LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

Precisely, the chapter will be considered in two sub-headings:

Conceptual Framework

Chapter Summary

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Quality In Education

Quality can be defined as the ability of something to perform or serve the purpose it is meant or designed to serve. Thus, Okebukola (2002) sees quality to mean “fitness for purpose” in tertiary education program the quality of graduate and how well they are able to meet the challenges in the world of work. Quality in education according to Nwanna (2000) refers to the scale of input in the form of funds, equipment facilities and pupils alike and to the fact that the transaction and output of Institutions in the form of their product are acceptable, desirable beneficial, efficient and effective from the point of view of the government, society private agencies and stakeholders. Maduewesi (2010) viewed quality as something that is relevant, which every member of the society considers good and stores to possess the above author Obiweluozor and Alonge (2013) sees quality as something that is proved to be of high standard in terms of its efficiency and effective utilization. The Quality of the educational system can be assessed by How adequate and accessible the facilities and materials needed for effective teaching and learning are available. Quality in Nigeria secondary education is a multidimensional concept that should embrace all its functions and activities, teaching and academic programmes, research and scholarship, staffing, students, building, facilities equipment, services to the community and the academic environment (UNESCO, 1998).

Politics in Education

There are some obvious rationales or reasons for politics in education. These includes

1. Every educational system has a political goal.

2. Politics comes before education.

3. Education is a basic human right and its function is to develop the talents of individuals to the fullest possible extent

4. Politics determines the type of education of politics.

5. Education is the servant and product of politics

6. Education is regulated by government policies and politics.

7. The rising cost of education is largely met from the public purse.

Academic Performance

In educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance, or how well a student meets standards set out by local government and the institution itself. Academic performance according to the Cambridge Dictionary of English (1995) refers to how well a school, college, university, an individual or a group is able to perform when given a learning task, activity or one’s achievement in standardized tests in academic pursuit. Academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teacher. Academic performance is related to content and intellect, meaning that academic performance depends on the learner’s competence. Cary, Roseth, David and Roger (2008) define academic achievement/success as: Performance on task with measures including comprehension, quality and accuracy of answers of tests, quality and accuracy of problem solving, frequency and quantity of desired outcome, time or rate to solution, time on task, level reasoning and critical thinking, creativity, recall and retention, and transfer of tasks. (p. 29).

Academic achievement refers to a successful accomplishment or performance in a particular subject area and is indicated by grades, marks and scores of descriptive commentaries. Academic performance also refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers in a fixed time or academic year (Dimbisso, 2009). (Ferla, Martin and Yonghong 2009) use the notion of academic self-concept referring to individuals' knowledge and perceptions about themselves in academic achievements, and convictions that they can successfully perform a given academic tasks at designated levels.

They further stated that academic self-concept represents a more past-oriented, aggregated and relatively stable judgment about one's self-perceived ability in a particular academic domain; while academic self-efficacy represents a context specific and relatively future oriented judgment about one's confidence for successfully performing an upcoming subject-specific academic task. Good (1973) as cited in Dimbisso (2009) stated that achievement encompasses actual accomplishment of the students‟ of potential ability. Kobaland and Musek (2001, p. 9) stated that: there are two broad groups of definitions of academic achievement. The first one could be considered more objective, because it refers to numerical scores of a student’s knowledge, which measure the degree of a student’s adaptation to school work and to the educational system. The second group is a more subjective one, as its determination of academic success is reliant upon the student’s attitudes towards his academic achievement and himself, as well as by the attitudes of significant others towards his/her success and him/herself.

The concept of low academic performance varies in its definition. Diaz (2003) considers low academic performance or academic failure as the situation in which the subject does not attain the expected achievement according to his or her abilities, resulting in an altered personality which affects all other aspects of life. Similarly, Tapia (2002) as cited in Diaz (2003) notes that while the current educational system perceives that the student fails if he or she does not pass, more appropriate for determining academic failure is whether the student performs below his or her potential. Aremu (2000) defines poor academic performance as performance that is adjudged by the examinee / testee and some other significance as falling below an expected standard.

