Teaching practice experiences of biology teachers in Nigeria, challenges
and possible panacea: a case study of Secondary Schools in Ido Local
Government of Oyo state.
Abstract
This study examined the effects of parents’ socio-economic class, child position and school environments on
the academic performance of Chemistry students in secondary school in Ayedire Local Government Area of
Osun State, Nigeria. The research design used were descriptive survey design. A sample of One hundred (100)
SS2 chemistry students was used for this study. This sample was randomly drawn from a population of one
hundred and eight six (186). T-test statistics was used with the aid of statistical package for social science
(SPSS) version 22 to test the null hypotheses formulated for the study at the 0.05 alpha level of significance.
The result from the findings confirmed that there is a significant difference in the academic performance of
children from upper and lower socio-economic classes. Also, there is no significant difference in the
academic performance of an earlier-born child and later-born child in Chemistry and finally, the finding
accepted there is significant difference in the academic performance of students in the well-equipped schools
and less equipped schools. The study recommended that Parents should endeavour to provide children with
their basic school needs, choices, an adjustment in school, curricular and the school life generally. Also
school management should ensure that the school working environment is conducive for both teachers and
pupils to enhance the motivation and satisfaction level.
Keywords: Socio-economic class, Child position, school environment, academic performance
INTRODUCTION
There is no nation which will afford to neglect science education at any level and hope to thrive in any field
of human endeavour. Science education is imperative for useful living in any society. It’s at the centre for
producing resources necessary for socio-economic, scientific and technological development needed for the
advancement of any nation. Despite the importance of Chemistry, poor performance has been recorded for
the topic over a few years. Njoku (2003) reported that the low academic performance in chemistry has
impeded the attainment of the National policy in Education. Uwaifo, (2012) expressed that the explanation
for poor academic performance consists of private and institutional factors. Personal factors relate to the
individual's intelligence, knowledge and skill while institutional factors are family or parental influences,
societal influences, institutional influences, school-related factors, students/teacher rapport, teacher-related
factors, accommodation and living conditions. Ajila and Olutola (2007) in their view agreed that the house
environment is that the first factors that affect the scholar since the oldsters are the primary socializing agents
during a student’s life. They further opined that the family background and context of a toddler affect his
reaction to life situations and his level of performance.
The Parental background impact negatively or positively on the gross performance of the kid. Family
financial resources, which are related to parents’ occupation and academic attainment, often imply increased
learning opportunities both reception and in class. Better educated parents can contribute better to their
children’s learning through their day to day interactions with their children and involving themselves in their
children’s school work (Asikhia, 2010). (Osunloye 2008; Ushie , Onongha, Owolabi, and Emeka, 2012)
1
agreed that family background in terms of family type, size, socio-economic status occupation and academic
background play important role in children’s educational attainment and social integration. Parent’s
occupational level influence the training performance of their children. To Caro (2009), the occupational
level of the oldsters has a crucial relationship with English language achievement of scholars. Furthermore,
the father's occupation in terms of professional, semi-professional and therefore the manual group have an
identical academic influence on the performance of their children.
In line with the above assertion, Hill et al. (2004) had also argued that class of oldsters don't only affect the
tutorial performance but also makes it possible for youngsters from low background to compete well with
their counterparts from high socio-economic background under an equivalent academic environment. Within
the same vein, other researchers had posited that parents’ class could affect children performance within the
school on cause flexibility to regulate to the various school schedules (Guerin et al., 2001). During a previous
local finding in Nigeria, Oni (2007) and Omoegun (2007) averred that there's a big difference between
academic performance among students from upper and lower socio-economic classes.
Child position in term of the order of birth is another significant factor that affects the performance of
youngsters academically. Children of a family behave differently although they were raised within the same
environment and share an equivalent genetic pools from both of their parents. A number of the intrauterine
theories claimed that a young mother can provide a "rich uterine environment” for her earlier born children
and hence, leads to greater health and intelligence within the earlier born. Hotz et al (2015) say that the
firstborns are always described as being responsible, high achievers and perfectionists whereas last born and
only child are always described as mostly spoiled kids. Most of the time, older siblings always function an
intellectual resource to the younger siblings and this stimulates the intellectual development of the older
siblings. The youngest and only children are never a "teacher" from their siblings in order that they might
not perform also as firstborns in academics. Similarly, Glass et al (2007) found that firstborn score above
later-born, once they come from higher economic strata.
