Effects Of Socio-Economic Conditions On The Academic Performance Of Students In Senior Secondary Schools

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EFFECTS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literatures 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 three sub-headings:

Conceptual Framework
Theoretical Framework and
Empirical Review

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Concept of Socioeconomic Conditions

Socioeconomic conditions (SEC) remains a topic of great interest to those who study students’ academic achievement. Socioeconomic status is a sociological classification indicating the close relationship between someone’s relative wealth and that persons’ social status. Santrock (2004) defined socioeconomic status as the categorization of people according to their economic, education and occupational characteristics. Ezewu (1985) sees socioeconomic status as the differentiation of individuals as well as families in a society into educational levels, occupation and income. In this context, however, socioeconomic status could be regarded as prestige or respect accorded to the members of the society as a result of educational levels, occupation and income. Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological 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 income, education and occupation. When analyzing a family’s SES, the household income, earners' education, and occupation are examined.

Social scientists have shown continued interest in socioeconomic status even though there has never been complete consensus on precisely what it represents (McLoyd, 1997). There has been something of a tug-of-war between proponents of SES as representing class (or economic position) and proponents of SES as representing social status (or prestige). The idea of capital (Coleman, 1988) perhaps best embodies the current meaning psychologists’ hold of SES (Guo & Harris, 2000). Capital (resources, assets) has become a favored way of thinking about SES because access to financial capital (material resources), human capital (non-material resources such as education), and social capital (resources achieved through social connections) are readily connectible to processes that directly affect well-being. Capital is linked to historic ideas about SES, such as social and material “deprivation,” and it brings into focus the important dimension of social relationships (Krieger, Williams, & Moss, 1997).

Most widely used measures of SES only partially map onto the concepts of capital described by Coleman. Financial capital is reasonably well assessed by household income, but is more often indexed by occupational status. However, neither fully captures the notion of wealth as described by economists (Smith, 1999); wealth may be a better measure of the financial resources available in that it is often a more accurate barometer of access to opportunities. Income is considered a rather volatile indicator of financial capital (Hauser, 1994), and the best way of ordering occupations in terms of their actual contributions to financial well-being has been hotly debated for decades (Entwisle & Astone 1994). Most social scientists agree that a combination of income and occupational status provides a better approximation to financial capital than either alone. To more fully capture financial capital, Entwisle and Astone (1994) recommend gathering data on what the family pays for rent or housing.

The variable socioeconomic statusis based on a weighted combination of father's occupation, father's formal educational level, mother's formal educational level, an estimate of the funds the family could provide if the children were to attend school, the degree of sacrifice this would entail for the family, and the approximate wealth and income status of the children's family.

Parental socioeconomic status is measured using three variables namely; income, education and occupation.

Parental Income

Income refers to wages, salaries, profits, rents, and any flow of earnings received. Income can also come in the form of employment or worker’s compensation, social security, pensions, interests or dividends, royalties, trusts, alimony, or other governmental, public, or family financial assistance. Income can be looked at in two terms, relative and absolute (Weller, 2005). Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interest payments, rents and other forms of earnings received in a given period of time (Barr, 2004). Barr maintained that in the field of public economics, the term may refer to the accumulation of both monetary and non-monetary consumption ability, with the former (monetary) being used as a proxy for total income.

Absolute income, as theorized by economist is the relationship in which as income increases, so will consumption, but not at the same rate. Relative income dictates a person or family’s savings and consumption based on the family’s income in relation to others. Income is a commonly used measure of SES because it is relatively easy to figure for most individuals. Low income families focus on meeting immediate needs and do not accumulate wealth that could be passed on to future generations, thus increasing inequality. Families with higher and expendable income can accumulate wealth and focus on meeting immediate needs while being able to consume and enjoy luxuries and weather crises (Weller, 2005).

Parental Education

Education is defined as the aggregate of all the process by which a child or young adult develops the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of positive value to the society in which he/she lives (Fafunwa, 1978).