The interpretation of this expected or desired standard is better appreciated from the perpetual cognitive ability of the evaluator of the performance. The evaluator or assessor can therefore give different interpretations depending on some factors. Bakare (1994) as cited in Asikhia (2010) described poor academic performance as any performance that falls below a desired standard. The criteria of excellence can be from 40 to 100 depending on the subjective yardstick of the evaluator or assessor. For example, a 70 per cent performance of Third Year Senior High students and in Junior High English Language examination is by all standards a very good performance. However, a cursory look at the performance and the individual examined and the standard of the examination he or she took could reveal that the performance was a very poor one. This shows that the concept of poor academic performance is very relative and this depends on so many intervening variables.

Measuring Students Success

When students are admitted to a higher education institution there is an inferred assumption that they will be capable of successfully completing the course in which they are permitted to enrol. To knowingly admit students who, for whatever reason, have no chance of academic success would be immoral. Therefore, it is necessary to have entry requirements that permit valid student selection decisions to be made. Assessments differ widely in nature and quality, and assessment policies as well as practices are often applied in different ways across school and programme types. It is a process prescribed for testing qualification, an exercise designed to examine progress or knowledge (Tobih, 2012). Diverse means of measuring students’ success exist and this includes: Continuous Assessment (CA) and Examination, Grade Point Average (GPA), Graduation and retention rate etc. Examinations which is an organized activity aimed at determining the cumulative or broad knowledge in a students’ educational development (Tobih, 2012), have been widely used to evaluate student’s success and performance in formal school settings. At a higher education level, it helps to establish the integrity of the degree or certificate awarded by any higher institution. When CA and Examination are used to find out students’ level of understanding, the examiner must consider the validity and reliability of the test instruments used for this purpose. Anikweze (2005) suggests that the purpose of test is to identify or discover what a person can do under certain controlled circumstances. Thus the examiner must not deviate from the objectives upon which the tests are based. Tobih (2012) further assert that the test can be rendered invalid and unreliable if not administered under a favourable condition no matter what effort went into the preparation of the test. Thus examinations serve evaluation purposes and are meaningful to all parties involved if it is used to motivate average learners.

Also the practice of using school matriculation results as the sole or primary determinant for university entrance is common in many institutions, but in general, the ability of these techniques to predict student success has been quite limited (McKenzie and Schweitzer, 2001; Fraser and Killen, 2003).

Parental Socio Economic Status (SES)

Parental socio-economic status (SES) has consistently been found to be an important determinant of the timing of entry into a first co-residential union (either unmarried cohabitation or marriage). Most studies have found that young adults from low-SES families enter their first co-residential union earlier than those from a high-SES background (e.g. Axinn and Thornton, 1992; South, 2001; Wiik, 2009). People who enter a union at an early age face potential negative consequences for their subsequent life course, such as a higher risk of dissolving the union (Berrington and Diamond, 1999). It is important to examine how socio-economic origin influences the timing of first union. Most studies on the link between parental SES and first-union timing have examined this within a single country, but arguments derived from Second Demographic Transition (SDT) theory suggest that the strength of this link could vary across countries. SDT theory posits that demographic changes result from shifts in value orientations in Western countries, from solidarity and conformity to autonomy, self-reliance, and individual freedom (Lesthaeghe and van de Kaa, 1986; Sobotka, 2008; Lesthaeghe, 2010). Due to this process of individualization, socializing institutions, such as the church and family, have lost some of their functions. If this is the case, it can be expected that the influence of parental status on the demographic behaviour of their children is weaker in societies that are more advanced in the SDT (Sobotka, 2008). No cross-country studies have yet examined the link between parental SES and first-union timing. Therefore, the key contribution of this study is to examine to what extent the effect of parental SES on the timing of first co-residential union varies across European countries and how this cross-national variation can be explained. We analyse data on 25 European countries from Round 3 of the European Social Survey (ESS) (ESS, 2006). This study improves our understanding of cross-national variation by examining the role of three country-level SDT indicators that might moderate the strength of the link between parental SES and union formation: age norms of leaving the parental home, prevalence of cohabitation, and religiosity. Most studies on the link between parental SES and union formation analysed the timing of entry into a first marriage (e.g. Michael and Tuma, 1985; Blossfeld and Huinink, 1991; Axinn and Thornton, 1992), while more recent studies considered both first marriage and first cohabitation (Hoem and Kostova, 2008; Wiik, 2009; Cavanagh, 2011). In many countries that are advanced in the SDT, cohabitation has replaced marriage as the dominant manner of entering a union, which makes it important to analyse both union types (Kiernan, 2001). Moreover, it is possible that parental SES has a different impact on these two union types. Because cohabitation is often a more informal living arrangement with lower costs of entering and exiting than marriage, parents may be less inclined to influence the timing of entry into cohabitation than into marriage (Wiik, 2009). If so, one could expect a stronger effect of parental SES on entry into a first co-residential union if this union is a marriage than if it is a cohabitation. Thus, we also examine how parental status is related to entry into cohabitation versus marriage as first union, and how this relationship varies across countries. Moreover, in understanding the link between parental SES and first-union timing, it is also important to know the extent to which this link is mediated by young adults’ own educational attainment and enrolment. Higher-SES parents tend to invest more in their children’s educational career than lower-SES parents, and extended education is known to delay entry into a union (Blossfeld and Huinink, 1991; Liefbroer and Corijn, 1999).

