RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS PARENTAL BACKGROUND AND PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ILORIN METROPOLIS

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ABSTRACT

The study investigates the relationship between secondary school students’ parental background and performance in English Language in Ilorin Metropolis.

Data were collected from 200 randomly selected through relationship between parental background and students’ performance in English questionnaire. Data collected were analysed through frequency counts, percentage Pearson correlation and t-test.

The result revealed that there was no significant relationship between parental background and students performance in English Language on the comparism, there were no significant different in the relationship between parental background and students performance in English Language on the basis of sex, age group and family type.

Based on the outcome of the study, it was recommended that schools should strife to improve the teaching and learning process in English Language by providing textbooks at all levels. Teachers in English competence should also be improved by training and retraining. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS                                                          PAGE

TITLE PAGE                                                             i

CERTIFICATION                                                       ii

DEDICATION                                                           iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                          iv

ABSTRACT                                                               v

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                             vi

LIST OF TABLES                                                      ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study                                                 1

Statement of the Problem                                         4

Purpose of the Study                                               5

Research Questions                                                 6

Research Hypotheses                                               7

Significance of the Study                                                 8

Delimitation and Scope of the Study                               9

Definition of Terms (Operational Definitions)           10   

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

Concepts of Academic Performances                                12

Student Home Background                                      16

Indiscipline as an Hindrance to Academic

Performance                                                             17

Roles of Parents in Educational Development of     Students                           19

Parents’ Level of Education and Student’s Academic Performance      23

Parents’ Type of Occupation and Student’s Academic Performance         25

Parents’ Income and Students Academic Performance               28

Home Environment and Student’s Academic Performance                 31

Family Size and Birth Order and Students Academic Performance          37

Parent-child Interaction and Student’s Academic Performance                      38

Appraisal of the Review of Related Literature           40

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD

Research Design                                                      42

Population of the Study                                           43

Sample and Sampling Techniques                           43

Instrumentation                                                       43

Validity of the Instrument                                        44

Reliability of the Instrument                                    45

Administration of the Instrument                            46

Method of Data Analysis                                          46

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results                                                                    47

Discussion of Findings                                             52

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary                                                                         54

Conclusion                                                              55

Implications of the Study                                                 54

Recommendations                                                   57

Suggestions for Further Study                                         58

REFERENCES                                                         59

APPENDIX                                                               62

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:    Distribution of Respondents by Sex         47

Table 2:    Distribution of Participants by Age          48

Table 3:    Distribution of Participants by Family Type                      48

Table 4:    Results of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient on parental background and Student Performance    49

Table 5:    Results of t-test analysis on male and female performance   49

Table 6:    Results of t-test statistics on student performance by age group                                50

Table 7:    Results of t-test statistics on student performance by Family type       51

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

  Background to the Study

It is normal in Nigeria to use proficiency in the use of English Language as a barometer for evaluating the height of any person’s educational attainment. Today many teachers report quote often to the use of vernacular even in the teaching of their subjects. One is often dismayed at the incompetence of many teachers even graduated in the use of the English language. Throughout the colonial period Nigeria formal education was patterned after the English system. The accent was on English in through and culture. The ability to speak English fluently and if possible with an oxford accent was the full mark of excellence even if the speaker was empty of through and ideas (Balogun 2000).

Balogun (2000) furthers emphasized that in those days it was a serious offence for a secondary school boy or girl to “laugh in the vernacular”, but we have now swing to the other extreme Nigerians would say they are not English people, some would say they did not specialized in English in the university. But the country has adopted the English Language as our official language. The language for instruction for school, the language parliamentary proceedings, the language for the conduct of official business and indeed lingual Franca. If imperative that we all agree on the pattern of corrections in the language so that communicating in can be effected this could also be through effective learning of the language by students in the schools.

The examinations councils have been forced into exposition where correctness in the use of English matters only in the English Language paper. All other subjects can be passed with distinction even if the candidate disobeys all the rules of English Language. But the candidate who passes many subjects but fails will regret at the door steps of the university when there will be no opportunities for admission to offer a course of his choice. This is the plight of many students today.

The rate and the degree of failure by secondary schools students at the external examination is now a problem of national concern. Therefore, one is not at all surprised that it has formed a theme for national conferences where some commentators have attributed the poor performance to lack of seriousness boarding on indiscipline on the part of the students some other blame is on parents for their failure to bring up their children properly. While a good majority of the commentators, especially government functionaries blame it on teachers that they are not devoted and therefore do not do their work properly. However, to find a solution to this national problem, the possible factors responsible for the problem must be identified either empirically or in some logical manner.            

The nation through the ministries of Education has failed to provide the nations secondary schools with the necessary human and material resources to facilitate teaching and learning of the subject of the teachers in the secondary schools have failed to develop in their students the necessary skills knowledge and behaviours which the examination council (WAEC) assess or the student refused to learn the skills, knowledge and behaviour which the teacher try to develop in them and which the examination council has failed to measure adequately the skills, knowledge and behaviours which the teachers in the nation” secondary schools have laboured over the years to develop in the students and which they have so developed waiting for assessment (Ezewu 2001). Therefore the study focuses on relationship between secondary school students’ parental background and performance in English Language is the focus of this study.

Statement of the Problem

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS PARENTAL BACKGROUND AND PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ILORIN METROPOLIS