It has also been generally accepted that faculty environments can hardly be separated from education in
influencing academic performance. Consistent with Okoro (2014), an academic environment might be
described as an area where the learners learn to interact with learning facilities to be socialized and face the
challenges in society. Zais (2011) considered the varsity environment to incorporate material and human
resources, a learning place that consists of the whole interactive setting sort of a classroom, workshop,
library, field and offices. Miller, Davis, Tomporowski, & Naglieri (2008) asserted that the varsity
environment is that the sum of both human and materials resources that the learners interact with. These
include students, teachers, instructors, workshop attendants, administrators and every one facilities available
within the school setting which can influence learning and academic performance.
In the same vein, Okwelle (2016) refers to the environment because the facilities available for instruction
and it possesses a robust influence within the teaching-learning process. He added that there's a requirement
for adequate classroom buildings with good sitting arrangements for classroom instruction. He went further
to state that the supply of well-equipped school workshops and laboratories with modern machines, tools
and materials for practices are necessary. This research is therefore committed to investigating the "effects
of parents' class, child position and faculty environments on academic performance of scholars in
Chemistry”.
Statement of the Problem
The poor academic performance of students according to Ezefe and Okeke (2005), "is making science
education face a serious problem which needs to be quickly addressed before a total collapse". Over the
years, poor performances have been recorded among secondary school students not only in overall but also
in the key subjects such as English language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology where the high
space of failure have been a dominant feature of the students’ performance. Ayedire Local Government Area
of Osun State is not exempted from this poor performance of students in science subjects. Uwaifo, (2012)
has attributed the causes of poor performance to the combination of personal and institutional factors.
Personal factors related to individuals family or parental influences, societal influences, institutional
influences and institutional factor related to students, teachers, school environments and living conditions.
2
There is the need to find out more about the factors that influence the academic performance of children in
school. In particular, the questions may be asked “Does parents’ socio-economic class affect students’
performance? What are the effects of child position on academic performance? Does the school environment
influence the academic performance of the students?” This study will seek answers to these questions by
studying the effects of parents' socio-economic class, child position and school environments on the
academic performance of Chemistry students in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State.
Objective of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to find out the effects of parents' socio-economic class, child position and
school environments on the academic performance of Chemistry students in Ayedire Local Government
Area of Osun State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to:
i.
Test whether the performance of students in Chemistry is influenced by parents’ socio-economic
class.
ii.
Investigate the effects of child position on the performance of students in Chemistry.
iii.
Examine the influence of school environments on the students’ academic performance.
Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide this study.
i.
ii.
iii.
Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of chemistry students from upper
and lower socio-economic classes?
Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of an earlier-born child and a laterborn child in Chemistry?
Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of students in the well-equipped
schools and less equipped schools?
Research Hypothesis
To provide solutions to the problems enumerated above, the following hypotheses will be tested to guide this
study at a 0.05 level of significance.
Hypothesis One (H01): There is no significant difference in the academic performance of children from
upper and lower socio-economic classes
Hypothesis two (H02): There is no significant difference in the academic performance of an earlier-born
child and a later-born child in Chemistry
Hypothesis Three (H03): There is no significant difference in the academic performance of students in
well- equipped schools and less equipped schools
BRIEF REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This shall be presented under the following subheadings:
Concept of school environment
School environment consists of both material and non-material resources within the school. It includes the
teachers, peers, cohesiveness, the themes, method of teaching. A healthy and attractive school environment
makes for conducive learning and promotes students pride in their schools and their interest to stay in school
(Mgbodile 2014). Gagne (2015) states that the environment for the kid includes a number of structures like
buildings, furniture's, equipment, instructional materials, the teachers, the coevals and people involved in the
development of a child. Booth and Okely (2015) looked at school environment as the physical environment
(e.g. facilities and equipment) and school policies (e.g. time allocated for physical and Health Educational
Sport). According to the State of Maine (2015) school environment includes the physical and aesthetic
surroundings and therefore the psychological climate and culture of the varsity.
3
Academic Performance
Academic performance is a multidimensional construct composed of the skills, attitudes, and behaviors of a
learner that contribute to academic success in the classroom (Hijazi & Naqvi, 2006). It is a satisfactory and
superior level of performance of scholars as they progress through and complete their school experience.
Osonwa, Adejobi, Iyam and Osunwa (2013) indicated that poor academic performance may be a
performance that's adjudged by the examinee/testee and a few other significant as falling below an expected
standard. Osonwa et al (2013) also stated that prior literature has shown that learning outcomes (academic
achievement and academic performance) are determined by such variables as, family, schools, society and
motivation factors.