Factors influencing students’ Academic Performance

Various factors have been given for poor performance of students (Legotlo et al., 2002). Rothstein (2000) argues that learning is not only a product of formal schooling but also of communities, families and peers. Socio-economic and socio-cultural forces can affect learning and thus school achievement. The next part focuses on the relative effects of home-related, school-related, student characteristics, and teacher-side factors.

Home-Related Factors

Whether a child performs well in school can be influenced by a range of household factors. These include socio-economic status (education, occupation and income), size of the household, type of discipline at home, family structure, and the level of parental involvement and interest in child schooling are all factors which affect performance in school. In a study by Christenson and Gorney (1992), family and environmental factors were found to affect students‟ achievement. The factors are parents‟ expectation and attribution, structure and learning, home environment, discipline, and parental involvement. Engin-Demir (2009) argued that sizable research has consistently shown that students‟ academic achievement has been influenced by background of family characteristics such as socio-economic status of parents. Schiller, Khmelkov and Wang (2002) also argued that parents who have more education appear better able to provide their children with the academic and social support important for educational success when compared to parents with less education. Acheampong (1992), cited in Avotri et al., (1999), for instance, found that the educational status of parents was a major factor determining a child’s academic achievements. This finding corroborates that of Johnson and Kyle’s (2001) study that parental education, particularly the mother’s education has a big influence on children’s school achievement. Fertig and Schmidt (2002) also found that mother’s education has a greater effect on child’s learning overall, but that father’s education becomes more important when they have attained tertiary levels.

Fuchs and Woessmann (2004) found parental education and occupation to have more substantial effects on reading than on mathematics test scores. They stated that parental occupation and having at least one parent with a full-time job have important effects on student academic performance. In other words poverty, low level of parental education, parental and neighbourhood negative attitudes toward schooling in general, children from disadvantaged background have significantly affected academic achievement negatively (Currie, 1995; Gregg & Machin, 1999) whereas children with high level of parental education have greater access to a wide variety of economic and social resources (family structure, home environment, parent-child interaction) that can be drawn upon to help their children succeed in school (Coleman, 2006; McNeal, 1999). Higher family income is associated with higher students’ achievement (Hanushek, 1992).

According to Asikhia (2010) students from poor homes are forced out of school and made to engage in hawking, selling packaged drinking water and the likes so as to save money for their school expenses. Most of the time, they cannot afford instructional materials, and are always at the mercy of examiners during examination period. The persistence of this in the life of an individual student may spell doom for his academic success. Tracy and Walter (1998) as cited in Asikhia (2010) corroborate this when they submit that individuals at the lowest economic level are often the least well-served by the school system. Akanle (2007) studied socio-economic factors influencing students’ academic performance in Nigeria. The study revealed that insufficient parental income influences students’ academic performance. Jing-Lin, Gang and Wei (2009) found that perceived importance of learning success to family, English writing ability and social communication with their compatriots are significant predictors of international students‟ academic achievement.

The number of siblings that a student has is assumed to have an influence on his/her academic achievement. The larger the family size, the less the attention and devotion from parents, and the more the difficulties parents encounter in meeting the needs of the children both physically and emotionally particularly in this severe period when the prices of food and commodities have shot up (Asikhia, 2010). Children from larger families have been found to have less favourable home environments and lower levels of verbal facility (Parcel & Menagham, 1994) as well as highest rates of behavioural problems and lower levels of education achievement (Downey, 1995). Research work has shown that the nature of parental discipline affect academic output of children (Aremu, 2000). Oluwole (2001) found that the degree of self-efficacy and anxiety manifested by learners determine their academic performance. On the other hand, children from permissive homes are too complacent, unmotivated, and lack personal will to succeed. The democratic style of parenting has been found to be very helpful to teaching-learning situation. Here, children receive punishment that is commensurate with the offence committed. Such children are strong willed and ready for success. Aremu (2000) observes from a study that undergraduates that receive democratic type of parenting perform better than their counterparts from autocratic homes.

