INFLUENCE OF PARENTS' SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN BIOLOGY

1.1 Introduction

Parenting practices, methods of discipline and responses to their children vary widely between parents from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The aforementioned disparities do not manifest uniformly in every family, but rather they impact the typical inclinations of families belonging to distinct vocational categories (Rothestein, 2004). The study of life and the structure of living organisms is called biology. Biology is the study of living things; it looks at an organism's structure, conduct, origin, distribution, and interactions with its surroundings (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 2009). Academic attainment serves as a proxy for how well students succeed in various courses. When a student, teacher, or organisation has achieved their learning goals, it is the outcome of their education (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, 2011).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of terms.

1.2 Background of Study

Over the years, education is regarded as the most valuable gift a country can offer its people, especially its young people. Since children are ultimately in charge of any country's or society's development. The purpose of education is to develop a well-rounded individual who can engage with society and adjust to it. Therefore, in addition to providing the individual with subject matter knowledge, education may be characterized as having the effect of bringing about changes in the individual's personality, including attitudes, interests, ideas, ways of thinking, work habits, and social and personal adaptation.

The education of a child starts at very young stage in the family. The parents are the first teachers of a child. This education is called informal education. The education plays the role of an instrument of social change which is imparted to the children initially in the home environment. It is vital to keep in mind that a parent's socioeconomic situation has a significant impact on their child's academic achievement and social behaviour. The disparity in performance and the recent negative trend in biology students' performance in secondary schools are now major concerns for parents, legislators, and school administrators.

The widening gaps and depressing academic results of Ikeduru local government area's kids in Imo state have raised major questions about the socioeconomic factors influencing students' academic performance in the classroom. Even if there are other variables, such genetic effect, the school environment, the government, and education policy, there are societal aspects that might improve children's academic performance. Nonetheless, the most important element influencing secondary school students' motivation and expectations for academic achievement is their parents' attitude towards their education. People are categorized in every community based on the social classes to which they belong. They can be categorized based on their level of intelligence, money, status, power, and poverty.

Danladi (2005) asserts that society is divided into rich and poor groups. While some students come from wealthy families, others come from impoverished backgrounds, and regardless of which group a student comes from, their social class usually determines and influences both their behaviour and academic achievement in secondary schools.

The issue that arises as a result of this subpar academic performance on school exams like the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO). Parents, the government, political parties, and other education stakeholders are facing severe challenges as a result of this trend. According to PISA (Programme Internal Student Assessment) (2000), a student's home background affects their academic performance and schoolwork, while their socioeconomic position supports the interactions and interactions between instructors and students.

The aforementioned suggests that a child's functional survival and academic demands are met in a timely and satisfactory manner, and that the quality of parents and students' home environments have a significant impact on predicting these outcomes. Children who experience severe deprivation of their social and economic requirements combined with inadequate parental attention typically do poorly academically.

In a similar vein, a student's outstanding academic achievement may be enhanced by excellent parenting coupled with a stable financial base. When a child receives appropriate counselling to fit his or her course and career to their mental aptitude, interest, and capability, this further predicts academic achievement. On the other hand, children raised by uneducated women would wind up working as street vendors to make ends meet.

The decision to base this research's issue on the apparent reduction in biology students' academic performance over the previous few years is to ascertain how parents' socioeconomic situation affects their children's high school academic achievement.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Influence of Parents' Socio-economic Status on Academic Performance of Students in Biology Among Senior Secondary School Students.

1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that a significant portion of secondary school pupils continue to do badly in biology exams, according to data from testing organisations like WAEC, NECO, and JAMB. All parties involved in education have been concerned about this. There seems to be a relationship between parents' socioeconomic level and their children's success in secondary education.

It is speculated, nonetheless, that a family's socioeconomic standing affects a student's academic achievement. Scholars contend that a student's academic performance is impacted by their family's disparate socioeconomic condition. But one cannot draw the inference that students from wealthy homes always perform better academically than kids from low-income households.

In light of this, the researcher has chosen to investigate how parents' socioeconomic condition affects their children's academic performance in biology classes in secondary schools in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to determine the Influence of Parents' Socio-economic Status on Academic Performance of Students in Biology among Senior Secondary School Students. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To find the effect of socio-economic status of biology students on their academic performance in the study area;
2. To determine the extent to which parental occupation affect the academic performance of biology student;
3. To examine the impact of parents educational background on biology student academic performance in the study area;
4. To ascertain whether the socio-economic status of parents influence the academic achievement of biology students; and
5. To suggest solution to impact of socio-economic background on students academic performance in the area under review.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there any effect of socio-economic status of biology students on their academic performance in the study area?
• Does parental occupation affect the academic performance of biology student?
• Does the socio-economic status of parents influence the academic achievement of biology students?
• What is the impact of parent's educational background on biology student academic performance in the study area?
• What are the possible solutions to the impact of socio-economic background on student's academic performance in the area under review?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H₀1: There is no significance relationship between parent's educational attainment and students' academic performance.
• H₀2: Parent's income does not significantly affect their students' academic performance in secondary school.
• H₀3: Parent's social status does not significantly affect the academic performance of their students in secondary schools.

1.7 Significance of Study

The outcome of this research will be of immense benefit to Students by enabling them learn about the varied effects of socioeconomic status on biology students' academic performance through the research project. The study's conclusions will assist parents in realizing the need of providing their school-age children with appropriate parental care.

Furthermore, the results will assist school officials modify their schedule and will instruct instructors on how to support youngsters whose parents may not have the same background.

The study also sought to identify strategies for closing the academic achievement gap between wealthy and impoverished households, allowing children of both parents to attain excellent academic standing regardless of their upbringing.

1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Influence of Parents' Socio-economic Status on Academic Performance of Students in Biology among Senior Secondary School Students using Some selected Secondary Schools in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State as a case study.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, there were some problems encountered which stood as limitations to the research work. Some of the limitations include:

1. Time Constraint:The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research Material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
4. Initial Cooperation Delay from Respondents: A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.

1.10 Definition of Terms

Biology:

It is defined as the study of life and structure of living things. Biology is the study of living things and concerns itself with the study of the structural, behaviour, distribution, the origin of plants, and animals and their relationship with their environment (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 2009).

Academic Achievement:

It is the level of performance in school subjects as exhibited by an individual. Biology: is described as a science of life and plays a vital role in the life of every human being.

Secondary School:

It is a place where students usually at the age of 18 and below go to learn and can also be referred to as High school.

Student:

It is a person who goes to acquire knowledge in a school.

Impact:

This is something that is produce by a cause or the result of an action. It is also a change that is as a result or consequence of an action or other causes either natural or artificial phenomenon.

Status:

It is a person's legal, social rank or wealth in the society.

Socio-economic:

It is the combination of social and economic factors that determine income and social position and also measure ones status.