Education also plays a role in income. Median earnings increase with each level of education. The highest degrees, professional and doctoral degrees, make the highest monthly earnings while those without a National diploma earn less. Higher levels of education are associated with better economic and psychological outcomes (i.e. more income, more control, and greater social support and networking). Education plays a major role in skill sets for acquiring jobs, as well as specific qualities that stratify people with higher SES from lower SES. Lareau (2003) speaks on the idea of concerted cultivation, where middle class parents take an active role in their children’s education and development by using controlled organized activities and fostering a sense of entitlement through encouraged discussion. Lareau argues that families with lower income do not participate in this movement, causing their children to have a sense of constraint. A division in education attainment is thus born out of these two differences in child rearing. Lower income families can have children who do not succeed to the levels of the middle income children, who can have a greater sense of entitlement, be more argumentative, or be better prepared for adult life, (Lareau, 2003).

Parental Occupation

Occupation as one of the components of parental SES encompasses both income and educational attainment. Occupational status reflects the educational attainment required to obtain the job and income levels that vary with different jobs and within ranks of occupations. Additionally, it shows achievement in skills required for the job. Occupational status measures social position by describing job characteristics, decision making ability and control, and psychological demands on the job. Some of the most prestigious occupations are lecturing, physicians and surgeons, lawyers, chemical and biomedical engineers, and communications analysts. These jobs, considered to be grouped in the high SES classification, provide more challenging work and greater control over working conditions but require more ability. The jobs with lower rankings include food preparation workers, counter attendants, helpers, dishwashers, maids and housekeepers, vehicle cleaners, labourers, gardeners and parking lot attendants. The jobs that are less valued also offer significantly lower wages, and often are more laborious, very hazardous, and provide less autonomy (Scott, 2005).

Occupation is the most difficult factor to measure because so many exist, and there are so many competing scales. Many scales rank occupations based on the level of skill involved, from unskilled to skilled, manual labour to professional, or use a combined measure using the education level needed and income involved. These variables – parental education and parental occupation were studied alongside home education environment in order to determine their relationship with students’ academic achievement in physics

Home Education Environment

The home environment plays a vital role in the development of a students’ intelligence which leads to the students’ academic achievement in school. The child constantly interacts with the family and is invariably influenced by the entire environment that surrounds him. Children need a pleasant environment, an environment characterized by human care, particularly by the mother and at the same time providing various experiences and stimulations (Caldwell, 1967).

Home itself is a complex unit. The assessment of its psycho-social environment is not an easy matter. This is due to the complexity of the phenomenon under investigation. Home environment has been conceptualized as the quality of human interactions, from the point of view of the child. It includes those aspects which foster growth and development, such as family, trust and confidence, sharing of ideas, making discussions, parental approval, parental encouragement, support, guidance, affection and approval of peer activities. Home environment includes language stimulation, physical environment, encouragement of social maturity, variety of stimulation and disciplinary practices (Mohite, 1990).

Better home environment is where parents provide more opportunities to understand things and situations and act according to their desires. Children receive maximum support and encouragement from parents, children rarely receive punishment and have less restriction. This kind of environment helps the students for better performance of various tasks. Rich environment and stimulation in the family is essential for each child for optimist, especially in the areas of intellectual development.

The children are the richest resources of a nation, and they need to be so designed and developed; through carefully adapted socialization process at home and cautiously planned social learning experience in educational institutions; as to match with the emerging demands of the “worlds of Competition and Excellence”. In order to achieve these objectives it is imperative to study, in details, the influence of home environment and its relationship with academic achievement of students in physics. Heredity and environment play vital roles in determining the intelligence of a child. Environment plays a crucial role in influencing and shaping the behaviour and thoughts of a child especially in the development of aspiration and attitude.

