ABSTRACT
The
study sought to find out the extent family background variables such as
parents’ income, family size and parents’ level of education predict
achievement motivation of primary school pupils in Ogidi Education Authority of
Anambra State. To carry out the study, three research questions were posed
while three null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of
significance. The study adopted a correlational research design. The study was
carried out in all public primary schools in Ogidi Education Authority of
Anambra State, using primary five pupils. The population of the study comprised
of all the 2015/2016 primary five pupils numbering 9,573 (4151 males and 5422
females) in the public primary schools. The sample size for the study was 957
(415 males and 542 females) primary five pupils which was drawn from public
primary schools. An instrument titled “Pupils’ Achievement Motivation Scale
(PAMS)” was used to elicit information on family background variables such as
parents’ income, family size and parents’ level of education. Data collected
for the study were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis to answer
the research questions and test the null hypotheses. Coefficient of
determination which is an aspect of multiple regression was used to answer the
research questions while analysis of variance was used to test the null
hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that family background variables
including parents’ income, family size and parents’ level of education
significantly (P < 0.05) predict pupils’ achievement motivation. Based on the
findings of the study, conclusions and educational implications of the study
were stated from where some recommendations were proffered. Finally,
limitations and suggestions for further studies were made.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The basic social unit of every group is the family. The family is a
universal institution bounded together by social and biological ties.
Onyedineke (2011) stated that family is a very important institution that
protects the child during the period of his or her biological hazards and also
provides for their children’s socialization and initial education. Onyemerekaya
(2002) sees family as a system organized around the support, nurturance and
socialization of its members. In the same vein, Denzin (2008) conceived the
family as a unit of interacting personalities living in a symbiotic manner,
which is made up of parents and children, where parents are responsible for the
psychological, social, educational and economic welfare of their children;
while children in like manner are responsible for good behaviour within and
outside the home.
The family is a primary agent of socialization of the child. It helps the
children lay the proper foundations for developing their potentials and
realization of their aspirations. The child learns various forms of behaviour
and attitude in the family which enables him to prepare for future challenges
in life. This is because family is the bed-rock of the society which provides
initial training and educational foundations for the child (Okafor, 2006).
Thus, family plays very vital roles in the upbringing of a child. Emphasizing
the importance of the family in
the educational development of the child, Garcia, (2002); Gage & Berliner,
(2008) stated that pupils’ achievement motivation is affected by a number of
family background variables like parents’ income, family size and parents’
level of education.
Achievement means success in a task or undertaking while motivation is
the willingness to hit a target, or the internal state that energizes, arouses,
directs, channels, maintains and sustains a behaviour till a goal is achieved
(Gage & Berliner, 2008). The authors stated further that achievement motivation
is the zeal to succeed in a particular undertaking, or the willingness to be
doing something good. Achievement motivation is the need to achieve success,
tendency to endeavour for success, choose goal oriented or success activities
and forms the basis of a successful life. Psychologists have observed that
people with a high level of achievement motivation exhibit unique
characteristics such as hard work and perseverance (Woolfolk, 2007). Pupils,
who are oriented towards achievement, generally enjoy life and feel in control.
Achievement motivated pupils are dynamic and they have self respect.
Achievement motivated people set moderately difficult but easily achievable
targets, which help to achieve their objectives (Dweck, 2000). The author still
maintained that achievement motivated people do not set extremely difficult or
extremely easy targets in line with their parents’ income.
Parents’ income is seen as an economic and socially combined total
measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family’s
economic and social position in relation to others, based on education and
occupation. Parents’ Income represents the various means through which the
parents get money in order to sustain the members of the family. Income of
parents has been recognized as an influential factor concerning parental
involvement. The Cotton (2001) stated that the best predictor of students’
achievement is the income of the parents. According to Woolfolk (2007),
parents’ income is typically grouped into four categories, below N 18,000,
N18,000 to N50,000, N51,000 to N100,000, N100,000 and above to describe the
four areas a family or an individual may fall into. Thus, the author observed
that low income, education and family size have been shown to be strong
predictors of primary school children’s achievement.
Family size is the total number of people consisting of parent and their
children. It is worthy to mention that the family size is one of the factor
that determine the academic performance of the students large family size
creates in the upbringing of the their children and identified the problem of
feeding insufficient food, poor clothing, insufficient fund and disciplinary
problem. Family size in terms of number of children could be placed into three
categories such as small (zero- two children), medium (three to four children
and large family made up of five and above children. Parents with smaller
families tend to offer their children greater intellectual and educational
advantages. Blake (2007)
argued that the more siblings in a family, the more diluted the parents’
attentions and material resources; while Hanushek (2007) maintained that such
diluted attention and material resources lower the achievement of the pupils.
Parents’ level of education is the level of education attained by
parents. This level ranges from primary, secondary through tertiary educational
levels. According to Sue and Abe, (2005), most highly educated parents would
want their children to obtain a quality education and reap its benefits.
Educational background of parents appear to play a major role in children’s
life. Li (2002) posited that the highly educated parents are more likely to
insist that their children acquire academic success than those parents with low
educational attainment.
Lareau & Annette, 2003 noted that parents from lower educational
background are more likely to give orders to their children in their
interactions while parents with higher educational background are more likely
to interact and play with their children. Highly educated parents would want
their children to obtain quality education and reap its benefits (Sue &
Abe, 2005). Lareau and Annette (2003) found that children who are born by
patents with low educational qualification have weaker language skills compared
to children raised by patents with higher educational qualification. These
language skills affect their abilities to learn and thus exacerbate the problem
of education disparity. The authors further stated that parents’ educational
background may include low educational background such as First School Leaving
Certificate.......
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