In addition, structurally, a family is either broken or intact. A broken family in this context is one that is not structurally intact for various reasons; death of a parent, divorce, separation, dissertation and illegitimacy in which case, the family was never completed (Coukline, 1996). This analysis becomes necessary because life in a single parent family can be stressful for both the child and the parent (Gadagbui, 2003). Such families are faced with the challenges of diminished financial resources, assumption of new roles and responsibilities, establishment of new patterns in intra-familial interaction and reorganization of routines and schedules (Agulanna, 1999).

These conditions are not conducive for effective parenting. This is because when the single parent is overburdened by responsibilities and by their own emotional reaction to their situation, they often become irritable, impatient and insensitive to their children’s needs. Such conditions do not provide a conducive environment for academic excellence (Nzewunwah 1995 cited in Uwaifo, 2008).

Furthermore, parental involvement tends to influence children’s school achievement. Grolnick and Slowiaczek (2007) indicated that students with parents who are involved in their education tend to have better academic performance than students whose parents are not involved in their school. Validating this finding, Reynolds and Gill (2004) revealed that a significant relationship existed between parental involvement and academic achievement. Conway and Houtenwille (2008) also found that parental involvement has a strong positive effect on student achievement. Further research shows parental involvement in children’s learning not only leads to higher academic achievement, but greater cognitive competence, greater problem solving skills, greater school enjoyment, better school attendance and fewer behavioural problems at school (Melhinsh et al., 2001 reported in Ademola & Olajumoke, 2009). Additionally, Tremblay, Ross and Berthelot (2001) found a significant association between students with parents involved at school and their academic performance.

Also, parental interest in schooling has been found to contribute significantly to the academic achievement of students. For instance, Odinko and Adeyemo (1999) found that parental interest in schooling together with socio-psychological factors were good predictors of students’ learning outcomes in English language. Ghanney (2007) examined the effects that the home environment has on the child’s achievement in primary schools in Winneba Township. He found that positive parental attitude towards education; great parental support and interest combine to enhance children’s progress in education rather than the level of parent’s educational attainment.

Attitude of Students/Learner Factors

Attitude is the particular way in which a person responds to people and events (Swan & Fisch, 2010). Attitudes usually lead to positive, negative or neutral behaviour. The attitude of learners toward learning is important in determining their level of performance. Nwihim (2007) says that in general, people’s attitude and beliefs have great impact on directing and maintaining one’s motivation.

Moreover, Makuwa (2004) points out that families today have changed a great deal from previous years, as most parents do not stress the need for good morals, respect, discipline and hard work in schools as was the case in the past. He further indicated that many learners lack respect and discipline and quotes one respondent who remarked that: “when learners are asked to do class work, they protest and refuse to carry out the instructions. Most of the learners abuse the so called “rights” and teachers are unable to curb this situation, as corporal punishment is abolished” (Legotlo et al., 2002, p. 113). The following factors also influence students poor performance.

a) Socio-economic conditions of learners

According to Legotlo et al. (2002) social background of learners is an important variable in determining learners’ performance because many aspects of life are reflected by it. Legotle‟s (2005) study states that many learners in Southern Africa came from low socio economic background. This implies that the importance of parents’ abilities to intervene in the education of their children cannot be overemphasized. Mwamwenda (1993) agrees with Legotle’s point and adds that many learners in rural areas come from previously disadvantaged families. This makes it difficult to concentrate on learning activities because their thoughts are preoccupied with how to satisfy their hunger.

According to Avila and Gasperine (2005) and Enos (2007) some learners in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Namibia, have to work as labourers to survive and pay their tuition fees. As a result, learners come to school tired and hardly concentrate on lessons. They also tend to absent themselves from school to do work. Hamunyela (2008) notes that socio-economic disparities influence children’s academic performance. She further notes that children who are in discomfort pay less attention than children who are comfortable.