Zhand (2011) maintained that children living in poor environment cannot develop their potentials and skills to the maximum extent that have a positive effect on their performance in schools and achievement in social life. Home is very important for adolescents, all the intellectual, moral, physical, social, emotional and educational needs are fulfilled at home. The environment created at home accelerates or retards the development of the child and influences the achievement and aspiration of the child. Adolescents, to be well adjusted to parents, need to feel loved and emotionally secure. A stimulating home environment may influence academic achievement of secondary school students specially physics students

Socioeconomic background of an individual is hinged on perceived self-concept, aspiration and position within a sociocultural environment (Deepa F and Chamundeswari 2014). The socioeconomic status (SES) of a child is most commonly determined by combining parents’ educational level, occupational status, and income level (Jeynes, 2012). Studies have repeatedly found that the socioeconomic status (SES) affects student outcomes ( Eamon, 2015). Students who have a low socioeconomic status earn lower test scores and are more likely to drop out of school (Eamon 2015, Hochschild 2013). It is believed that low socioeconomic status negatively affects academic achievement because it prevents access to vital resources and creates additional stress at home (Eamon 2015;Majoribanks 2016). Social Economic background can me measured under the following variable:

Parental income
Family size
Parental occupation
Parental education background

However, we will consider the aforementioned variables alongside academic achievement.

PARENTAL INCOME AND ACADEMIC ACHIEMENT

Income is the money received by the citizenry over a certain period from government or its agencies especially as payment for work or as interest on investment. It is also refer to as the monetary accumulation by an individual; it may be salaries and wages of the employees and the earnings and profit of self-employed (Alken, Banbram, 2012). Parental income permit parent to assure their children’s schooling, buy their school uniform and books, provide them with adequate equipment to facilitate their education (Ibok, 2015). According to Uche (2014), children from parent with adequate income are likely to be provided with high quality education from the nursery up the university land. Given this opportunity, it is likely that such student will be less delinquent than their counterpart from poorer homes. The family is the first environment the child come into conduct with. Parental income significantly influence students academic performance. Similarly Nelson (2012) conducted a study on socio-economic status and students’ academic performance in biology in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa lbom State. The results obtained amongst others, revealed that there is a significant influence of parental income level on students’ academic performance in biology. Parents of high socio-economic status are able to provide the necessary incentives for their children’s learning, with higher level of income, they are able to provide better nourishment for the family. Parents with high income level are able to provide better nourishment for the family which is crucial for brain development (Chomitie, Change, & Laberman, 2008).Students from low income families tends to have little opportunity to go to school than students from middle class families and by extension, the upper class. Nyama (2006) maintained that the performance statistics of students from parent with high income level often have all it takes to need at home, libraries, radio, television, video and even literate parents with whom they can sit down and chat intelligently. Ali (2012), in his research on influence of parental income level on students’ academic performance in biology found that there is a significant influence of parental income level on students’ academic performance in biology.

FAMILY SIZE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Family size is the number of children born per individual family that make up of the that family in the particular area. Large family sizes place a lot of pressure of family’s lean resources as the parent will not be able to cater for the financial needs of the children. Thus affect students academic performance (Nyama, 2006).

Large family sizes are a common feature of low income status families and does not encourage positive of low income status families and does not encourage positive schools attitudes. Yet there are children who break even from these depressing and high retrogressive conditions to excel although the percentage is minimal. The greater the family size, the lower the education attainment of children/students (Ibok,2015). Large family suffer low self esteem and thus affects their academic performance negatively(Alken &Barbrain, 2014). Iheanacho(2002) states that, family size that is large may impede learning. This is because the provision of adequate feeing and essential facilities may be lacking. Etim(2013) conducted a study on the effect of family size on academic performance of secondary school students in biology and find out that, family size has a significant effect on students academic performamce, because parent will not be able to cater for the financial needs of the children. Similarly Udoh(2016) believe that large families are negatively related to children’s languages, calculations and their academic achievement in school. According to Nwachukwu(2012), family size significantly relate to students’ academic performance. The larger the family, the poorer the school achievement of the students.In similar way, Evogor (2015) examined the effect of family size on students academic performance in biology in Bunguru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. In order to achieve this, three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level. The design adopted for the study was the ex-post facto. The sample for the study consisted of 150 students were randormly selected public secondary school in Bunguru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The sample was selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The instrument used for this study was an adapted 15 items, 4- option rating scale questionnaire. The result of the analysis using independent t-test showed that amongst others, there is a significant effect of large family size on students academic performance in biology in Zanfara State. Similarly, Ekpo(2010) examine family size, birth order and students’ academic performance in biology in Ugep Local Government Area of Cross River State. The study was randomly selected in 4 public secondary schools in Ugep Local Government Area. A sample 120 students were used for the study. The design adopted for the study was a descriptive survey approach. Simple descriptive analysis was used. The major instrument used in this study was questionnaire. Two research question and two hypotheses were duly tested using t-test statistic. The calculated t-value was 11.44 greater than t-critical value of 1.96, 118 degree of freedom at .05 level of significance The results obtained among others, revealed that there is a significant influence of family size on students’ academic performance in biology.

