Abstract

The study investigated the influence of home background on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics. It found out the influence of parental occupation, family size and parental motivation on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics. The study adopted descriptive research of the survey type and expost facto design. The population for this study is made up of all Basic School II students in Ado – Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State. The sample of this study consists of 100 students in which 20 students were randomly selected in each of the school. The scores obtained from Mathematics examination and questionnaire were the instruments used for the study. The instruments were trial – tested on 20 students outside the study. The reliability co- efficient of 0.80 and 0.78 were obtained respectively, which was considered high enough to consider the instruments reliable. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t- test statistics, all at 0.05 level of significance.

1. Introduction

Education is primarily concerned with the tools, methods and approaches that facilitate practice. It has become an area of great importance not only for government or voluntary agencies but also for individuals, families, and communities in all facets of life ^{1, 2}. Parents who are of in more lucrative job would have more or enough fund to expand on the basic needs and academic requirement of their children, particularly in the subjects that are core in secondary education, particularly mathematics. Education is likely to provide different ways for the needs of their children and inhabit different aspects of cognitive, emotional and motivational development. Individuals in the society as well as families are different in all aspect of life; determining factors of such are the educational level, occupation and income of the family.

A home environment is viewed as consequential for child developmental outcomes such as cognitive ability, school readiness, academic achievement and emotional adjustment ¹ Historically, examinations of the influence of home environments on developmental outcomes have focused on distal variables as the primary measures of home experience, such as the family income, parents educational level, parents occupational status, parental involvement and parenting styles of (authoritarian, demanding and permissive parenting styles).

Homes may exist in triplets ³ the non-sufficient, middle and sufficient families. What determines the stratum could be the position ones occupy, the job which one engage in his territory, the privileges and prestige receives, which in turns help to realized one’s style of life. ^{4, 5} Types of home may also affect the performance of students in mathematics and also has a far reaching implication on child’s life and academic achievement. Home appears to have a considerable influence on the performance of students in Mathematics. Other factors such as the teachers, environment of the school setting, needed materials may be controlled if the background has the wherewithal, other factors outside home has very little role to play, since it forms the first unit of existence where a child found himself ¹.

^{6, 7} A child from higher socio-economic background has advantages over the child from lesser status. In a higher class there may be a television sets, radio, picture, home teacher, home library, computer, reading and writing materials all of which help to prepare a child for learning in school. It is hypothesized that parents of upper classes of socio-economic have more positive attitudes towards their children’s schooling and have high expectations and standard for the children. ⁸ The children are given high motivations for success in school. The parents’ ability to provide books and other reading materials in order to bring about a positive attitude stimulates children to learn more. Furthermore, the upper class child eats a balance diet and belonging to a comfortable social school environment further helps home to show his best. ⁷ argued that the family exerts a powerful influence on the prospect capacity for development and life – chances of the young.

One of the parameters through which the home background of a student is measured is the socio – economic status of the student’s family. According to ⁹, ¹⁰ the socio – economic status as the most powerful home characteristic that predicts students’ performance. He said further that the higher the socio – economic status of the parents, the higher the student academic performance or achievement. Viewing socio – economic status as academic qualification of parents or the educational attainment of the parents, the occupation of the main bread winner, the income of the family and the position or status own in the society, he believes that all or combination of some of these account for the differences in students’ academic performance or achievement in schools. ⁵ Socio – economic background of the parent is crucial in the final grades of the students, the achievement test scores, retention at grade level, course failure, truancy and suspension from school, drop - out rate, college plans and total amount of formal schooling, the type of academic honours and awards distribution by school; the election of officers to run the school affairs, the extent of participation in the external curricular activities and other indicators of success in the informal structure of the student society and determines the totality of the students’ schooling.

¹¹ opined that what the child learns at home, how he’s motivated by his family towards education goes a long way to influence the child’s success or failure in school. He further stressed that child’s family greatly influence the ease or otherwise with which he can gain a place in school and total length of time he is willing to devote to school and study. ¹² writing on those conditions which facilitate learning states that the home and the school are the two sides of learner’s environment. Out of these two sides, “the home is usually the more important of these two factors because it is the child’s first school” (the place where the foundation learning is laid). The environment (home) has to be stimulating with toys, books, newspaper radio and television.

