CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education is the key to establishing a society that is vibrant, productive, and offers equal opportunity to everyone. Education is the most valuable inheritance parents can leave their children. When a family is successful in educating and instilling excellent values in its children, the nation improves as a living environment. It is widely regarded that human resource development must serve as the foundation for any genuine progress. Formal education is evidence of the intention to successfully and efficiently construct a robust economy (Reid, 2015).

Education is the process of obtaining knowledge and skills for the individual's and society's benefit. Education may be official, informal, or non-formal. Formal education is the institutionalization of curriculum-based instruction. It is classroom-based information imparted systematically and intentionally by professional teachers. Therefore, schooling is a notion that defines an educational institution. According to the 2020 MDG targets, education is a top priority for all United Nations member states. Similarly, the operation of educational institutions is essential to the achievement of any nation's aims and objectives.

Socioeconomic status is an economic and sociological total measurement of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic and social position relative to others, based on income, education, and occupation (Marmot & Michael, 2004).

When examining a family's socioeconomic position, household income, earners' education and employment, and combined income are considered, as opposed to when an individual's traits are evaluated.

Lareau & Annette (2003) notes that socioeconomic status is typically divided into three categories, high, middle, and low, to describe the three areas a family or an individual may fall into. When classifying a family or an individual into one of these categories, income, education, and occupation can be evaluated.

In addition, poor income and lack of education have been found to be major predictors of a variety of physical and mental health issues, which may be the only cause of a person's social position.

Simiyu, (2001) contends that the term "family income" include wages, salaries, profits, rentals, and other forms of income.

Various sources of income include unemployment or workers' compensation, social security, pensions, interests or dividends, royalties, trusts, alimony, and other forms of government, public, or family aid.

There are two ways to evaluate income: relative and absolute. When economist Keynes postulated, absolute income is the link wherein as income rises, so does consumption, but not at the same rate.

Those with a low income prioritize addressing current needs and do not amass money that may be passed on to future generations, so contributing to greater inequality. Families with a high and disposable income can amass money, prioritize addressing urgent needs, consume and enjoy luxury, and withstand disasters (British Government, 1983). Ominde, (1964) notes that education has a significant impact on the skill sets required to acquire employment, as well as the characteristics that distinguish those with a higher socioeconomic position from those with a lower one. Annette Lareau discusses the concept of concerted cultivation, in which middle-class parents take an active part in their children's education and development through the use of regulated, structured activities and the promotion of a sense of entitlement through the encouragement of debate. Laureau contends that low-income families do not engage in this movement, forcing their children to feel constrained. These two disparities in childrearing give rise to a divide in educational attainment. According to Gachathi, (1976), occupational prestige is a component of socioeconomic standing that includes both income and educational achievement.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The performance difference between pupils and the level of academic achievement is a major source of anxiety, significant concern, and embarrassment for parents, school administrators, policymakers, and governments responsible for the secondary education of students (Reid, 2015).

Experience has shown that there are differences among secondary school students that affect student academic performance, such as some students being able to pay their school fees promptly while others are frequently sent away for non-payment of school fees, and some students having difficulty obtaining school uniforms while others do not. Similarly, some students were motivated by their parents' supply of educational equipment such as computers, textbooks, and exercise books, while others were not, and some students arrived at school well-nourished, while others did not. One then asks what role, if any, family history had in these challenges (Imoh, 2014).

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this study is to assess the effects of parental socio economic status on academic performance in secondary school students. Specifically, this subject seeks to:

i.          To investigate whether parents financial status has an effect on academic performance.

ii.        To determine whether parents level of education has an effect on academic performance.

iii.      To determine whether family background has an effect on the academic performance.

iv.      To find whether the influence of home environment has an effect on the academic performance.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions will be answered in this study:

i.          Does parents financial status have an effect on academic performance?

ii.        Does parents level of education have an effect on academic performance?

iii.      Does family background have an effect on the academic performance?

iv.      Does the influence of home environment has an effect on the academic performance?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research, when finished, will assist parents in understanding the impact of the family on children, both positively and adversely, in connection to their school participation and academic success. From the given advice, they will be able to adopt methods for raising their children so that they will achieve academic success. Likewise, it is likely to motivate parents to make their children's school experience somewhat comfortable. This study might also assist children from varied homes in understanding and remembering their parents' failure to supply them with all the required school supplies, as well as empathizing with their family difficulties and situations.

In addition, educational and curriculum designers should be guided to create curricula without rigidity in order to accommodate a culturally varied setting. In addition, instructors would be aware that a positive teacher-parent connection may mitigate the impact of a child's familial history on his or her academic success at school.

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