FAMILY FACTORS AS CORRELATES OF INTERESTAND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated family factors as correlates of interest and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in English language in South-East Nigeria. The need for the study arose because of the fluctuations in public senior secondary school students’ achievement in English language in external examinations in the area. Twelve research questions and twelve null hypotheses guided the study. Correlational survey research design was used in the study. The population of the study comprised of 30, 820 male and female SS2 students, in which 385 were  drawn using  multistage  sampling  technique.  Family  Factors  Inventory (FFI),  English Language Interest  Inventory (ELII)  and English Language  Achievement  Test  (ELAT) were designed by the researcher and used for data collection. These instruments were validated by five experts. Two in Sociology of Education, one from Language Education and another two from Measurement and Evaluation; all from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The instruments (FFI and ELII) yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.88 and 0.72 respectively using Cronbach Alpha co- efficient, whereas, Kudar – Richardson (K-R20) formula was used for ELAT and gave reliability co-efficient of 0.76. The data were analyzed using Pearson (r) and Spearman (rho) correlation coefficient for the research questions, while, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the 12 null hypotheses at 0.0 5 level of significance. The study found among other thing that parental style of upbringing has moderate but negative relationship on students’ interest, parental style of upbringing revealed high and positive relationship on students’ academic achievement, parental standard of living showed positive but low relationship on students’ interest, while their academic achievement indicated a positive and high relationship with parental standard of living. Furthermore, family type, parents educational status, parents occupation, and family size have high  and  positive,  high  but  negative,  low  and  positive,  low  and  negative  relationships respectively with interest and academic achievement of students’ in English language in the area. The findings were discussed exhaustively and conclusion made. Based on the findings, recommendations and suggestion for further studies were also made.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Family is one of the social institutions in the society and the basic unit  for raising children. A family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage), or co residence and shared consumption (Bell, 2011).  Family represents people living together by ties of marriage, blood or adoption, as a single household in a particular society (Herman, 2011). Family therefore, refers to a social institution where responsibility is based on procreation and the protection of her offspring to be useful members of the society. A family as  society´s smallest unit and has many types and forms or structure. Family is described in the context of this study as a social institution between people who are living together by ties of marriage and share things together. This implies that family brings together two different people, culture and of social class into one commonalities and understanding.

Families are classified based on their types which depend on various parameters. For instance in the context of sociology, families are been classified based on world norms (Olivia,

2013). Similarly, according to Anderson (2013), the three main types of family are classified on the basis of size or structure and the depth of generations which includes nuclear, single parent and extended families. Anderson explained that nuclear family is made up of parents (husband and wife) and one or more  children living together whereas a single-parent family is one where there is one parent and one or more children. Corroborating the statement, Hillary (2013) asserts that this single parent may be as a result of divorce, separation, out of wedlock, or widowhood. On the other hand, extended families or joint family is where parents and children co-reside with

other members of one parent’s family. In other words extended families refer to ‘kindreds’ (an

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egocentric network of relatives that extend beyond the domestic group) who do not belong to the nuclear family.  Still on classification of families according to types and forms, Munachi (2013) opined  that  family  can  be  classified  on  the  basis  of  marriage  which  includes  polygamy (polygyny, polyandry, polyamory) and monogamous families.  Polygamy is a form of marriage that occurs when a man marries more than one wife. Polyandry occurs when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time while, polyamory is a marriage which involves multiple husbands and wives. However, monogamy is a form of marriage in which an individual has only one (official or legally known) partner during their lifetime. Essien (2013) yet classified family into two main forms, namely:  Matrifocal and patrifocal families.

Matrifocal family exists where only the mother and children predominate in the family. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves. Children of the matrifocal families not minding the enormous resources of the mother, has no emotional attachment to fatherhood. On the other hand, in patrifocal family, only the father and children predominate in the family and as such, the children have no emotional attachment  to  motherhood. In  sociology,  particularly  in  the  works  of social  psychologists, Munachi (2013) added that there are traditional and non-traditional families. According to the author, traditional family is one which refers to “a middleclass family with a bread-winning father and a stay-at-home mother, married to each other and raising their biological children” (p.10)  and  nontraditional to  exceptions from this  rule.  In this  study therefore,  a  family  is classified into nuclear, single parents and extended family.