Concept of child position
Child position or sibling rank refers to the order a child is born in the family. It has been suggested that child
position plays an important role in defining a child’s characteristics, personality type and educational
achievement (Booth & Kee, 2009). Child position has been shown to have an effect on educational
motivation and achievement, even after dealing with variables such as social status. Sanni (2019) described
that the primary born child who is predicted to play the role of a leader; hear instructions from parents; watch
how domestic duties are carried out; and at times do same may likely develop and exhibit visual, auditory
and kinesthetic learning styles to meet up with the expectations. The second born children are not given
adequate attention as given to the first born by the parents. Thus, second born children rely on older siblings
as a role model and they often try to catch up with them. The second born children may like to do whatever
the older child does. In view of this, they may likely develop and exhibit kinesthetic learning styles in order
to learn new things or skills. For the last born children, Beck, Burnet and Vosper (2006), said last born
children often want to put up behaviour that can make them to be recognised among their older siblings.
Concept of Socio-Economic Status (SES)
Socio-Economic Status (SES) Socioeconomic status is a term that comprises two variables: the social and
the economic variables. Social status is acquired by the position one occupies in society whilst economic
status is associated with the wealth of a person. The socioeconomic status has always been measured by an
equivalent parameters by experts from varied fields including sociologists, educationists and psychologists.
Socio-economic background or status refers to a person’s position in a given group, society or culture as
determined by wealth, occupation, education and social class (Onyancha, Njoroge, & Newton, 2015). OseiOwusu, Ampofo, Akyina, Ampomah and Osei-Owusu (2018) also view socio-economic status (SES) as an
economic and sociologically combined total measure of a person's work experience and an individual's or
family's economic and social position concerning others based on income, education and occupation. Saifi
and Mehmood (2011) submit that socio-economic status may be a combined measure of a private or family's
income and social position relative to others supported income, education and occupation. Socio-economic
status is typically delineated into three categories, thus high SES, middle SES and low SES to describe the
three areas family or an individual may fall into. Thus, the concept "class" or "status" implies some people
are either superior or inferior in some respect. Parent socioeconomic status in this study is made of:
a. Parents’ Income
b. Parents’ Level of Education
c. Parents’ Occupation
d. Parent’s involvement
a. Parents’ Income and Students’ Academic Performance
Several researchers have explained that the economic status of parents positively influenced the academic
achievement of children. Ahamad (2016); and Lareau (2003) stated that poor and working-class parents
primarily focused their responsibility to provide for the physical needs of their children, such as clothing,
food, and housing. Bjorman (2005) stated that when families constrained by inadequate resources, children's
educational attainment is consequently affected. Ahmad (2016) claimed that parents of low economic status
are unable to pay attention to the academic activity of children. They failed to create an educational
environment in their home as their priority became searching for a source of income. Zhang (2012) examined
students and their families' income in China. The study measured students reading skills, verbal interaction
and phonological awareness concerning their families' level of income. The results showed that low-income
children exhibited lower levels of cognitive-linguistic skills, lower verbal interactions and lower
4
phonological awareness and usually lower academic performance than their counterparts from high and
middle-income families. It also showed that children from high-income families were more proficient in
reading skills than in low-income families. Sean (2013) presents in his comprehensive study how students
from families with high income are having best performance than those from low-income families. He
posited that the impact of the parent's income can be shown in the early timing of the students' learning.
b. Parents’ Level of Education and Students’ Academic Performance
Parents are the closest people to students as they obtain their early education from them. The study of Mallan
(2009) posited that parents' level of education is vital to schooling as parents want their children to take care
of the established order. It's also believed that parents with higher educational levels have stronger
confidence in their children's academic abilities and they also have higher expectations of their children.
They expect that their child will earn good grades behave well in class and attend college. These expectations
and confidence in their children motivate them to try to to well at college. The confidence parents have in
their children also help them to build their confidence and self-concept which is important in their education
(Mallan, 2009). Kaninuwa and Yusuf (2013) have emphasized mother's education act as human capital in
the family. Moreover, the mother's attitude and behaviour have been observed to be reflected in the children.