Children from polygamous home are not likely to have the same sound academic footing and mathematics oriented with their colleagues from the monogamous homes. According to ^{10, 13, 14} families’ morale fosters academic achievement among adolescents. This is because the children develop positive interest in the teachers, the school and mathematics activities. It is likely for children from most polygamous homes to have negative attitude towards their school activities as well as their teachers.

^{1, 15} reported that “the number of children of the same parents in the family was a significant prediction of student’s achievement in mathematics” In spite of the inconsistent results, it is assumed that the number of children affect the attention a child receives, academic motivation and support by parents. This is because, parents with relatively few number of children will be able to cater for them in all respects, either by way of provision of food, necessary infrastructure and reading materials. It has been observed that many times, children who are not well cater for feel inferior among their peers. This may affect the performance of students, not only in academics but in other areas of life especially where they have to relate with their peers. On the other hand, parents who have large number of children often find it difficult to cater for their needs.

In another study conducted by ¹³ he discovered that the family size and birth order play a vital role in influencing the children’s educational attainment. This is because the parental “input” in terms of money, time and other resources invested in children decrease with size of the family. For instance, in a large or extended families the amount of time spent with each child is limited. It is believed that there is little control and child’s concentration in the large families but in small or nuclear families, they are much more concerned about educational achievement and welfare of the few children they have. The parents of the small families ask question from their children concerning their progress in the school, the subject they choose, their marks and what they will become in future but in large families, little attention is paid to all these.

The attitude, motivation and aspiration together with the support they give to their children determine the success of the children in the school and later in life. This is a potent factor in accounting for the variation in the academic performance of student in mathematics in our secondary schools nation – wide. Parental encouragement may at times be informed to ruthless and inflexible demand for achievement. This factor has been seen through various studies as being associate with student success or failure in schools, or interest as popularized by ^{3, 7, 16} in his “The Family Education and Society” are constancy in parent visit to school to access the performance of their children, the age at which the parent wish their children to start and finish their school career and the type of subject they wish their children offers plus the type of institution they wish them to attend.

2. Statement of the Problem

The researcher observed that many students in Nigeria basic schools are in greater risk of poor academic achievement in Mathematics both in internal and external examinations. Government, parents, teachers and students blame one another for students’ poor academic achievement or performance in Mathematics. Parents blame Mathematics teachers for lack of dedication to duties. The teacher blame government for poor salaries hence they are poorly motivated, parents also accuse government for not equipping the schools with learning materials, government blame parents for not doing good homework and students are blamed for lack of discipline and dedication to study of Mathematics. The researcher equally observed that students’ home background could be detrimental to their academic achievement in Mathematics. It is likely for children from most polygamous homes to have negative attitude towards their school activities as well as their teachers. Given this situation, level of their academic achievement in school is likely to fall short of the required standard.

The purpose of this study is to find out the influence of home background on the academic achievement of students in Mathematics. Also it investigates the influence of parental level of education and family size on academic achievement of students in Mathematics; and also examine the influence of the parental occupation and parental motivation on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics.

The following hypotheses were formulated

1. Is there any difference in the students’ performance of high and low socio-economic background in Mathematics?

2. Is there any difference in the performance of students from polygamous and monogamous family in Mathematics?.

3. Is there any difference in the students’ performance and age in Mathematics?

4. Is there any influence of parental occupation on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics?

The study adopted descriptive research design of the survey type and expost facto. The plan for this study is appropriate because it focuses on the perception of the existing situation. It helps us to have a systematic analysis of the present situation. The population for this study is made up of all basic school II students in Ado – Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State which is made up of thirteen secondary schools. The sample of this study consists of 100 students. 20 students were randomly selected in each of the secondary school. The instruments used for this study are self - constructed questionnaire and students’ scores received in Mathematics (end of the term examination). The instruments were trial – tested using 20 students outside the geographical scope of the study. The reliability co- efficient of 0.80 and 0.79 were obtained which was considered high enough. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t- test statistics, all at 0.05 level of significance.

The data collected were analyzed using frequency and percentage techniques for research questions and t-test analysis for the hypotheses. The findings are presented as follows:

Table 1 shows that 44_(44%) of the respondents are male while 56_(56%) are female. This implies that majority of the respondents are female.

Table 2 shows that 87_ (87%) of the respondents are from monogamous family while 13_ (13%) are from polygamous family. This implies that the majority of the respondents are from monogamous family.

Table 3 shows that 46_(46%) of the respondents are 1 – 4 family size, 41_(41%) are 5 – 8 and 3_(3%) are 9 and above. This implies that majority of the respondents belongs to 1 – 4 family size.