A family whether  in the  modern or traditional society has social responsibilities of ensuring proper or functional upbringing of their offspring. In most societies, the family is the

principal institution for enculturation and socialization of children. As a unit of socialization, the family is the object of analysis for anthropologists and sociologists (Smith, 2013). According to MacFarlane (2012), the basic function of the family include: Socialization of children, economic cooperation and division of labour, care,  supervision, monitoring and interaction, legitimizing sexual relations, reproduction, provision of status, affection, emotional support and companionship. Family  has  the  responsibility to  support  the  children  in  all  ramifications  to  be  functional members of the society (Nan, 2013). This simply means that apart from producing children, the function of the family also include the training of the children to be useful members of the society. The family is basically concerned in molding the behavioural pattern of their children for successful adaptation both at  home and in school. By implication, the nature of family determines the usefulness and success of their children at home and in school which psychologist like Piaget (1956) observed is based on family factors which centered on nature and nurture.

Family factors are those factors (things) that determine a child’s physical, mental, social and emotional development in the family. Similarly, Eze (2012) observed that family factors refer to those factors that are innate or which a particular family is known for which have an effect in the activities of their children. In support of the above view, Stephen (2013) explained that families factors encompasses those biological and environmental influence which families are exposed to which in turn affect the families and their offspring. Family factors in this context refers to those physical, mental, social and emotional development which children obtain from their homes or parents’ and or the environment which have great impact on their interest, ability to perform a task, determination in life and level of their academic achievement in school. Family factors therefore include parental style of upbringing, parental standard of living (level of

income), family type, parental education status, parents’ occupation and family size, among others.

Parental style of upbringing is a  psychological construct representing standard strategies that parents use in their children upbringing. It is the representation of how parents care and respond to the demands of their children (Akinbola, 2012). According to Okafor (2012), parental style  of upbringing  refers  to  a  complex set  of  behaviours and  attitudes  by  which  parents demonstrate and communicate the  values,  behaviours, and  standards that  their  children are expected to adopt. The parenting style of upbringing may be democratic, autocratic or laissez- faire in nature (Adekeyi, 2012).  In a democratic style of upbringing, parents allow children to make their own decisions and give them advice as friends. This type of parenting is very lax, with few punishments or rules. Parents tend to give their children whatever they want and hope that their children will appreciate them for their accommodating style (Martin, 2013). In support of the above, Martin and Dowdall (2012) opined that such children never learn to control their own behaviour and always expect to get their way. As noted by Jacobs (2013), children found in this type of upbringing are emotionally secure, independent and are always willing to learn and accept defeat. This however, is in contrast with the autocratic style of parenting.

Autocratic parenting style is characterized by child-centered approach that holds high expectations  of  maturity.  It  is  characterized  by  parents  who  are  caring  and  warm,  make appropriate demands of the child and execute reasonable punishments for violations of rules (Jacobs, 2013). Parents encourage children to be independent but still place limits on their actions. The parents also set clear standards for their children, monitor the limits that they set, and also allow their children to develop  autonomy. Parents also expect mature, independent, and

age-appropriate  behavior  of  children.  Punishments  for  misbehaviour  are   measured  and

consistent, not arbitrary or violent. Often, they also tend to give more positive encouragement at

the right places. Therefore, parents produce children who are more independent and self-reliant

(Jacobs, 2013).

Laissez-faire parental style  of upbringing  is  neither  demanding  nor  responsive. The parents are low in warmth and control, generally not involved in their child’s life. Parents in this type of parenting style are disengaged, undemanding, low in responsiveness, and usually do not set  limits  (Prisbell,  2013).  Parents  can  also  dismiss  the  children’s  emotions  and  opinions, although they provide the basic needs for the children. It can stem from various reasons to include: Parents prioritizing themselves, lack of encouragement on the part of parents, financial stress,  lack  of  support  and  addiction  to  harmful substances,  among  others.  Based  on  the discussion, the best parental style is one that will give children the opportunity of knowing the traditions, customs, values and attitude of the society. Hence, the children will have sense of belonging and conducive learning environment created. Corroborating the idea, Olivia (2013) assert  that children who  are brought up well easily realize their potentials as older  family members and friends take time to protect and nurture them into their cultural and societal roles, which  makes  them  functional  or  active  members  of  their  society.  However,  this  can  be determined by the standard of living of parents.