Educated mothers can pay more attention to the educational activity of their children. However, Jamila
(2009) conducted a study on the effect of parental level of education on students' academic performance in
Norway. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive correlation between the parental level of
education and their children's academic achievement.
c. Parents’ Occupation and Student’s Academic Performance
Parents are the first persons in raising children in any society that's why the family is considered the first
agent of socialization (Adekey, 2002). It is through parents' occupation and efforts that children are socialized
to become productive citizens in education and general life (Adekey, 2002). Gratz (2006) opined that parents
in inferior occupations earn lower incomes and often have to work longer hours to earn more for their
families. Therefore they're often left with less time to spend with their relations and getting more involved
in their children's educational activities. However, it's also important to note that not all parents in inferior
occupation work for long hours. Muhammed (2012) conducted a study on the "Impact of parents' profession
on their Children's learning English in Pakistan." The results revealed that for learning English parents'
profession has a positive correlation on it that varies concerning their professions. In this study, Mohammed
found out that children whose parents have more advanced or better profession live in places where the
English language is spoken frequently and therefore they are more conversant with the language than those
whose parents have inferior professions.
d. Parent’s involvement and student’s academic performance
The involvement of the parent in their children's education is an essential mediator of the influences of family
SES on the academic achievement of children (Li & Qiu, 2018). The involvement of parents in the home
and school activities are equally important for their children's education. Boonk et al. (2018) argued about
the home-based and school-based involvement of the parent in their children's education. Home-based
involvement has a strong association with academic achievement, but School-based involvement has a mixed
type of association. Şad (2013) further added participating parents performed such home-based parental
involvement tasks as communicating with children, creating a favourable learning environment at home
supporting the child's personality development, and helping their homework relatively more often". Fan and
Williams (2010) argued that when parents are engaged with school-related activities, they can strengthen the
bond between home and school and demonstrate that they value their children's education.
School Environment and Student’s Academic Performance in Chemistry
A school may be a learning environment where teamwork is prevalent, diversity is incorporated, and
individuals care about, trust, and respect one another, community members share a vision for the longer term
of the varsity, a standard sense of purpose, and a standard set of values. A student's educational outcome and
academic success are greatly influenced by the sort of faculty that they attend. Adeyegbe (2005) opined that
laboratory adequacy which may be a school environment factor has been reported to affect the performance
of scholars in chemistry. Njoku (2003) reported that the low academic performance in chemistry has impeded
the attainment of the National policy in Education. School environment is agreed by different scholars
5
together of the factors of educational performance. A conducive learning environment has the subsequent
components like acoustic value furniture, ventilation, and thermal comfort. Crosnoe, Johnson and Elder
(2004) suggested that faculty sector (public or private) and sophistication size are two important structural
components of faculty. Private schools tend to possess both better funding and smaller class size than public
schools. the extra funding of personal schools results in better academic performance and more access to
resources like computers, which has been shown to reinforce academic performance.
Socio-Economic Status of oldsters and Academic Performance of scholars in Chemistry
Socio-economic status reflects and is measured by the social and economic status of relations. Also socioeconomic background or status refers to a person’s position during a given group, society or culture as
determined by wealth, occupation, education and class. People generally believe that there's a robust and
stable correlation between socioeconomic status and children's academic performance and cognitive
development. However, the conclusions from studies are inconsistent (Bradley and Corwyn, 2002; Lareau,
2011). A meta-analysis performed by Sirin (2005) of quite 70 studies published from 1990 to 2000 found
that there wasn't a high correlation between SES and academic achievement. The typical was 0.29, and
therefore the median was 0.24. Children from high parental socio-economic status obtained better grades in
class than those from low socioeconomic status and that they tend to pursue education above lyceum level.
Russell (2007) said that children whose parents are rich even have both physical and psychological needs
like every other child, which when provided, contribute positively to their academic performance in
chemistry.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for this study is based on Social Class Theory, Good Parent Theory and Resources
Dilution Theory.
Social Class Theory
Social Class is a multifaceted system of stratification and meaning-making that takes into account socioeconomic status, cultural capital, social networks, beliefs, values and behaviours associated with maternal
and social resources (Webb, 2014). It is the hierarchical distinction between individuals or groups in
societies. Socio-economic status is one major indicator of social class, typically taking into account one's
family income, educational attainment and/or occupational level. Weber (1947) (as translated by Henderson
and Parsons) in his theory categorised class as working class, lower middle class, intelligentsia and upper
class. He believed that class position was determined by a person's skills and education rather than their
relationship to the means of production. He introduced three independent factors that form his theory of
stratification hierarchy, class, status and power.
Class – a person's economic position in society.
Status – a person’s prestige, social honour or popularity in a society.
Power – a person’s ability to get their way despite the resistance of others.
Furthermore, the Weberian theory argued that social class formation can be based on more than economic
resources. In his theory, sources of power are recognised in three dimensions i.e. economic, social and
political. Social power can come from different educational levels that can lead to different social roles.