PARENTAL OCCUPATION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Occupation is known to play a significant role in the healthy and acceptable behaviour of any person in the society. Usually occupation is classified based on sources and level of income, education and employment status. According to Larry (2010), occupation determines the lifestyle, culture, mannerism, social and economic position, actions and the general behaviour of an individual. Occupational status reflect the educational attainment required to obtain the job and income levels that vary with different jobs and within ranks of occupation(Tom, 2015). Occupational status measures social position by describing job characteristics, decision making ability and control, and psychological demand on the job (Erick,2012).Parents with high occupational status are able to provide a measure of a household ability to meet emergencies, absorbs economic shocks, and provide the means to live comfortably. According to Ibok(2015), occupational status corresponds to the educational attainment of an individual’s through obtaining better jobs, exploring and retaining better positions, and becoming inevitable and thus lead to improvement in the socio economic status. Parental high occupation status reflect in income level of the parents. Parents with high occupational rank are able to provide the necessary incentive for their children learning, with high income level, they are able to provide better nourishment for their family while students from low parental occupation status have little opportunities to go to school because their parents lack adequate income to provide them with high quality education (Udoh,2016). Chronister (2005) conducted a study on effect of parental occupation on students’ academic performance and found that there is a significant effect of parental occupation on students’ academic performance.

PARENTAL EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The educational level of parents determines their status and level of influence in the society. The importance of education by any standard in any society especially developing countries such as Nigeria, cannot be overemphasized. Low educational background has the capacity of hindering individuals from having a better knowledge of the needs to prudently life(Abraham,2012). Students of middle/upper class parents are more likely to take advantages of the opportunities presented to them both in the secondary and higher education institutions than those children of poor labourer or factory workers who are hardly educated(Brown2013). According to Ogumakle(2012), children from literate homes have a higher academic advancement than those from illiterate homes. Education attainment varies with income levels. Education provides diverse opportunity for individual to function in the society (Ibok,2015). Parents with high educational attainment with high income level are often more success in preparing their children for school because they have access to a wide range of resources to promote and support their children school. Education and student performance Kingley (2015) conducted a study on students’ socio-economic background and students’ academic performance among junior secondary civic education students River State. The research design used was the survey design. The sample of 180 students were randomly selected in 6 public junior schools in River State. The result of analysis using independent t-test revealed that amongst others variables there is a significant influenceof parental educationalbackground on students’academic performance in mathematics.

Similarly, Adie(2015) examine parental education attainment andstudents’ academic performancein English language inOdukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State. The study was randomly selected in 5 public secondary schools in Odukpani Local Government Area. A sample 200 students were used for the study. The design adopted for the study was a descriptive survey approach. The major instrument used in this study was questionnaire. Two research question and two hypotheses were duly tested using t-test statistic. The calculated t-value was 15.32 greater than t-critical value of 1.96, 198 degree of freedom at .05 level of significance The results obtained amongst others, revealed that there is a significant influence of parental educational attainment on students’ academic performance in mathematics in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State. Udodo (2016) conducted a study to established the relationship between parental education background and students’ academic performance among junior secondary Basic Science students in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The research design used was the survey design. The sample of 150 students were randomly selected in five public secondary schools The result of analysis using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient revealed that amongst others variables there is a significant influence of parental education status relate to students’ academic performance. According to Nyakundi(2012), parental educational background significantly relate to students’ academic performance. Parents with high educational level attainment and high income are often able to support and promote their children education.