Table 4 shows that 9% of the respondents parental level of education are primary school leaving certificate, 7% are Junior secondary, 4% are SSCE, 19% are Teacher grade II/Technical college, 18%are NCE/OND, 15% are HND, 26% are B.Sc. while 2% are Ph.D. This implies that majority of the respondents parental level shows that they are educated.

Table 5 shows that 12(12%) of the respondents average monthly income of parents/guardian are #21,000 - #50,000, 62(62%) are #51,000 - #100,000 while 26(26%) are #100,000 and above. This implies that majority of the respondents average monthly income of parents/guardian was #51,000 - #100,000.

General Question 1; What is the difference in the students of Mathematics from high and low socio-economic background?

Table 6 shows that 44% of the respondents strongly agreed that children from high socio economic status parents achieve better in Mathematics than those from low socio-economic status, 48% agreed while 8% disagreed. Also, 36% strongly agreed that parents of high socio-economic status can afford to provide basic necessities for their children education, 58% agreed, 4% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed. 42% of the respondents also strongly agreed that students from high socio-economic background have higher career aspiration than those from low socio-economic background, 56% agreed while 2% disagreed. In the same vein, 34% strongly agreed that only parents who are on high income status can train their children beyond secondary school level, 32% also agreed while 24% disagreed and 10% also strongly disagreed.

General Question 2; What is the difference in Mathematics students from polygamous and monogamous family?

Table 7 shows that 38% of respondents strongly agreed that parents’ concern about students’ grades and performance motivate student academic achievement, 52% agreed, 8% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed. 50% also strongly agreed that students work harder when their parents reinforce them for good academic achievement, 38% agreed, 8% and 4% disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively. 36% strongly agreed that students feel happy and motivated when their parents discuss their academic career with them, 40% agreed, 18%disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed. 44% of the respondent strongly agreed that students who are not motivated perform well academically, 46% agree while 10% disagreed.

General Question 3; Do parental levels of education influence their children in Mathematics?

Table 8 shows that 38% of the respondent strongly agreed that educated parents always want their children to be educated, 50% agreed, 10% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed. 48% also strongly agreed that parents who are educated provide most recommended textbooks and other learning aids for their children, 38% agreed while 8% disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed. 32% of the respondents strongly agreed that in most home of educated parents there are conducive environment for leaning 52% agreed, 10% disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed. 32% of the respondents strongly agreed that educated parents arrange for supportive Mathematics teacher for their children, 53% agreed, 10% disagreed and 5% strongly disagreed. More so, 36% strongly agreed that parents who are educated always guide their children in school assignment, 58% also agreed while 6% disagreed. 46% strongly disagreed that educated parents always demand for progress report of their children to know the children academic and social progress, 48% agreed, 4%disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed.

General Question 4; Do students provided with necessary learning materials react better than those who are not provided?

Table 9 shows that 32% of respondents strongly agreed that students perform better academically when their parents provide basic educational aids and equipment for the studies, 42% agree, 20% disagreed and 6% strongly agreed. 38% of the respondents strongly agreed that home libraries and books motivate students for better performance in school, 36% agreed, 16% and 10% disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively. 38% also strongly agreed that students perform better academically when their school fees and other levies are paid promptly, 46% agreed, 10% disagreed while 6% strongly disagreed. 42% of the respondents also strongly agreed that parent motivates students by providing for them their daily needs, 380% also agreed while 18% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed.

General Question 5; Do parental occupations have influence on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics?

Table 10 shows that 48% of the respondents strongly agreed that children from upper – working class homes perform better academically than those from lower – working class homes, 30% also agreed while 18% disagreed and 4% strongly disagreed. 38% also strongly agreed that parents on prestigious occupation want their children to take up the same the same type of occupation, 60% agreed, but 2% disagreed. 72% of the respondents also strongly agreed that parents on poor occupations find it difficult to provide learning aids for their children, 23% agreed while 4% and 1% disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively. More so, 27% strongly agreed that some occupation do not give parent time to attend to their children academic needs, 70% agreed while 1% disagreed and also strongly disagreed.

General Question 6; Do family size influences students’ disposition in Mathematics?