Political power implies hierarchical power that can be differentiated in a person’s job position. Weber argued
that economic classes can combine into social classes. Although economic classes are the product of
impersonal market possesses, other factors intervene to provide the continuity required to transform the
economic relationship into discrete social categories. Social class for Weber include power and prestige in
addition to property or wealth. Weber saw class as only one aspect of the distribution of power in society.
He posits that whether or not members of a class display class consciousness depends on certain contingent
factors. Weber identified three aspects of the class as (i) specific causal components of actors' life chances
(ii) which rest exclusively on economic interests and wealth (iii) is represented under conditions of labour
and commodity markets. The possession of material resources, accumulated by advantage in the
marketplace, results in distinctive qualities in terms of the standard of living. According to Weber (as cited
Kyoungwon 2009), while class groups do not constitute communities, status groups normally are
communities. Also, he defined status as the likelihood that life chances are determined by social honour or
prestige. Status groups are linked by a common style of life and the attendant social restrictions. His view is
6
that wealth is not necessarily the primary cause of status though it is generally associated with it. Hence
wealth is a key determinant of the lifestyle difference upon which status depends. The theory is relevant
because indicators measured in social class theory play an important role in explaining factors that affect the
relationship between socio-economic status and academic performance.
Good parent theory
It’s propounded by Adams & Singh (1980) holds that low income hurts children not because poor families
have less money to invest in their children, but because low income reduces parents' ability to be "good
parents". There are two versions of the theory. The parental stress version and the role model version. The
"parental stress" version which dominates psychology holds that poverty is stressful and that stress
diminishes parents' ability to be supportive, consistent and involved in their children education. Poor
parenting, in turn, hurts the social and emotional development of children, which limits their education and
social opportunities. The role model version emphasized parents' interactions with their children but it does
not necessarily imply that poor parents are stressed. Instead, it usually holds that low-income parents develop
values, norms and behaviours that are "dysfunctional" for success in the dominant culture. In this case, their
children, in turn, adopt their parents' dysfunctional behaviour; as a result, the children's chances of success
decline. The parental stress model stressed that when parental income increases parental stress declines and
parenting skills improve. In this case, both the stress and the role model version of the theory are quite
relevant to the study in the sense that the stressed version deals with psychology, that stressed parents lack
concentration as a result, their ability to think positively towards their children social and emotional
development decline which will have a serious effect on their children educational outcome. On the other
hand, the role model version also acknowledges the poor family background or parents with low income
develop negative values and norms toward their children academic performance.
Resource dilution theory
This theory attributes superior outcomes for earlier-born children to the gradual dilution of parental resources
with every additional child being born into the family. Resource dilution theory is based on the assumption
that parents’ resources, such as attention and financial means, are divided among children living in a
household. Hence, they dilute with every additional child. The firstborn will benefit from access to the
highest average amount of resources (Blake, 1981; Downey, 2001). This effect is amplified by the fact that
investments during early childhood are expected to be more productive than investments later on in life
(Cunha and Heckman, 2009). Based on American Time Use Survey data, Price (2008) finds that first-born
children experience 20 to 30 minutes of average additional quality time per day compared to second-born at
the same age in similar families due to an equal split of parental time amongst siblings.
This posits that within-family social dynamics is an important factor to explain child position effects on
academic performance. Throughout their life, an earlier-born child is exposed to an environment of higher
average intellectual maturity, compared to later-born. The confluence model is based on the
conceptualization of the family as an intellectual environment that follows complex dynamics. It has been
first described by Zajonc and Markus (1975). The model is based on the assumption that the child’s
intellectual development is partly driven by the dynamics of its social environment’s average intellectual
maturity. The authors argue that firstborns benefit, all other things equal, from a household age which is on
average higher compared to that of younger siblings. Moreover, older siblings are expected to benefit from
a tutoring effect, namely by reinforcing their skills via teaching them to younger siblings. An important
aspect is that this firstborn advantage is dynamic and not a linear function. As such, it depends on the
individual’s and their siblings’ age. The model suggests a positive association between child position and
performance from a crossover age of 11 +/-2 onwards (Zajonc and Sulloway, 2007). The crossover age
describes the age at which earlier-born siblings start to particularly benefit from tutoring their later-born
siblings.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study adopted a survey research design and made use of primary data. The population consist of covered
Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State. The population of the study comprised all the one hundred
and eight six (186) SS2 chemistry students from the secondary schools in Aiyedire local government areas
of Osun State. One hundred (100) respondents were randomly selected from secondary schools in Aiyedire
7
local government areas of Osun State. Twenty-five (25) SS2 students were drawn each from the selected
secondary schools in Aiyedire Local Government Area of Osun State. The research instrument used was the
questionnaire and was designed in a Likert-scale format to enable the researchers scale/measure the strength
of responses elicited from the various respondents. T-test statistics was used with the aid of statistical
package for social science (SPSS) version 22 to test the null hypotheses formulated for the study at the 0.05
alpha level of significance.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Research Question 1: Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of children from
upper and lower socio-economic classes?