Parental standard of living is another crucial factor in the training of children. Parental standard of living refers to the level parents are operating economically and financially. According to Bala (2012), parental standard of living refers to the umbrella nomenclature for all the indices that places one on a better or worst economic and social condition in the society. Furthermore, Alromongh (2013) assert that parental standard of living tends to spell the relative

comfort of any individual based on the societal rating. Parents may be operating at  higher standard of living, average standard or low standard of living. In support of the above, Eddy (2012) explained that parents who belong to higher class are financially empowered and enlightened towards the principles and practices of education in the sense that they provide all the necessary learning materials required for their children both at home and in school. Parents of average home are equally financially empowered and have the opportunity to provide learning material for their children, while parents of low class of living find it difficult  providing learning materials for their children due to financial challenges. Economic support is the most important and common function of today’s family. Parental level of income plays a very important role in the growth and development of a child. As schools play an important role in the intellectual development of children, adequate provision of learning facilities or lack of them from parents’ may facilitate or hinder learning.  Ugwu (2010) opined that  most of the students from rich  and average families despite the fact that their parents supply their school need, may or may not have interest  in education and  may equally lack good behaviour. In support of the above view, Onyema (2012)  assert that those from lower level of living may strive through their education due to natural endowment and at the same time may not be successful in their academics due to lack of learning materials, and can be affected by students family type.

Family type refers to the status a child is ascribed at birth and this plays a major role in a child’s life.  It can also be described as the family state of birth of a child (Eric, 2010). Anderson (2013) opined that the three main types of family are classified on the basis of size or structure and the depth of generations which includes; nuclear, single parent and  extended families. Nuclear family is a family that consists of father, mother and their children. Guthrie (2013) opined that a child born into a nuclear family may have more opportunity to imbibe both

ethnic, cultural, religious and economic gain and this count for both physical and emotional stability of that child. Such child may receive more attention and co-operation towards his or her education; hence, there is  less conflict at  homes. Panas (2013) explained that single-parent family is one where there is one parent and one or more children. Single parent may be as a result of divorce, separation, out of wedlock, or widowhood. Stephen (2013) states that extended family are where parents and children co-reside with relatives. Stephen further explained that in this type of family, they may have divided attention as conflicts arise most of the times in their home. Furthermore, Marvick (2012) was of the view that the type of family a child is born into would  help  shape  to  some  degree,  the  way  the  child  grows,  socializes  and  the  level  of involvement in certain roles in the society as well as their academic activities in particular. So, from the above discussion, it seems that students involvement in academic activities can be attributed their to parents educational level.

Parental educational status refers to the academic attainment and other trainings acquired by parents. It is the ability or inability of the parents to acquire education (Isaac, 2012). In the view of Larry (2012), parental educational status means the level at which a parent has attained educationally. In support of the above, Kenla (2012) assert that parental educational status is classified according to academic qualification starting from doctorate level, masters level, degree holder, NCE, holder, WAEC holder, first school leaving certificate and illiterate. Mark (2012) classified parental educational status as literate and illiterate which is in support of (Isaac, 2012). The present study will focus on Mark’s classification of parental educational status which is literate and illiterate. According to Olivia (2013), literate parents are educated and may have high expectations and view education of their children to be very important. Roselyn (2013) asserts that literate parents may provide all the educative materials needed by children in school and

may as well guide and supervise their children’s book which will in turn influence their intellectual base. Thus the children may tend to improve in their self-zeal in achieving their carrier, hence, meeting up with the expectation of the family. Nan (2013) explained that illiterate parents are associated with higher prevalence of indicators of an unhealthy lifestyle and may not have high expectation for their children, thus may or may not provide the need or necessary educational materials for their children. Buthers (2012) also argued that some children from illiterate parents do achieve better than those from literate parents due to natural endowment and proper upbringing, which can be determined by the occupation of parents. Based on the above discussion, it can be said that parental educational status determines the family expectations of their children and to a great extent the academic achievement of students in the school.