Students’ Academic Achievement

Academic performance refers to how well a student is accomplishing his or her tasks and studies (Scortt‟s, 2012). Grades are certainly the most well-known indicator of academic performance. Grades are the student‟s “score” for their class and overall tenure. Grades are most often a tallying or average of assignment and test scores and may often be affected by factors such as attendance and instructor opinion of the student as well. According to Ward, Stocker and Murray-Ward (2006), academic performance refers to the outcome of education; the extent to which the student, teacher or institution have achieved their educational goals. Academic performance is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate one‟s knowledge verbally or written on paper (Answers, 2010). In the context of this study, academic achievement refers to the extent to which students have achieved mastery of the objectives of the subjects they are exposed to in school. According to Aremu and Sokan (2003), academic achievement has been observed in school subjects especially mathematics and English Language among secondary school students.

Truancy On Pupils’ Academic Performance In Mathematics

In today’s competitive world, education is an important means for the socially disadvantaged people to raise their standard of living. Education has an important role to play in development of the country. The early non-formal education forms the foundation for the school education. The phrase academic achievement has two components namely: Academic and Achievement. According to Chaudary (2004) the word academic pertains to school subjects or to fields of liberal arts or to the sphere of ideas and abstraction, while achievement denotes knowledge attained or skills developed by students, usually in the schools, measured by test scores or by marks assigned by teachers (Chaudhary, 2004). Achievement is the glittering crown which reflects a sense of sincerity, candidness and perseverance on the part of achievers and also parents, teachers and all those helping to achieve it. Academic motivation is referred to as the need for achievement. Ahmed (1998) stated that achievement behavior may be defined as any action directed of gaining approval where public standards of excellence are applicable.

Adeyemo (2011) stated that scholastic achievement means achievement a student makes in school namely his marks in the examination, which is the criterion for the achievement of a student. Parenting styles, gender, size of family, socioeconomic status of parents, may have an impact on the achievement level of students.

Academic achievement of students especially at the secondary school level is not only a pointer to the effectiveness or otherwise of schools but a major determinant of the future of youths in particular and the nation in general. The medium through which the attainment of individuals and the nation’s educational goals can be achieved is learning. Learning outcomes have become a phenomenon of interest to all and this account for the reason why scholars have been working hard to unravel factors that militate against good academic performance (Aremu & Sokan, 2002). This phenomenon has been variedly referred to in literature as academic achievement, or scholastic functioning. Academic achievement of learners has attracted attention of scholars, parents, policy -makers and planners. Adeyemo (2001) opined that the major goal of the school is to work towards attainment of academic excellence by students. According to him, the school may have other peripheral objectives; emphasis is always placed on the achievement of sound scholarship. Besides, virtually everybody concerned with education places premium on academic achievement; excellent academic achievement of children is often the expectation of parents and policy makers (Osiki, 2001). denotes knowledge attained or skills developed by students, usually in the schools, measured by test scores or by marks assigned by teachers (Chaudhary, 2004). Achievement is the glittering crown which reflects a sense of sincerity, candidness and perseverance on the part of achievers and also parents, teachers and all those helping to achieve it. Academic motivation is referred to as the need for achievement. Ahmed (1998) stated that achievement behavior may be defined as any action directed of gaining approval where public standards of excellence are applicable.

2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Humanistic Learning Theory by Carl Rogers

Humanistic theory of learning developed out of the idea that the environment of the learner was indispensable in the enhancement of the learners’ potentials. In other words, the educational environment could contribute meaningfully to the academic achievement of the learners, irrespective of the quality of the individual’s mental status (Nnachi, 2008). The humanistic school of thought considers the importance of the individual’s social feeling and emotion in the teaching-learning situations. If the learner is emotionally sound, learning would easily take place. In other words, the educational environment has nurturant potentials.

Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist. He was of the view that human beings were born with the natural tendency to be free and have self-fulfillment. In his view, human beings find this tendency frustrated in their course of growth and development. This frustration emanates from the parents, teachers and others who tend to constantly affect the self-worth of the individuals. According to him, the individual’s sense of self-worth depends on the opinion about the self of the person, this brings some identification between the value held by the real self and the value held by others or significant figures, (Witting & William, 1984).