The effects of HIV and AIDS also affect children’s performance at schools, in situations where learners take the roles of parents and become caregivers (Avila & Gasperine, 2005). Avila and Gasperine further state that the girls are more at risk than boys, because they are more likely to be kept out of school to become caretakers. According to Singh, Mbokodi, and Msila (2004) children need a stable emotional environment to assist them to learn. They further added that circumstances like divorce, maternal unemployment, lack of caretakers, staying with single parents are known to affect learners’ performance at school in the same way as poverty and family conflict.

b) Parental involvement in the education of their children

According to Hamunyela (2008) parental involvement in their children’s education is multi-dimensional, ranging from parents directly helping their children with homework to parents establishing high expectations for their children’s learning in schools. The researcher supports what was said by the Ministry of Education and Culture [MEC] (2003) and Mushaandja (2002) that quality parental involvement in the education of their children is an important factor in determining the performance of the learners.

This is consistent with the observation by Hamunyela (2008) that parental involvement is rooted in the belief that in order for schools to educate all youth effectively, parents and families should become fully involved in the process of educating learners. Asikhia (2010) also concurs with Hamunyela and adds that a family is the primary socializing agent of which a child is a member since it is in the family that he or she was born, therefore, children’s performance depends on the type of the family they were born in. He further noted that teachers cannot do their work effectively without the support of parents. Asikhia further adds that parents need to know what is happening in school in order to support the school. For the above points to materialize, schools need to work in partnership with parents to set up high and appropriate expectations (Dimmock, 2012). According to Singh et al. (2004) parents or guardians also need to keep lines of communication open with teachers and school principals. They note that parents should make sure that school attendance of their children is steady and need to ask their children what they have learnt at school so that they can help the children with homework. It is also the responsibility of the parents to provide children with lighting, including lamps and candles if needed. Hamunyela (2008) states that, if parents show that they are interested in their children’s learning, the learners will see the value of education and this can motivate them to work hard.

Enos (2007) states that children need love and care from their parents in order to excel in their school work. However, this is not the case in rural Namibia as many parents or guardians do not care much about their children. Parents and guardians tend to send the boys to look after livestock, while girls are expected to attend to domestic chores such as cooking, fetching water, washing and cleaning the house (Avila & Gasperine, 2005). According to Avilla and Gasperine these activities take much of the time for school going children in the rural areas. The children concentrate on the domestic duties and as such do not have enough time for their school work, resulting in lowered performance of learners in the rural schools in comparison to their counterparts in the urban areas.

Another point associated with parents’ involvement in their children’s education is the number of times that parents meet with school teachers to discuss the progress of their children in education matters (Makuwa, 2004). Makuwa blames the Namibian Education System for not having policy in place which stipulates the number of times a parent can or is supposed to visit the school. He found that only 40% of parents meet with teachers to discuss learners’ performance and related matters. AIyambo (personal communication, January, 2011) agreed with Makuwa and stressed that schools or teachers need to meet individual parents at the end of each school term to discuss the performance of specific learners who may be underperforming. According to Makuwa (2004) the problem of low parent-teachers meetings continue to be experienced more in the Hardap, Karas, Kunene and Oshana regions. Onamutai circuit is in the Oshana region. Without follow-up and involvement of parents in the school work and in school activities of their children, the children’s desire to excel will not be there. Parental involvement in their children’s education is therefore, very important in increasing the performance of learners.