Parental occupation refers to what parents do in life for their economic survival. Okafor (2012) also described it as what parents do to earn their living. Okoye (2013) defined parental occupation as the job parents do which is  parental characteristic that predicts their success and status attainment and that of their children.  In the opinion of Nan (2013), parental occupation is the daily engagement of parents to make ends meet. Nan further classified parental occupation thus business men and women, civil servants, farmers and politicians. Sam (2013) explained that students whose parents are civil servants like teachers or lecturers may be more interested in education; hence their parents tend to provide their learning needs and thus, they may perform well academically. This may be attributed to the fact that they want to assume the same or similar occupations like their parents’ when they grow up. Some students whose parents are business men and women, politicians and farmers may have little or  no interest in education and tend to be inactive, hence, their academic achievement may be affected (Brandy, 2013). The children might not be doing well in academics due to the fact that they are emulating their

parents having the desire to make fast money and have more fun. Larry (2012) argued that some children whose parents are into teaching do dray in academic line while some students whose parents are into business and politics do make it academically. But notwithstanding, students academic achievement can as be affected by the size of students family.

Family size can be described as the number of children in a giving family. Chima (2008) referred to it as the number of children that make up a family. Udensi (2013) described family size as a family trait which has significant effect on the interrelationship among its members and can play a major role in the formation of a child’s personality. Udensi asserts that a family may be small or large in size. Okafor (2012) agreeing, said that a small family size contains small number of children or even one child, while a large family size is made up of many children. The author noted that the size of the family goes a long way in determining the type of care the child or children would receive and their academic interest and achievement. Okafor further explained that children from small family size receives more attention, thus their needs especially school needs are provided with ease and they tend to have high intelligent quotients (IQs) and interest hence, are successful academically.

Interest is one of the non-cognitive traits in teaching and learning. It has strong effect on students learning. Interest in English language entails the positive desire developed by students towards learning of the subject. Interest refers to a focus on the needs or desires of oneself. Eitzen (2012) described it as the inner drive which individual has in performing a given task or taking a  certain decision at  a particular time.  Bell (2011) refers interest to  an individual’s relatively enduring psychological predisposition (preference) to re-engage in particular classes of objects, events, or ideas over time and is content specific.  Derek (2013) defined interest as a motivational force that involves the focused allocation of extra attention, leading to deeper

processing, better comprehension and  longer recall.  Derek further stated that  interest is an enduring characteristics expressed by a relationship between a person and a particular activity. Thesaurus (2013), asserts that interest refers to self-expressed activity as the learners interest is the key to learning.   This desire to learn is often triggered-off by teacher characteristics or qualities, through his or her positive attitude to students leaning. In this study therefore, interest refers to a psychological construct in a learner that attracts and force or compel him or her to respond  to  a  particular  learning  task.  Students  interest  may  be  high  or  low  towards their academics (Larry, 2012). Students with high interest in learning, especially, English language have important motivational constructs that influence their interest and achievement in learning. Students with low interest generally avoid tasks and this significantly discourages knowledge acquisition, growth and skill development of individuals (Jabirus, 2002). But when students optimum level of interest is slightly above ability; in this situation, they are most encouraged to tackle challenging tasks and gain experience (Magnuson, 2007) as they are been motivated to learn.

The motivation of people in any milieu could be influenced by high interest one builds to accomplish a given task. Generally speaking, students or learners with high level of motivation seem to make efforts to complete a task, and to persist longer in those efforts, than those with low sense of motivation (Churchill, 2009). The level of motivation a learner has depends on the type of family the child comes from. It is important to note that students motivation in a subject determines how well the child will perform in such subject. By implication, the interest and level of motivation of a student will determine the child’s academic achievement in that subject.

Achievement refers to the educational goal attained by a student in a giving instruction within a specific period.  According to Ugwuda (2008), it is defined as a measure of learners

level of knowledge, skills or preferences. Academic achievement refers to the educational goal or feat attained by an individual, groups or organization at a specific time or period.  Academic achievement is the outcome of education which is expressed as the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals (Manison, 2012).   This means that academic achievement can be defined as knowledge attaining ability or degree of competence in school tasks usually measured by standardized tests and expressed in grade or units based on students’ performance. Academic achievement as it concerns students’ is commonly measured by examinations, projects, assignments and continuous assessment. Achievement in academic circle is used to measure the performance of the students in terms of the easier or the difficulty of what is learnt by the learner (Steinberger, 2012).  Academic achievement in the context of this study refers to the relative success of the students in cumulative class work and examination which is predicated by the evaluation result used by the teacher to measure the progress rate of the learners or the examination body concerned especially in senior secondary school education.

