all over the world strive to achieve quantitative education for her citizenry. In order to achieve this noble course, so many factors must be put into consideration. Among them is the educational status of the parents. The family has a great role to play on the overall development of the child and his educational upbringing in particular. The gap in performance constitutes a great source of worry and serious concern as well as discontilure to parents.
Over the years, the society has been recording a persistent increase in the rate of poor student’s academic performance in the Nigerian universities. If this trend is not nip in the bud, it will have grave repercussion on the lives of the Nigerian students, their parents and the society at large. Comments from educators have shown that the blame from lack of good performance has been as a result of neglect and care free attitude towards academic work by students and parents. Home is the first school for a child where he/she is taught the basic norms and values by the parents before the child leaves for the formal education.
Contrary to the opinion that learning and reading begins in school, the first education of the child begins at home. A good and conducive home environment with adequate learning facilities would help boost the intellectual and academic capability of the child. Well educated parents would always have good attitudes towards education and provides learning materials such as textbooks and journals that could facilitate the learning process. The motivation of any intelligent students towards learning is being accelerated by the positive influence of his/her environment while others are negatively affected in terms of their non-stimulating home environment.
One then wonders how influence of parent’s background can play a vital role on student’s academic performances. In the high of this, the main problem of this research work is to find out if there exist in University of Uyo. The relationship between parents educational status on students academic performances.
“Parents educational status or background and socio-economic status influence the academic performance of students; that those two are lumped together because they are related and one many rightly say that they are married and hence should not be divorced” (Asikhia, 2010). On the other hand, there are quite in number of studies (Akomolafe and Olurunfeni-Olabisi, et al 2011) which have been reviewed in the areas of parental characteristics affecting student’s performance. However, most of them were wider in scope and thus the information provided may be too general. But no adequate study has been carryout to investigate the influence of parent’s educational status on the academic performance of students in Akwa Ibom State with specific reference to University of Uyo. Hence, there is need for this study to be carried out to investigate the parent’s educational status on student’s academic performance in University of Uyo.
PARENT’S EDUCATIONAL STATUS ON STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF UYO