Table 1: Showing descriptive analysis on academic performance of children from upper and lower socioeconomic classes.
S/N
ITEMS
SA (%)
A (%)
D (%)
SD (%)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
My school fee is always paid earlier and this usually helped my
performance in Chemistry exams each term.
My parents are not rich and as such where we live does not
have enough space for my Chemistry studies.
Most times, some of my school materials for Chemistry are not
provided by my parents because they don’t have the money to
do so.
Sometimes I miss Chemistry class because I help my parents
to hulk to raise my school fees and this affects my performance
in Chemistry greatly.
My parents are not educated and this affects my performance
in Chemistry.
My parents value education a lot and their encouragement has
helped my performance in Chemistry.
The low educational background of my parent affect me in
Chemistry and most times I have to do my homework myself
whether I know it or not
My parent occupation does not give my parents time to attend
to my academic needs.
28(28%)
24(24%)
22(22%)
26(26%)
23(23%)
24(24%)
26(26%)
27(27%)
12(12%)
27(27%)
24(24%)
37(37%)
32(32%)
26(26%)
23(23%)
19(19%)
27(27%)
33(33%)
22(22%)
18(18%)
24(24%)
43(43%)
23(23%)
10(10%)
30(30%)
29(29%)
25(25%)
16(16%)
33(33%)
42(42%)
20(20%)
05(05%)
Parents with poor occupations find it difficult to provide 28(28%)
learning aids for their children.
Parents in prestigious occupation want their children to take up 38(38%)
the same type of occupation and this affects my performance
in Chemistry greatly
45(45%)
17(17%)
10(10%)
41(41%)
12(12%)
9(9%)
Table 1 above reveals that 52(52%) of the respondents agreed that their school fee is always paid earlier and
this usually helped their performance in Chemistry exams each term while 48(48%) of the respondents
disagreed. 47(47%) of the respondents agreed that their parents are not rich and as such where we live does
not have enough space for their Chemistry studies while 53(53%) of the respondents disagreed. 39(39%) of
the respondents agreed that most times, some of their school materials for Chemistry are not provided by
their parents because they don't have the money to do so. while 61(61%) of the respondents disagreed.
58(58%) of the respondents agreed that sometimes they miss Chemistry class because they help their parents
to hulk to raise school fees and this affects their performance in Chemistry greatly while 42(42%) of the
respondents disagreed. 60(60%) of the respondents agreed that their parents are not educated and this affects
their performance in Chemistry while 40(40%) of the respondents disagreed. Also, 67(67%) of the
respondents agreed that their parents value education a lot and their encouragement has helped their
performance in Chemistry while 33(33%) of the respondents disagreed. 59(59%) of the respondents agreed
that low educational background of their parent affect them in Chemistry and most times they have to do
their homework themselves whether they know it or not while 41(41%) of the respondents disagreed.
75(75%) of the respondents agreed that parent occupation does not give their parents time to attend to their
academic needs while 25(25%) of the respondents disagreed. 73(73%) of the respondents agreed that parents
with poor occupations find it difficult to provide learning aids for their children while 27(27%) of the
8
respondents disagreed. Finally, 79(79%) of the respondents agreed that parents in prestigious occupation
want their children to take up the same type of occupation and this affects my performance in Chemistry
greatly while 21(21%) of the respondents disagreed.
Research Question 2: Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of an earlier-born
child and a later-born child in Chemistry?
Table 2: Showing descriptive analysis on academic performance of an earlier-born child and laterborn child in Chemistry
S/N
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
ITEMS
SA (%)
A (%)
D (%)
SD (%)
Child position in the family also determine the level of
academic performance
Sometimes I miss Chemistry class because my parent firstly
attends to the school fee of the earlier-born child before the
other children in the family.
As the first child, I study less at home because I mostly run an
errand at home and this affects my performance in Chemistry.
44(44%)
38(38%)
10(10%)
8(8%)
30(30%)
25(25%)
20(20%)
25(25%)
34(34%)
32(32%)
24(%)
10(10%)
As the firstborn child, I help my parents to hulk to raise my
school fees for other children in the family and this affects my
performance in Chemistry greatly.