Secondary education refers to the education which is provided to children that graduated from the primary level of education. Students found here are in most cases between the ages of

11 and 18 years and are been operated in two levels (that is, junior and senior secondary). The objective of secondary education is to provide the learner with opportunities to acquire necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes for the development of self and the nation. Similarly, it is meant to  foster  social cohesion, career building, promote  innovation,  enhance  moral  and  religious values, national development,  talent formation  and environmental awareness.  Consequently,  it inspires students with a desire for self improvement and achievement of excellence, among others (Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), 2004, p. 18). Therefore, in this study, secondary education is a type of education which prepares learners to transit to higher levels of education.

That is, it is after secondary education that one can proceed to higher institutions like university or other colleges. Many subjects are offered in secondary schools, among which is English language which is taught as one of the core subjects in secondary schools in Nigeria. Those subjects are taught with various languages.

Language refers to a veritable tool for manpower development. It  can be seen as a medium of instruction – teaching and learning. It is a tool used in communicating ideas, concepts and  policies of the  government to  the  people.  In a  similar  vein,  Olalere  (2015)  described language as medium of instruction. Thus, the quality of instruction and educational service delivery depends hugely on the efficacy of the medium of communication employed in training the requisite manpower. This implies that the strength and viability of any society’s language and usage; will help in determining the quality of manpower. Therefore, language can be described in this study as an effective means of communicating ideas, concepts and values to students for national development and cohesion. Consequently, languages in Nigeria, whether national or indigenous are used in instructing learners (both at home and school), and meant to uniting the nation; among these is English language. It is one of the subjects that every student must credit in other to gain admission into any school of higher learning in the country.

English language enjoys an appreciably high status in Nigeria. It is the official language, the language of law, government, education and international communication (Adeyemi, 2012). It is an important subject in the school curriculum at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education in Nigeria. According to Oyetunde (2014), English language has the “much deserved” attention and is allotted enough time in the school time table. It serves as the main yard stick for measuring literacy and even determining when the standard of education is rising or falling. From the foregoing, one will understand that the importance of English language on secondary

school students interest and academic achievement cannot be over emphasized. Studies (Ugwu,

2012) revealed that students from high socio-economic status indicated high interest in academic achievement. Tella (2012) also  revealed that  students interest in schooling for self-efficacy relates to their interest. On the same line, the experience of the researcher shows that parents’ in south east Nigeria have special interest and passion for education; care, support, and are ready to make sacrifices for their children’s needs and welfare, especially as it concern their education. Similarly, the South east has many public secondary schools where students’ offer English language as a compulsory subject. It is unfortunate that the researcher’s casual observation in some secondary schools in south-east Nigeria reveals that many senior secondary students are performing poorly in English language. The researcher observed that some students find it very difficult to express themselves in English. Similarly, the researcher also observed that many senior  secondary school students that  sat  for West  African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) for 3 years, that is 2011-2014 performed poorly. The poor performance of students was also corroborated by reports from the West African Examination Council Chief Examiners summary and Report for the years (WAEC, 2011-2014). This however, was also evidenced by the researcher’s visit to WAEC office in Abuja. Some of the reasons for this poor performance (low students achievement in English language) could be due to students poor knowledge of the subject from the basic level, disobedience of the rubrics, misinterpretation of the questions, inability to  legibly express their  ideas on the  answer sheet, teachers poor coverage of the syllabus, poor writing skills, among other things (WAEC, 2012-2014). Furthermore, some could also be attributed to teacher variables, like: Shortage of dedicated and qualified teachers, poor school facilities and infrastructures, poor students manipulative skills and inability to communicate very well in English language, use of poor or ineffective instructional strategies

(Ochiaja, 2015). Similarly, other variables that could account for students poor performance include: Family type and size, parental style of upbringing, parental level of education, their occupation and economic status, students level of interest and motivation, among other factors (Alade, Nwadingwe & Igbinosa, 2014; WAEC, 2007). So, these issues need to be explored to close the gaps and need for the study.