Parental Level of Education on student performance

Level of education influences parent‟s knowledge, beliefs, values, and goals about child rearing, so that a variety of parental behaviours are indirectly related to children‟s school performance. For example higher levels of education may enhance parent‟s facility at becoming involved in their children‟s education, and also enable parents to acquire the model social skills and problem solving strategies conducive to children‟s school success. Thus students whose parents have higher levels of education may have an enhanced regard for learning, more positive ability beliefs, a stronger work orientation and they may use more effective learning strategies than children of parents with lower levels of education. (Education Encyclopedia state university) Studies have indicated that parents with higher educational level could motivate the intellectual potential within children that may lead them to perform better in school and in return strive for further education (Haveman and Wolfe 1995). Holmes, (2003), states that findings with regard to the impact of parent‟s education on schooling of children show that the children of more educated parents are more likely to be enrolled and more likely to progress further through school. He further indicate that this impact differs by gender, the education of the father increases the expected level of school retention of boys, and that of the mother‟s enhances the educational attainment of girls. Garasy, (2011) observed that mothers educational level were found to be significantly related to children‟s performance in school compared to children whose mothers were less educated. On the other hand less educated mothers were identified as possessing less enthusiasm in their adolescents learning (Portes and Zady 1998). Many studies have been carried out in developed countries on parent‟s educational influence on children‟s academic achievement and have indicated its positive relationship with academic achievement. Studies carried out in the developing countries though few, reveal similar results. For example, Lockheed, Fuller and Nyirongo (1989) in across – sectional study on Thai and Malawi children found that students with higher levels of achievement in 8th grade in mathematics had fathers who had more professional occupations, mothers with higher levels of education and lived in wealthier districts. Thus parent‟s educational level, irrespective of its geographical setting may to a certain extent have an impact on adolescents‟ progress in education. David, (2005), state that both parents education was related with children‟s academic achievement. Studies have also shown that mother‟s education is associated with the physical environment and learning experiences in the home (KlebanovBrooks – Gunn J and Duncan 1994). According to the PISA result 2006, the influence of the level of education of parents on the academic performance of their children is evidence in all countries though the scale of the effect does vary across all EU member state. Those students whose parents have a tertiary level of education perform, on average, significantly better in tests of science, reading and mathematical ability than do those parents who have only basic schooling. Nicholas, (2010), in his study the effect of parental education attainment on school outcome concluded that parents‟ educational background could affect the children‟s success in school. Therefore there is a need for parents to realize the importance of education and the role they are expected to play in the actualization of better academic achievement of the children. He further notes. The children of the educated group are liable than the children of the lower or noneducated groups to have higher aspirations and higher education plans (Wilson. 1992) cited in (Nicholas 2010). The academic aspiration of school children is positively related to the standing of their parents. This is so because children tend to imitate their parents and so aspire to be as highly educated as their parents. There is an indication that children of parents with high level of education are likely to follow the modern ideas while the children from parents with low level of education are likely to follow old tradition that is not to appreciate the value of education (Matanmi 1989 cited in Nicholas 2010).

Ezewu, and Okoye, (1981 cited in Nicholas 2010), showed that more pupils from high socio-economic status groups which usually fall into the well-educated groups aspire for highly rated professions such as medical profession in Nigeria more than the lower socioeconomic status group which mostly fall into the low or non-educated groups. Children of more highly educated families are more ambitious and attain higher levels of education. The amount of schooling that parents receive influences how they structure the home environment as well as how they interact with their children in promoting academic achievement. The economic difficulties, do not necessarily constrain academic development. It is possible parents as “co-teachers” in the home may find a better psychological balance of stimulation and demand for their children when they themselves were successful in academics. Although poverty certainly is a major threat for child development, a closer look at the underlying mechanisms may help explain why so many poor children perform well in school despite restricted material resources. If parents are successful in providing an emotionally stable and stimulating environment the negative effects of financial restrictions can be minimized. (Pamela, 2005), Alexander, Entwisle and Bedinger (1994), agrees and state that although poverty has an important relation to developmental outcomes in the early years of development, it may have less influence on outcomes during middle childhood and adolescence. During these years, parents‟ education may help parents to be more efficient teachers at home because they are more likely to know something about what the children are being taught. Thus they are able to help with homework and provide appropriate cognitive stimulation when children are not in school.

Influence of Income of the Parent on student performance

The United States department of education (2000) concluded that poverty is an important Factor accounting for differences in performance and achievement across rural, suburban and urban districts. However the study concluded that poverty alone does not account for all the difference in the performance of the student. Johnson, 1996( as cited in Muhammed, and Akanle 2008), Opined that poverty of the parents has elastic effects on their children academic works as they lack enough resources and funds to sponsor their education and good school, good housing facilities and medical care and social welfare services. Gordon, and Lance, (2005), observed that children growing up in poor families are likely to have home environments or face other challenges which would continue to affect development even if family income rose substantially. They also said that for children growing up in poor families, extra income does appear to have a positive causal effect. Susan, (2010), notes that the children of affluent parents are more likely to succeed in life than the children of poor parents. For example compared to more affluent children, poor children, score lower on tests of cognitive skill in early childhood. Have more behaviour problems in school and at home, are more likely to have children at a young age, and are more likely to be poor themselves when they are adults. The most initiative explanation for this difference is that rich parents can spend more than poor parents on their children and that these “investments” lead to better outcomes for their children. Susan further said that if poor children fail because their parents cannot make sufficient monetary investments in their future, then government can improve the life chances of poor children by providing families with the means to make the investments or by providing the investments directly in the form of schooling, health care and other human capital inputs. Greg. (2005), state that family income has substantial but decidedly selective associations with children‟s attainments. The selective nature of effects included the following: Family income had much larger associations with measures of children‟s ability and achievement than with measures of behaviour, mental health and physical health. Family economic conditions in early childhood appeared to be more important for shaping ability and achievement than did economic conditions during adolescence; and the association between income and achievement appeared to be non-linear, with the biggest impacts at the lowest level of income. The level of the family income is one of the most powerful influences on demand for secondary and higher education and even primary school enrolment rates in developing countries (Pscarcharopolous and Woodhall1985 as cited in Abagi 1997). The rise in poverty levels indicates that 46.8% of Kenyan lives below poverty line. Today more than 56% of Kenyan lives below poverty line. Income of the parent influences students‟ performance because it determines the availability of education material or lack of it, and availability school fees or lack of it.

