CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Examinations have always been used as the main basis for judging a student’s ability and also as a means of selection for educational advancement and employment. A lot of students do not  perform well in the Junior Secondary Certificate Examinations. The poor performance has raised concern and efforts have been made to find out the reasons behind it. For poor performance of students in schools, many factors such as lack of facilities in school, lack of teachers, indiscipline unfavorable home environment, low intelligence, anxiety and students’ need to achieve have been found as being the causes (Ndirangu, 2007). However, parental socio-economic and educational background was found to be an important factor in determining academic engagement of students. From the beginning, parents have been the major persons involved in raising children in every society. That is why the family is recognized as an important agent of socialization.                                                                           

Adekeyi (2002) observed that it is mainly through their efforts and abilities that children are socialized to become productive citizens. So, wherever 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. The children themselves feel good and bring happiness to their parents and the whole community. The home is the first place of learning for the child. The quality of home environment goes a long way in determining the eventual personality and achievement of the child. Psychologists had classified the factors that affect learning into two broad categories namely, nature and nurture. It has been discovered that the two categories play complementary roles. As nature determines the level of intelligence and inherited abilities of the child, nurture helps to maximize these innate abilities. According to Ekinne (2002), nurture involves the home, the school, the environment and peer groups to which the learner belongs. The home has far reaching influence on the child. Babara (1982) said that the child home environment influences attainment at school. Also, Touray (1982) suggested that the home environmental variables could be manipulated to enhance students’ academic performance.

The level of educational attainment of parents could influence the academic achievement of their children. According to European Union Monitoring Report (2013), those students whose parents have a tertiary level of education perform, on average, significantly better in tests of science, reading and mathematical ability than those whose parents have only basic schooling. In a family where both the father and mother are educated, their children are always taken good care of in their academic activities. Such parents know the importance of getting educational materials for their children in school. They may go through their children’s exercise books after school, or even employ a private teacher to teach them after school. By so doing, their academic performance will be improved whereas in the case of illiterate family, the need to supervise the children’s exercise books is not there, hence their children experience low academic performance in school. Educated parents may also have library at home, stocked with novels, encyclopedia and other educational books and educational audio visual tapes. When children make use of these materials, it will enhance their intellect.                                        

Moreover, Parents of different occupation classes often have different styles of child rearing, different ways of disciplining their children and different ways of reacting to their children. These differences do not express themselves consistently as expected in the case of every family; rather they influence the average tendencies of families for different occupational classes (Rothestein, 2004).  In line with the above assertion, Hill and Cantu (2004) had also argued that socio–economic status of parents do not only affect the academic performance, but also makes it possible for children from low background to compete well with their counterparts from high socio – economic background under the same academic environment. Moreover, Smith, Fagan and Ulvund (2002) had asserted that significant predicator of intellectual performance at age of 8 years included parental socio economic status (SES). In the same vein, other researchers had posited that parental socio economic status could affect school children as to bring about flexibility to adjustment to the different school schedules (Guerin and Maundu 2001). In a previous local finding in Nigeria, Oni (2007) and Omoegun (2007) had averred that there is significant difference between the rates of deviant behaviour among students from high and low socio–economic statuses.                                                                        

The health status of the children which could also be traceable to parental socio – economic background can be another factor that can affect the academic performance of the students. Adewale (2002) had reported that in a rural community where nutritional status is relatively low and health problems are prevalent, children academic performance is greatly hindered. This assertion is again hinged on nature of parental socio–economic background. Moreover, Eze (1996) had opined that when a child get proper nutrition, health care, stimulation during pre–school years, the ability to interact with take optimal advantage of the full complement of resources offered by any formal learning environment is enhanced.          According to Asaolu (2002), book keeping and accounting is the process of recording, classifying, selecting, measuring, interpreting, summarizing and reporting financial data of an organization to the users for objective assessment and decision making.  Accounting data are processed into accounting information through the use of accounting principles and conventions. The accounting principles are known as generally accepted accounting principles. They are the basic fundamentals which guide accountants in recording, appreciating and assessing accounting information as well as the preparation and interpretation of financial statements. The accounting information system is proven, time honored, and its format is universally understood. Books of accounts prepared by accountants in one part of the world are easily understood by their counterparts in other parts of the world because the information system is based on principles that are widely accepted and globally used. It is an information and measurement system that identifies, records and communicates relevant, reliable and comparable financial data about an organization’s business activities (Wild,2003:4) It helps us make better decision, including assessing opportunities, products, investments and social and community responsibilities, Accounting activities according to Needles et al embraces all the line functions performed in accounting process and which include general financial accounting, accounting systems and design, cost accounting, budgeting, taxation, auditing and data processing. Agbo (2007) also define book keeping in terms of career opportunities and according to sub areas of study.                                                                                                              

Book keeping is that aspect of accounting concerned with recording of business transactions and the preparation of financial statements and reports to be used internally by management for planning, control and decision making, and externally by investors, creditors as well as government agencies for investment decisions cum tax returns, computation and assessment. Furthermore, book keeping provides quantitative financial information about economic entities for internal and external users to use in making decisions such as whether to invest further or not. It activities according to needles et al embraces all the lines functions performed in accounting process and which includes general financial accounting, accounting systems and designs, cost accounting, budgeting, taxation, auditing and data processing (agbo 2007).              

