Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

ABSTRACT 

The study investigated on the “Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit”. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study comprised of all the students of Political Science in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

The simple random sampling technique was adopted to select 150 Political Science students from NCE I and NCE II. The instruments for data collection were political science achievement test and structured questionnaire for parental income (SQPI). The data collected was analyzed using simple percentage method.

The result revealed that parents’ income level, educational level of parents and occupational status of parents can influence or affect the academic performance of Political Science students in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

Thus, it was recommended that, government through the Ministry of Education should evolve support programmes for students from low income homes, also government should create jobs especially for the unemployed citizens and also parents who are uneducated or unemployed should be creative and be self-employed, to help them cater for their children. 

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background to the Study

The home is the stepping stone in the education and general socialization of the child. The child learns the basic social norms and rules firstly at home from the parents (Bartini, 2007).

In accordance with the aims of pre-primary education, that parents should be able to effect a smooth transition from home to school, children should have adequate preparation at home before moving to other levels of education.

Moreover, while the scientific literature is not so clear, it is widely believed that while raising the education for mothers and fathers have broadly similar effects on household income, the external effects associated with education is larger for maternal education than for paternal because mothers tends to be the main provider of care within the household (FRN, 2004).

The existence of such externalities provides an important argument for subsidizing the education of children, especially in households with low income and or low educated parents. One of the key variables in discussing the influence the home has on learning is the parental socio-economic status.

Several studies have established a positive relationship between parental socio-economic status and the children’s interest in learning and performance at school (Cole, 2004, Hearn, 2001). As noted by Woodard (2001), the child’s interest in learning is a function of the learning environment, paramount among which is the parent.

Parent’s occupation, social status, general standard of living, family size, available medical and health care, cognitive stimulation and motivation are some of the parental background factors which may affect students’ achievement in school (Fraser, 2006).

The need to examine the influence of these income characteristics on the interest of the students in learning in the present study was informed by the persistent downward trends in students’ academic performance and the relationship between students’ home environment and their academic performances. Parental income is also potentially endogenous either because correlated with unobservable characteristics explaining educational performance, or because the parental education effect is through income.

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

1.2    Statement of the Study

It is a general believe that parental socio-economic status has contributed much to the students’ academic achievement. But the assumption that, the higher the socio-economic status of parents, the higher the students’ academic achievement is questionable, debatable and arguable, because students whose parents did not attend any level of education, have no reasonable income and have no good occupation equally have high academic achievement.

Poor academic performance by students is a multifaceted problem, caused by many and varied factors. Some see the poor performance by students as a reflection of the falling standard of education in our society. While some see the students’ variable as the major factor, others see home background variables, societal variables, and even school environment variable as responsible for lack of students’ interest in learning and their poor academic performance.

However, low standard of academic performance of students as experienced today, is largely attributed in part to the failure of the home as the fostering center for development and the matrix in which future personality is shaped (John, 2006).

Studies identify parental socio-economic variables such as occupation, income and education as significant predictors of students’ academic performance (Kozol, 2006, Ogodo, 2004). Therefore, it is necessary to find out how parents’ income influences students’ academic performance in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

1.3    Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to examine the influence of parental income on the students’ academic achievement in Political Science in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1. Find out the influence of parents’ income level on students academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit.
2. To examine the influence of parental occupation on students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit.
3. To examine the influence of parental educational status on students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

1.4    Research Questions

1. Does parent’s income level influence students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit?
2. How does parental educational status influence students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit?
3. To what extent does parental occupational status affect students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit?

1.5    Research Hypotheses

1. There is no significant difference between parents’ income and students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit
2. There is no significant difference between parental educational status and students’ academic performance in Political Science in College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

1.6    Significance of the Study

1. The finding of the study would add to the body of existing literature on parental income and academic performance of students in Political Science in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.
2. The study will serve as a reference material for further research on parental income and academic performance of students in Political Science in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.
3. The findings from this study will help the educational administrators in the educational system to formulate and implement different kinds of educational programmes that will take into account the students’ different socio-economic status. The knowledge of the students’ socio-economic status and how it influences the students’ academic achievement will also help the educational administrators in the distribution of school materials and equipment to take care of the children from different socio-economic background.
4. The result of this work will also help the government to carryout public enlightenment campaign and intensify efforts in the area of adult education. The public enlightenment campaign and the provision of adequate adult education will help the illiterate/uneducated parents to know the value of education.
5. The findings from this study would be of great value to the teachers. Teachers’ knowledge of the influence of parental socio-economic status and home education environment on students’ academic achievement will enable them to restructure their teaching methods and instructional resources to meet the different parental background of the students. This may yield more positive result than the present system which operates in the believe that all children should learn the same thing at the same time with the same instructional resources. 

1.7    Limitation of the Study

Financial constraint exerted a great influence on this study and the duration given for the completion of this study was not enough for a wide and in-depth research into the problem.

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

1.8    Delimitation of the Study

The study only concentrated on parental income and academic performance of students in Political Science in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

1.9    Definition of Terms

Parent: This is used to describe either the father and mother of a child or any of the two.

Income: This refers to the monetary payment received for goods or services, or from other sources, as rent or investment.

Academic Performance: The performance of student on taught lessons as indicated by their test/examination scores.

Political Science: It is a science of politics or the scientific study and analytical study of politics.

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science

Parental Income and Academic Performance of Students in Political Science