Influence Of Parental Financial And Material Support To Their Children’s Successful Learning On Student Academic Performance

According to Teachman, 1987(as cited in Zahyah, 2008), parents use material and nonmaterial resources to create a home atmosphere that fosters academic skills. It is through these resources allocated to children that may influence attainment of learning in children. Similarly, the availability of educational resources in the home were usually associated with homes where parents were not only educated but were also financially stable. For example children whose parents were economically resourceful tend to associate educational materials with academic achievement. Parents see these materials as agents for promoting their children interest in learning. Zahyah, (2008), concluded that parent socioeconomic factors are related to adolescents‟ academic achievement his study was based on the rural area. He said that it is not so much of the geographical settings but more of the parents‟ economic status. The educational level and reading materials in the home to a certain extent do influence children‟s school performance. He further state that poor performance in school does not fully depend on location but more so on parents‟ socio-economic status. The presence of reading materials in the home is found to be moderately associated with adolescents in purchasing the appropriate reading materials based on their own academic ability compared to parents with lower educational background. He was carrying out a study on the relationship between aspects of socio-economic factors and academic achievement. Johnson,(1996), in his theoretical model of economic nationalism in developing states, said that poor parents can no longer provide adequately for shelter, clothing and special needs in school(such as provision of textbooks, school uniforms and good medical care). He further stated that high levels of illiteracy, poverty and low socioeconomic status coupled with high rate of paternal and maternal deprivation of students academic needs, which was necessitated by poor socioeconomic of the country threw many farmers and rural dwellers into untold financial problems such as poverty, lack of money to purchase necessary textbooks and working materials for their kids. This kind of poverty of the parents make it difficulty for them to provide basic needs such as food, stationaries, reading tables and study rooms at home for day schooling learners.

Political Factors Affecting Quality Of Education And Students Academic Performance In Nigeria

Political factors have to deal with policies, power, decision making and allocation of resources which affect Quality of Education. They include all of the following:

1. Government policy

2. Instability of government

4. Teachers strikes and

Government Policy

Government policy constitutes one of the political factors that affect educational quality delivery. The Nigeria government has formulated a number of policies in education. The first comprehensive policy on education was lunched in 1977, revised in 1981, 1984, 1990. The most recent of this natural policy is the one published by the federal ministry of education in 2004. There are different policies such as pre-primary education, basic education, secondary education, mass literacy, adult and non-formal education, science, technical and vocational education, tertiary education including open and distance education. A free education policy at the primary school level would mean more pupils in school them a policy demanding schools to be paid. The Universal Primary Education UPE 1976 policy increase school population astronomically. It meant more facilities and equipment and more teachers. The Universal Basic Education Policy introduced by the Obasanjo administration in 1999 has emphasis on basic education up to the Junior Secondary School Level. This policy has led to the employment of more teachers, the setting up of infrastructures and more funds. It has also led to sensitization and mobilization of target groups, regular supervision and monitoring of the scheme. Similarly, if the Nigerian government introduces a compulsory science and computer education policy at the secondary school, level the implication would be that all secondary school students would or must register for all the sciences and computer education. The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has it as matter of policy that all students who register for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination must pass English Language at credit level. The policy has guided schools in preparing students for examination. Nigerian Universities has it as a requirement, a credit level pass in English Language and Mathematics for admission into the Tertiary Institution irrespective of the course you are reading. (Recent decision by the government of the day, initially from late 1980s to 2012 if you are studying English language you require a pass in mathematics, it also affected post-graduate programmes in various Tertiary institutions in Nigeria irrespective of when you graduated without considering the adverse effect on individual who wants to further his career. Furthermore in 2013/2014 NUC came up with a decision that the pass level in every institution is no longer 40% but 45%, these political policies made by the government of the day affect tertiary education one way or the other. The Federal Government has made it a policy of admitting 60 percent Science and 40 percent Arts in her Universities the obvious implication of this is that more students are admitted in Sciences than arts. All states in the north including Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Kebbi, Sokoto, Gombe, Jigawa, and Kano run a free education at secondary and University education because of their desire to catch up with the South in educational attainment. These states therefore, give bursary awards to students in tertiary institutions. The Nigerian government however has some obnoxious educational policies; these policies include quota system catchment areas, and educationally disadvantaged states. These policies are all aimed at entrenching the federal character system.