The task of the parents is to provide a medium for emergence of the self that has been identified, thereby preventing the conditions that inhibit self-growth. In this case, the parents (or teachers) provides to the learner unconditioned positive regard, listen to the learner intently, making the learner a point of focus. In this respect, the learners’ self-concept is built. Rogers maintained that individuals, due to experience, have self-concept of themselves. He defined self-concept as an organized pattern of thought and perception about one self.

This theory is relevant to this work because if the learner is emotionally stable and sound, learning would easily take place leading to high academic achievement. In other words, the educational environment, (in this case, the home education environment) and parental socioeconomic status play active role in the self-actualization of the learner. The emotional stability of the learner which leads to high academic achievement in school to a great extent may be determined by the parental socioeconomic status and in most cases education environment of the home which are the main independent variables for the study.

Theory of Social Learning by Albert Bandura

Bandura (1977) proposed a psychological theory titled “social learning theory”. The major premise of Bandura’s social learning theory, which he has recently renamed social cognitive theory, is that we learn by observing others. His work centers on personality being developed as a result of an interaction between three things. These three things are the environment, behavior and one’s own psychological processes. Much of his work is built around the experimental method where he will manipulate one of these three areas and measure the effects on the other. A second specific of Bandura’s beliefs is that modeling can have more impact than direct experience. The four variables that are involved in modeling according to Bandura are; attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. One must be paying attention, be capable of retaining what they have observed, be able to translate the observation into action and be motivated to imitate the observed action.

It is Bandura’s view that the learner plays a prominent role in cognitively selecting, organizing and transforming stimuli from the environment in which he is found. Accordingly, we learn by watching the events of the environment. By social learning theory therefore, humans are seen as social animals, who, through observations of their social world or the interpretations of such observations collect large amounts of data or information through which complex and skilled performances are learned. In actual sense, a great amount of what man learns is by observation and imitation. Sometimes, we learn to do good or bad based on what we have observed others do or how those who do those things are treated.

Since this study is interested in studying the home education environment of the students and most students learn by watching the events of the environment, this theory (social learning theory) is relevant to the study.

2.3 REVIEW OF RELATED EMPIRICAL STUDIES

It is appropriate to review researches that have been conducted which relate closely with parental socioeconomic status and home education environment on students’ academic achievement.

Studies on Parental Socioeconomic Status

Obosede (2009) carried out a research on gender and parental socioeconomic (SES) as correlates of students’ academic achievement in senior secondary schools in Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. The study used descriptive research design in form of an ex-post-factoapproach. None of the variables was manipulated; instead, an objective description of the phenomenon was done. The sample for the study was 108 students randomly drawn from three secondary schools across the study area. The socioeconomic background of participants was assessed through a form that contains demographic information about the participants and academic achievement test in three subjects (English, Economic and Biology) was also developed by the researcher for data collection. The result of the study showed that there is significant relationship between participants’ socioeconomic status and academic achievement. The result indicated that the home or family structure has a great influence on the students’ psychological, emotional, social and economic state. The study used descriptive research design in form of an ex-post-facto approach which is wrong since the study is a correlational study, the research design should be a correlational research design The above study was not carried out in Enugu State and but the present study was carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. The study used the academic achievement test of three subjects (English, Economic and Biology) excluding physics but the present study will use physics student academic achievement as the dependent variable. The study did not show empirically the proportion of variation in students’ academic achievement that can be attributed to parental socioeconomic status but the present study will empirically determine it.