Table 11 shows that 38% of the respondents strongly agreed that students from small size families enjoy more parental attention than those from large size families, 48% agreed, 12% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed. 64% also strongly agreed that students from small size families achieve better academically than those from large families, 25% agreed while 11% disagreed. 21% of the respondent strongly agreed that small size families facilitate the provision of recommended textbooks and equipment for effective learning, 66% agreed, 8% disagreed and 5% strongly disagreed.

Research Question 1. Is there any difference in the students’ performance of high and low socio-economic background in Mathematics?

Table 12 shows that the t - cal of 9.43 is greater than the t – tab of 1.980 at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, there is significant difference in the family type and academic performance of students in Mathematics. This implies that polygamous and monogamous homes may influence the academic performance of students in mathematics.

Research Question 2. Is there any influence of parental occupation on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics?

Table 13 indicates that the t-cal of 2.28 is greater than the t-tab of 1.980 at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, there is significant difference in parent salary and performance in Mathematics. This implies that parental occupation determines their income; this could as well influence their children academic performance in mathematics.

Research Question 3.Is there any difference in the students’ performance and their age when expose to Mathematics?

Table 14 shows that the t-cal of 0.27 is less than the t-tab of 1.980 at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, there is no significant difference between age and academic performance of students in Mathematics. This implies that age is not a barrier to academic performance in mathematics regardless of the socio economic background..

Research Question 4; Is there any difference in the performance of students in Mathematics and their high and low socio-economic background

Table 15 shows that t-cal of 3.91 is greater than the t-tab of 1.980 at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, there is significant difference between the performances of students in Mathematics from high and low socio- economic background. Therefore, the socio economic background of the students influences their academic performance in mathematics.

The findings revealed that there is significant difference in the family type and academic performance of students in Mathematics. It also shows that there is significant difference in parent salary and performance in Mathematics. The finding corroborate with ^{8, 10, 17} who discovered that family type affects academic performance of children. He noted that children who come from small families are more likely to adopt adult values and attitudes than those who came from larger families.

Also, the findings showed that there is significant difference between the performances of students in Mathematics from high and low socio-economic background. This is in line with, ^{15, 18} who stated that socio – economic has significant effects on educational achievements that contain test scores and continue to affect the child throughout their adulthood. Also, ^{4, 11, 16, 19} supported that family characteristic that is the most influential predictor of school performance is socio- economic status; the higher the socio-economic status of student’s family, the higher his academic achievement”.

The study further revealed that the parental level of education influence students’ academic achievement in Mathematics. The result shows that educated parents always want their children to be educated, by providing most of the recommended textbooks and other learning aids for their children, always guide their children in school assignment and always demand for progress report of their children to know the children academic and social progress. This is in line with ^{8, 15, 18, 20} who found that educated parents provide adequate learning/materials for their children, which stimulate them to learn and perform better in all subjects. These parents are concerned over their children’s education/ performance, which sometimes make them coach their children themselves or appoint part time teachers for them. They send their children to the best nursery and primary schools which serves as sure gateways to secondary and university education which in turn leads to higher educational qualification to occupy higher positions in societies.

The study investigated the influence of home background on the academic achievement of students in Mathematics. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that family background factor influence academic achievement of students in schools. Prominent among the family factors include parental education level, parental income and parental motivation. Educational statuses of the parents and students’ academic achievement have a close relationship between them. This is because parents themselves have realized the importance of mathematics.. They stand better chance to support their children for better academic achievement. On parental motivation, it was found that students who received encouragement and motivation from the family perform better in school than their counterparts from non -encouraging families. The major reasons for the observed differences in performance are the motivation and the positive attitude of the parents towards their children’s academic progress.

Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that students should give serious attention to their studies at home, in addition to other various works done, since the amount of effort they put in their studies influence academic achievement. Parents should create a conducive learning atmosphere for their wards, such as providing like study space, adequate lighting and time for children to engage in academic activities. The entire home should be stimulating such that children would naturally develop an undying interest for Mathematics. Parents should take more interest in the various aspect of their children education especially Mathematics. This can be achieved if they collect more information about their children and seek adequate guidance about the subjects they take in the school. This is necessary because student impression of what their parents think is likely to be particularly relevant for their academic attainment. Also it is recommended that parents should diversify their sources of income so that they can be able to provide funds for their wards in school for better academic achievement. Also, education materials like journals, text books, and mathematics laboratory equipment among others should be provided in order to improve students’ performances.

Acknowledgements

I thank all the undergraduate and postgraduate students under my supervision in 2016/17 session for their participatory role in ensuring that the instruments were administered and collected painstakingly.

References