Instability in Government

Instability of government constitutes one of the political factors affecting education and consequently, schools. Instability of government arises where there are coups and counter coups and where elections are rigged or where government has changed. There are frequent changes of government in Nigeria as a result of corrupt politicians or the selfishness of some military personnel who refuses to relinquish power. Each government that comes into power initiates its own programmes. The Western and Eastern Nigerian government initiated Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme in 1955 and 1957 respectively. The programme failed, it could not be continued because of poor planning and implementation. The government at that time did not t rain enough teachers, had inadequate classrooms and instructional materials for effective implementation of the programme. The federal government introduced the Universal Primary Education Scheme in 1976. The programme was poorly planned and executed, classrooms were inadequate. Taiwo (1981) stated that Federal Government underestimated the cost of Universal Primary Education Scheme, without taken into consideration the facilities, personnel and funds need to carry out the programme. The federal government introduced the modern mathematics programme in the school in the early 1970s; but the programme did not see the light of the day because of instability of Government. instability of government also affect funding of education by pronouncement of budgetary allocation made by different government, like in education, it is not the same allocation that has been given to education in different regimes, 3.128 trillion of 35.133 trillion is total allocation to education since 1999-2013 actually 1.290 trillion of 15.125 trillion is the effective real value, in 2015 Education budget was N369.6bn, it all depends on the government in power. The recent single treasury account has affected the school system in terms of finances, most schools in Nigeria in 2015 could not host the accreditation team due to lack of finance.

Teachers’ Strikes

Teachers’ strike is another political factor quality delivery in Education. Strike refers to the act of stopping work in order to obtain a change in conditions of employment. Teachers’ strike refers to the situation or periods when they stop work (teaching) in order to attract or obtain a change in their working conditions. Teachers usually embark on strike when their salaries and allowances are not paid or there is undue delay in payment for several months. The academic staff unions of Universities, an association of Teachers, embarked on strike in 1992, 1996, 2002, 2009 and 2013 to force government to improve on funding in respective schools, improve on infrastructure, earned allowances and improved working conditions. During this period in the schools, the academic activities were grounded, no teachers, this affected the student for over six months sitting down at home, the resultant effect on the change in academic calendar and quality delivery; (what they have been taught has been forgotten and on resumption, it is on marathon to meet up with the school calendar, whether the students follow or not it is to their detriment, it affect their academic performance).

2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The study was guided by the systems theory of organizations developed Ludwigvon Bertalanffy in the 1950s. Systems theory emerged as part of the intellectual ferment following World War II although its roots are much older. Systems theory postulate that schools are like other open systems which of necessity engage in various mode of exchange with environment (Katz and Kahn, 1966). Systems theory emphases the consideration of the relationships between the school and its environment as well as what goes on within the school (Hall, 1977).The fundamental concept in the general system theory is the notion of emergence and interaction.

As adapted in this study, the systems theory holds that socioeconomic factors and political factors influences’ students academic performance in a school. That is parental level of education, parental involvement in children education, income of parent and financial and material support given to the children by the parent influences students academic performance. This theory has its own shortcomings. The interrelationships among part of a system have to be recognized and understood by „all‟ people involved. The theory also requires a shared vision so that all people in the school have an idea of what they are to accomplish.

2.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this review the researcher has sampled the opinions and views of several authors and scholars on the concept of of quality education, academic performance. This chapter further elaborated the factors affecting students academic performance. The works of scholars who conducted empirical studies have been reviewed also. The chapter has made clear the relevant literature.