Sequel to this situation, the researcher’s interest was aroused to investigate whether poor performances of senior secondary students could be attributed to family factors. In view of the above, the researcher considered it necessary to investigate the influence of family factors and its relationship with students interest and academic achievement and contribute to the academic debate  on  the  influence  of  family  factors  on  students  interest  and  achievement  in  senior secondary school English language. Therefore, it is from the fore-going, that the study sought to investigate family factors as correlates of interest and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in English language in south-east Nigeria, with a view to close gaps on family factors, students interest, motivation and achievement in English language in the educational discourse.

Statement of the Problem

Students academic achievements in secondary school subjects has been of keen interest to the government, researchers, educationists and parents alike, especially in English language. English language as one of the secondary school subjects has the “much deserved” attention as it serves as  the  main  yardstick  for  measuring  literacy and  even  determining the  standard of education in Nigeria. The subject also serves as a passport to educational advancement and as a school subject. Similarly, it serves as one of the major requirements for entrance into higher schools of learning. The subject occupies an important position in the school curriculum and

therefore, is allotted enough time in the school time table and equally enjoys the premier position of  being a compulsory subject in  the  West African School Certificate Examination  (WASCE). The government on other hand, is trying to ensure adequate supply of instructional materials for effective content delivery. Nevertheless, students result in English language continues to be poor. This was confirmed from three year WAEC Examination results collected from the office of the examination body at Abuja. The results from 2011-2014 revealed that many of the students performed poorly in English language.

The poor students performance and lack of interest in the subject could be as a result of family factors such as; autocratic style which parents adopt in training their children. Parents place limits on them, set clear standards, monitor its limit and execute reasonable punishment for violation of rules. This style does not allow the children to make their own decision and opinion concerning their education and these affects their interest and performance in school. Similarly, parents that adopt laissez-faire style are low in warmth and control, disengaged, undemanding, low in responsiveness, and these dismiss their childrens emotion, support and cooperation, and as well hinder their performances in school. Furthermore, parents with low economic status may find it difficult to supply their children with all then learning materials which they need. These economic challenges are also faced by students from family size, and they often face crisis because of these.

This deteriorating condition in the performances of students in the subject calls for urgent intervention, since some of the English language teachers in the schools visited in South east revealed that they use the government approved curriculum and textbooks in the teaching and learning of English Language. The researcher is therefore not clear on what could be the cause of the poor performance of secondary school students in the subject. This problem stirred up the

interest of the researcher to embark on the study, in other to provide solutions to the problem and sought to fill these gaps. Therefore, the main problem of this study was to investigate the family factors as correlates of interest and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in English language in south-east Nigeria. Hence, prompting the need for this study to ascertain whether students poor performances in English language could be attributed to family factors. Purpose of the Study

The  main  purpose of this  study was to  determine the  relationship  between family  factors, interest, and academic achievement of senior secondary school students in English language in South-East, Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to determine the:

1.  Relationship between parental style of upbringing and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

2.  Relationship   between   parental   style   of   upbringing   and   students’   academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

3.  Relationship between parental standard of living and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

4.  Relationship between parental standard of living and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

5.  Relationship between family type and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

6.  Relationship between family type and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

7.  Relationship between parental educational status and students’ interest    in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

8.  Relationship between parental educational status and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

9.  Relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

10. Relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ academic achievement in

English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

11. Relationship between family sizes and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

12. Relationship between family sizes and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria.

Significance of the Study

The study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, the study was anchored on Bandura’s interest theory (1986) and Morgan’s evolution theory (1877). The former theory  (Bandura)  emphasized  that  there  is  a  relationship  between  individual  (students) behaviours, zeal to engage in learning activities, environmental and cognitive factors as they affect students knowledge acquisition; while the later (Morgan) stressed on the place of the home as an image to effective children growth and learning. The theory also portrays the role of parents in bringing up their children, and its influence on students learning outcomes. The theoretical significance of the findings of the study gave credence to the tenets of the theory.

Practically, the findings of this study, if properly disseminated through publications, seminars,  workshops,  in-service  training  of  teachers  and  symposia  will  provide  useful information  to  parents,  educational  sociologists,  educational  psychologists,  school administrators, teachers, students and government (policy makers), among others.

The  findings  of the  study would  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  parents.  The  study uncovered some family factors that affect students interest and academic achievement in schools. The findings of the study will inform parents on the measures to take in other to ensure that interest and better academic achievement of their children is upheld. This will be done by addressing  parents  during  parents-teachers  association  meeting  in  schools  and  open  day exercises.