Ezenyimulu (1993) conducted a research on relationship between socioeconomic status and academic achievement of some selected secondary school students in Onitsha Municipal. The study adopted survey research design with a sample of 950 students. The questionnaire as well as Achievement Test was used to collect data for the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions and student t-test was used to test the research hypotheses. The result of the study showed that: there is a high positive correlation between parental socioeconomic (i.e. parents income, education and occupation) status and academic achievement of students. The above study used mean and standard deviation to answer research questions which was wrong since it was a correlational study. Both the design and method of data analysis were wrong. The study did not show empirically the proportion of variation in students’ academic achievement that can be attributed to parental socioeconomic status. But the present study will empirically determine the proportion of variation in students’ academic achievement in physics that is due to or predicted by parental socioeconomic status, home education environment in Nsukka education Zone of Enugu State. The above study was not carried out in Nsukka Education Zone

Abdu-Raheema (2015) carried out a research on parents’ socio-economic status as predictor of secondary school students’ academic performance in Ekiti State. Descriptive research design of the survey type was adopted. The population for the study comprised all Junior Secondary School students in Ekiti State. The sample consisted of 960 students from 20 secondary schools randomly selected for the study. Purposive sampling was used to select 48 students from each school. The instruments used for the study is a self-designed questionnaire and inventory to collect students’ results. Validity of the instrument was ascertained through face and content validity. Test-re-test and estimation of internal consistency methods of reliability were adopted for the questionnaire. Reliability co-efficient of 0.69 and 0.71 was obtained. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The data were analyzed using Regression statistical tools. It was confirmed in the study that there was relationship between parents’ socio-economic status (i.e. parents’ qualification, income and background) and academic performance of secondary school students. She also found out that parents qualification, parents income and parents background significantly predict students’ academic achievement. It is therefore recommended that parents without or with low education should endeavour to send their children to home lessons after school hours, by weekends, and during holidays to improve their academic performance. Government should embark on programmes or formulate policies that can bridge the gaps between children of the rich and the poor academically. The above study did not incorporate parent’s occupation which is among the three variable that made up parental socioeconomic status in the present study. The above study was not carried out in Nsukka Education Zone which is the geographical scope of the present study.

Chikwelu (2005) carried out a research on parents’ occupational and educational background as correlates of educational support and aspiration of adolescents in Anambra State. The study adopted a correlational survey design. Data was collected from 2000 students selected through stratified random sampling. The data collected were analyzed using means, standard deviation and Pearson product moment correlation for the research question and the hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. A 26-item structured questionnaire was used to collect data and the result of the study showed that, parents, irrespective of their occupational background give affordable support to their adolescent wards in school and guide them toward attaining higher educational standards which they see as a sure means of improving the socioeconomic status of the family. It was also found out that the occupational background of fathers, more than those of the mothers, have greater influence on the educational support that adolescents receive. The researcher also found out that artisan fathers and traders tend to give greater educational support to their wards than mothers of similar occupational background. From the above study, home education environment was not studied and the present study intends to incorporate this so as to widen the scope of the study. It is also important to state that the study was not carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu state which is the geographical scope of the present study. Also the study did not show empirically the proportion of variation in students’ academic achievement that can be attributed to or predicted by parental occupation and parental education but the present study will empirically determine the proportion of change in students’ academic achievement that can be predicted by parents’ income, parents’ education, parents’ occupation and home education environment.

Ogunshola and Adewale (2012) carried out a research on the effects of parental socio-economic status on academic performance of students in selected schools in Edu LGA of Kwara State Nigeria and the relationship between home-based environment factors and the academic performance of students in selected secondary schools within a local government area in Kwara State was investigated. A Sample of sixty students were randomly selected from the population of one hundred and eighty (180) students. The four factors that were examined and statistically analyses were: parental socio-economic background, parental educational background, parental educational qualification and students’ health statuses. The data collected were analyzed using frequency count, percentage for variables such as age and sex. The hypotheses generated were tested using t – test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and pair – wise turkey test comparison at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study indicated that Parental socio-economic status and parental educational background did not have any significance effect on the academic performance of the students. From the results of this study, parental socioeconomic status was found not to have any significance effect on the academic achievement of students. This means that there is still no consensus about the effect of this variable on students’ academic achievement. This disagree with the findings of numerous researcher that parental socioeconomic status has a positive relationship with students’ academic achievement. Because of this, the researcher in this present study decides to investigate parental socioeconomic status and home education environment as correlate of students’ academic achievement in physics in order to bridge this gap. The above study was not carried out in Enugu State and but the present study was carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.