Book keeping can be classified in terms of car It aids proprietors’ access to the efficiency of management and provide information which assists parties outside the organization to make objective judgment about the organization. In the secondary schools, the objective of teaching this important subject is to provide students with the basic method of processing data to develop manipulative skills and provide knowledge for career advancement in accounting to develop an economic understanding of business vocabulary to help students develop and have understanding of basic accounting concept and principles, in summary to be self reliant.

Studies that explored the factors leading to university enrollment declines of accounting majors report that such declines have been largely due to the perceptions held among the secondary school students regarding the accounting profession Tan and Laswad (2005) Saudagaran (1996). Some other studies have reported that accounting teachers themselves may be influential in students’ decision in accounting Tan and Laswad (2005) Paolillo and Estes, (1982); Cangelosi, Condie, and Luthy (1985). This suggests that as an extension of the teacher’ influence, the teaching methodologies utilized by teacher for conveying the topics of accounting are important aspects in shaping students’ proclivities for accounting. Accounting students in secondary school have been observed as the group of students most likely to be challenged or turned off by the subject of accounting Saudagaran (1996). With accounting as a gateway subject in the commercial department curriculum, concerned administrators and designers of secondary school programs of accounting administration must be cognizant of the important function of strategic teaching methodologies in changing secondary school student’s perceptions about accounting.                                      

 Moreover, it is believed that higher socio economic status and high levels of education may enhance parents' ability at becoming involved in their children's education, and also enable parents to acquire and model social skills and problem-solving strategies conducive to children's school success. Thus, students whose parents have higher socio-economic status and higher levels of education may have an enhanced regard for learning, more positive ability beliefs, a stronger work orientation, and they may use more effective learning strategies than children of parents with lower socio-economic status and lower levels of education (Joan, 2009). How true this assertion could be among the junior secondary school students in Ogun State will be the major focus of this research work.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The influence of differences in home background has been considered by many researchers over the years on both the negative and positive effect of this on the formal form of education in term of the student academic performance, many of this researchers asserted that  parent education qualification is one of the major determinant of students academic engagement in school, many of whom suggested that students from illiterate parents tend to face lack of motivation from parents who has little or no appreciation to education, and this may lead to poor student academic engagement in school.

    Also parental socio-economic status of students is what many have found to be the reason for students poor academic engagement with the believe that when parent are wealthy, students are more like to perform well, they will attend a better school, mingle with students from the same caliber of parents with high socio- economic class who give education a higher priority. Thus will engage better in their academic career than those from poor family who they believe tend to experience the opposite. This research investigates on the influence of the educational and socio-economic status of parents on the academic engagement of students.

1.3   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research question shall be the consideration of this research work.

1.                 Will the socio-economic status of parents affect student academic engagement?

2.                 Will the educational background of parents affects student academic engagement?

3.                 Are students from a poor background different to those that hail from a rich background in academic engagement?

4.                  Does the illiterate parents give attribute less importance to the education of their children?

1.4   RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The null hypotheses tested in this research work are as follows:

H01 There is no significant relationship among parental socio-economic status, educational background and academic engagement.

H02 There is no significant relative contribution of parental educational background and socio-economic status on student academic engagement

H03 There is no significant joint contribution of parental socio-economic status and educational background on student academic engagement.

1.5     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It has been envisaged that the findings of this study may expose some factors that might be responsible for poor engagement of students in school. The identified areas where government at different levels could come in will be brought into focus in other to bridge the gap of educational attainment of children of low and high income earners in the society as well as student from illiterate parents home. The study will also encourage the policy makers to make a Social and economic policies to put in place and enable children from parents of low economic status to have equal opportunity of advancing the cause of education of their children. It will help Parents who are not educated or has low educational qualification on the importance of allowing their children to attend remedial summer coaching provided by non–governmental organization during holidays to supplement the regular school programmed.    

1.6    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is delimited to Ogun State junior secondary school students while only with focus on students in Ijebu North Local Government as sample for this research work. 


 1.7   DEFINITION OF TERMS

Education background: These refers to the past educational achievement or level of educational attainment of a child’s parents. 

Parents: these refer to the person who act as a parent or responsible for fatherly and motherly role of a child.

Socio economic status: this when use simply refer to the class of the parent in term of income, position held and educational level of such parent.

Book keeping: this is one of the subjects in secondary school which was designed to help prepare student for accounting as a course in higher institution.

Academics Engagement: it refers to the attitude and action of a student toward its educational career or study.