Educational  sociologists  would  benefit  through  the  recommendations  made  on  the findings of the study. The findings may enable the educational sociologists to have an in-depth knowledge in the sociological implications of students achievement in relation to family factors. This will be done by organizing workshop and seminars for educational sociologists.

To the educational psychologists, the findings of the study would help to acquaint them with information on family factors that affects student interest and academic achievements in schools. With the information, the psychologists can render helps to student by educating them on how to overcome such effects that would emanate from family factors during open day exercise (such as moral instruction, school assemblies) and other gathering with students. The mentioned beneficiaries would also benefit from the study when the work is published, and used during  workshops and  so  on.  All  these  would  be  achieved  by  publishing  the  findings  in professional journals used in seminars.

To the school administrators, the findings of the study revealed such family factors that affect  the  students  interest  and  academic achievement.  From the  information gathered, the administrators can address parents on such factors that  hinder students progress in schools especially in English language. The administrator would get to know about the findings through seminars, workshops and training.

The teachers also would benefit from the findings of this study. The finding would help teachers become aware of such factors that affect their student’s interest and academic achievements. It will help them advice students who are performing poorly in schools as well as advice parents. This information will get to teachers during workshop, seminars and symposia.

The students would benefit  from the  findings of the study. The  findings will make students to become aware as such family factors from home that can affect their interest and academic achievement in school. This information will help them adjust when they meet such situations. The  information will  be  disseminated during  morning  assembly, through school counsellors and other teachers.

The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to the government. This study will serve as an eye-opener to government. This will help them to map out some modalities in their bid to find a panacea to enhancing the interest of students’ in academics especially in English language. The government will benefit through recommendations of the study, and will be used for supervision and monitoring by her agencies.

Finally, the outcome of this study will serve as an inspiration to researchers since it will furnish  future  researchers with  information that  can  guide  them  as  well  as  form research materials  which will  aid  them during  their  own  study.  They  can  benefit  by  assessing the materials on the internet, journals and other professional publications.

Scope of the Study

The scope of this study covered both geographical, content and population scope. The geographical (area) scope of the study covered public senior secondary schools students in South-East Nigeria. The study comprised only SS2 students of the study area. The content scope of the  study covers  family  factors,  interest  and  students academic achievement  in English

language. Consequently, the study was delimited in scope to the relationship between parental style of upbringing, parental standard of living, family type, parental educational status, parental occupation and family size on students interest and academic achievement of SS II students. The population scope covered 30,820 SS2 students of public secondary schools in the area during the

2015/2016 academic session.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1.  What is the relationship between parental style of upbringing and students’ interest in

English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria?

2.  What is the relationship between parental style of upbringing and academic achievement of students’ in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria?

3.  What is the relationship between    parental standard of living and students’ interest in

English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria?

4.  What is the relationship between parental standard of living and academic achievement of students’ in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria?

5.  What is the relationship between family type and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

6.  What is the relationship between family type and academic achievement of students’ in

English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria?

7.  What is the relationship between parental educational status and student’s interest     in

English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

8.  What  is the relationship between parental educational status and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

9.  What is the relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

10. What   is   the   relationship   between   parents’   occupation   and   students’   academic achievement in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

11. What is the relationship between family sizes and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

12. What is the relationship between family sizes and students’ academic achievement in

English language in senior secondary school in South-East Nigeria?

Hypotheses

The  following  null  hypotheses  guided  the  study  and  were  tested  at  0.05  level  of significance

Ho1. There is no significant relationship between parental style of upbringing and students’

interest in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho2. There is no significant relationship between parental style of upbringing and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho3.  There  is  no  significant  relationship  between parental standard of living and  students’

interest in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho4.There  is  no  significant  relationship  between  parental  standard  of  living and  students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho5.There is no significant relationship between family type and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho6.There   is   no   significant   relationship   between   family   type and   students’   academic achievement in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho7.There is no significant relationship between parental educational status and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho8.There  is  no  significant  relationship  between  parental  educational  status and  students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho9. There is no significant relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ interest in

English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho10.There is no significant relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ academic achievement in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho11.There is no significant relationship between family size and students’ interest in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Ho12.There  is   no   significant   relationship   between  family   size and   students’  academic achievement in English language in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

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