Studies on Home Education Environment

There are a significant number of studies that look at both the qualities of the home environment, as well as the parental behavior on child academic outcomes. Many of these studies use the home scale to assess the physical as well as the social environment of the home. A number of studies conducted in the various countries using the home scale found significant relationships between the home environment and cognitive development of children’s reading and the growth of vocabulary which led to later academic achievement.

Ree (2002) carried out a four-year longitudinal study conducted among 193 working and middle-class mothers in Seattle, Washington DC to determine the prediction of IQ and language skill, child performance, family characteristics and mother-infant interaction. The study adopted a correlation research design. Data was collected from 193 working and middle class mothers. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and multiple regression were used for data analysis. The finding of the study showed that measures of environmental quality (orderliness, enrichment and overall stimulating quality) and of parent-infant interaction (mother-child interaction patterns, family habits, living patterns as described by the mother), taken in the first year of life are the best predictors of later IQ or academic performance. Lee, Super, and Harkness (2003) resonated similar findings with a sample of 750 children from kindergarten through seventh grade. Findings showed that on the home scale, particularly accessibility of materials (play objects, reading books, musical instruments, picture decorations, other educational material) was found to be a significant predictor of children’s perceived competence.

Aottie and Gotfied (2007) carried out a 3-year longitudinal study conducted with 119 children in the 1 to 4-year age group on home environment and early cognitive development. The study adopted a correlational research design. Samples of 119 children within the age of four years were used for the study. The findings of the study indicated a positive correlation between cognitive development and the home stimulation variables measured on the home scale. The variables included parent involvement (reading, playing, warmth and affection) and availability of stimulating materials such as toys, reading materials, craft materials and games.

Egunsola (2014) carried out a research on influence of home environment on academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study used ex-post facto and correlation survey to investigate the influence of home environment on academic performance of senior secondary students in Adamawa State. The population of the study consisted of 8,548 students in class 2 in 2012/13 to 2013/14 academic sessions. A total sample of 900 students was drawn from the population using multi-stage sampling technique to respond to the instrument for data collection for the study. The instrument used was a 40 item researcher designed questionnaire titled Home Environment Factors and Students’ Academic Achievement Test in Agricultural Science (HEFSAATAS) consisting of two sections A and B. Inferential statistics z-test and Correlation analysis were used to analyze and interpret the data. The results showed that parental educational qualification (r = 0.73), occupation (r = 0.71) and home location (r = 0.73) were highly correlated with students’ academic performance while parental economic status (income and affluence) have moderate correlation (r – 0.60) but all the independent variables have significant influence on students’ performances in Agricultural Science at the secondary school. It was recommended that parents and other significant persons should make students’ homes conducive and stimulatory to learning not only the school subjects but education in general. It is important to state that the study was not carried out in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State and the study was on agricultural science achievement while the present study focused on physics students’ academic achievement. It also important to state that the study only found out the extent of the relationships that exist between educational qualification, occupation, parental economic status (income and affluence), home environment and students’ academic performance while the presents study will go beyond finding out the relationships that exist between these variables to finding out the proportion of the variation in students achievement in physics that is due to or predicted by parental socioeconomic status (parental income, education, and occupation) and home education environment.

Richter and Grieve (1991) carried out a study on home environment and cognitive development of black infants in impoverished South African families. The study adopted an ex-post-facto research design. The sample of the study was 305 children aged 2 to 30 months among impoverished South African Families. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to test relationship between the variables. The result of the study found the home environment scores to be significantly correlated to mental development, independent of socioeconomic status. These findings support the generalizability of the importance of the quality of home environment for infant development. In developing countries, research consistently demonstrated that the assessment of home environments positively correlated with children’s cognitive and social development.

Most of the studies carried out on home education environment and academic achievement as reviewed above used children below 10 years of age, that is, pre-primary and primary school pupils and Most of the studies were also carried out in other countries except the one carried out by Egunsola, (2014) which was done in Adamawa State, It also important to state that none of these studies showed the proportion of the variation in students achievement in physics that is due to or predicted by home education environment which the present study will empirically determine using Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State as the geographical scope.

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