Most times, Instructional materials for Chemistry are provided
to the earlier-born child of the family before others born child.
30(30%)
19(19%)
41(41%)
10(10%)
33(33%)
28(38%)
28(28%)
11(11%)
Table 2 above reveals that 82(82%) of the respondents agreed that child position in the family also determine
the level of academic performance while 18(18%) of the respondents disagreed. However, 55(55%) of the
respondents agreed that sometimes they miss Chemistry class because their parent firstly attends to the school
fee of the earlier-born child before the other children in the family while 45(45%) of the respondents
disagreed. More so, 66(66%) of the respondents agreed that as the first child, they study less at home because
they mostly run an errand at home and this affects their performance in Chemistry while 34(34%) of the
respondents disagreed. Similarly 49(49%) of the respondents agreed that as the firstborn child they help their
parents to hulk to raise their school fees for other children in the family and this affects their performance in
Chemistry greatly while 51(51%) of the respondents disagreed. Finally, (61%) of the respondents agreed that
Most times, Instructional materials for Chemistry are provided to the earlier-born child of the family before
others born child while (39%) of the respondents disagreed.
Research Question 3: Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of students in the
well- equipped schools and less equipped schools?
Table 3: Showing descriptive analysis on academic performance of students in the well- equipped
schools and less equipped schools
S/N ITEMS
SA (%)
A (%)
D (%)
SD (%)
16.
My school classrooms are spacious and conducive for study.
40(40%)
16(16%)
24(24%)
20(20%)
17.
My school is always calm and silent because it is well fenced
and this help my performance in Chemistry subject.
39(39%)
21(21%)
26(26%)
14(14%)
18.
My school has enough specimens in the laboratory and other
laboratory equipment and this helps my performance in the
Chemistry subject.
There are adequate school health facilities, materials/books,
Desk, chairs and computers.
31(31%)
28(28%)
(24%)
17(17%)
30(30%)
29(29%)
20(20%)
21(21%)
My school library is well equipped with enough textbooks and
computers so I study further on chemistry subject at the library
after the normal school lesson.
32(32%)
22(22%)
26(26%)
20(20%)
19.
20.
9
Table 3 above reveals that 56(56%) of the respondents agreed that their school classrooms are spacious and
conducive for study while 44(44%) of the respondents disagreed. Also, 60(60%) of the respondents agreed
that their school is always calm and silent because it is well fenced and this helps their performance in
Chemistry subject while 40(40%) of the respondents disagreed. However, 59(59%) of the respondents agreed
that their school has enough specimens in the laboratory and other laboratory equipment and this help their
performance in the Chemistry subject while 41(41%) of the respondents disagreed. Similarly, 59(59%) of
the respondents agreed that there are adequate school health facilities, materials/books, Desk, chairs and
computers while 41(41%) of the respondents disagreed. Finally, 54(54%) of the respondents agreed that their
school library is well equipped with enough textbooks and computers so they study further on chemistry
subject at the library after the normal school lesson while 46(46%) of the respondents disagreed.
4.2
Test of Hypotheses
Hypothesis I: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of children from upper and
lower socio-economic classes.
Table 4: Summary of T-test Analysis for Hypothesis One (HO1)
SocialEconomic
N
Mean
Std. Dev
Upper
42
2.66
1.08
Lower
58
2.24
1.20
Df
T-cal
Tcritical
P
–
value
Remark
94
2.80
1.96
0.00
Reject Ho.
Source: Researcher’s Computation Using SPSS Version 22
Table 4 above presents the t-test analysis of the significant difference in the academic performance of
children from upper and lower socio-economic classes. The mean and standard deviations of the responses
from upper social-economic students were (2.66) 1.08 and that of the lower social-economic students was
(2.24)1.20. From table 4.8, it is indicated that the calculated t- value is 2.80 at 94 degrees of freedom and
0.05 level of significance since the t-calculated is greater than the t-critical, the null hypothesis was
rejected stating that there is no significant difference in the academic performance of children from upper
and lower socio-economic classes based on the influence parental socio-economic status on students’
academic performance in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State. Hence, there is a significant
difference in the academic performance of children from upper and lower socio-economic classes.
Hypothesis II: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of an earlier-born child and
later-born child in Chemistry
Table 5: Summary of T-test Analysis for Hypothesis two (HO2)
School(s)
N
Mean
Std. Dev
earlier-born
child
38
2.55
1.16
later-born
child
62
2.60
Df
T-cal
TCritical
P
value
Remark
94
-3.24
1.96
0.00
Accept Ho.
1.04
Source: Researcher’s Computation Using SPSS Version 22
Table 5 contains the data showing the mean rating significant difference in the academic performance of
an earlier-born child and later-born child in Chemistry. The result shows that the earlier-born child has a
mean rating of 2.55 whereas the later-born child has 2.60. The results were further subjected to t-test
statistical distributions and it was revealed that the t-calculated value gives -3.24 while the standard tcritical value is 1.96. Based on the comparison, the t-calculated value is less (<) than the t-critical and
with this one can conclude that the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant difference in the
academic performance of an earlier-born child and later-born child in Chemistry based on the influence
“child position” has on students’ academic performance in schools in Ayedire Local Government Area of
Osun state should be accepted.
10
Hypothesis III: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of students in the wellequipped schools and less equipped schools
Table 6: Summary of T-test Analysis for Hypothesis three (HO3)
School(s)
N
Mean
Std. Dev
well- equipped
schools
50
2.69
1.08
less equipped
schools
50
2.57
Df
T-cal
TCritical
P
value
Remark
94
4.86
1.96
0.00
Reject Ho.
0.97
Source: Researcher’s Computation Using SPSS Version 22
Table 6 contains the data showing the mean rating of significant difference in the academic performance
of students in the well- equipped schools and less equipped schools. The result shows that the students in
the well- equipped schools' response have a mean rating of 2.69 whereas the less equipped schools have
2.50. The results were further subjected to t-test statistical distributions and it was revealed that the tcalculated value gives 4.86 while the standard t-critical value is 1.96. Based on the comparison, the tcalculated value is greater (>) than the t-critical and with this one can conclude that the null hypothesis
stating that there is no significant difference in the academic performance of students in the well-equipped
schools and less equipped schools based on the influence school environment has on students’ academic
performance in schools in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State should be rejected. Hence, there
is a significant difference in the academic performance of students in the well- equipped schools and less
equipped schools.
Discussion of findings
From the results in table 1, it was confirmed that to a high extent Parental socio-economic status has a
significant influence on students’ academic ‘performance in selected schools in Ayedire Local
Government Area of Osun State. This contains summary t-test statistics in table 4 on the test of the significant
difference in the mean ratings and standard deviation of the respondent responses on the influence of parental
socio-economic status on students’ academic performance in selected schools in Ayedire Local
Government Area of Osun State. However, the results confirmed that there is a significant difference in the
academic performance of children from upper and lower socio-economic classes and this confirmed Aliyu
(2016), investigation on the influence of parental socio-economic status on the academic achievement of
Senior Secondary School students in Nassarawa Zonal Education Area of Kano State, Nigeria.
Also, table 3 shows the percentage distribution of the extent of influence “child position” has on students’
academic performance in schools in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State. The summary t-test
statistics in table 5 revealed that there is no significant difference in the academic performance of an earlierborn child and later-born child in Chemistry and this result is synonymous to Joseph (2009) investigate that
family size and child position had no relationship with academic performance of 19 university students.
Similarly, table 3 contained the extent of influence “school environment” has on students’ academic
performance in schools in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State. The summary t-test statistics in
table 6 accepted that there is significant difference in the academic performance of students in the wellequipped schools and less equipped schools and this confirmed Adegbesan (2012) findings, who stated that
adequate facilities help in increasing the students' performance in the school system, also the implementation
of quality assurance practice in school will help in making sure that there are adequate facilities in schools.
Also, in the words of Asiabaka (2008) and Ajayi (2007), the quality of education depends to a large extent
on the availability of good facilities such as good classroom building with adequate furniture, instructional
facilities, and staffroom with adequate furniture among others.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This study examined the parents’ socio-economic class, child position and school environment on academic
performance of chemistry students in Ayedire local government area of Osun state. The result obtained
established that there was a significant relationship between students’ academic performance and parental
education, parental income and parental occupation. The higher the level of education the parent has the
more he or she affect positively the academic performance of his/her child. The study reveals that wealth
11
differentials of parents have a relationship with their participation in the academic performance of their
children. Therefore, this study concludes that parental level of education; occupation and; income influence
their participation in their children's academic performance. The study also concluded that child position had
no relationship with personality factors and academic performance. School education environment had a
significant relationship with students’ academic performance. The study reveals well-equipped schools has
an impact on students' academic performance. It was therefore recommended that Parents should endeavour
to provide children with their basic school needs, choices, an adjustment in school, curricular and the school
life generally. Also school management should ensure that the school working environment is conducive for
both teachers and pupils to enhance the motivation and satisfaction level.
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