FAMILY BACKGROUND AND STUDENTS' ATTITUDE AS

CORRELATES OF STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN ECONOMICS

IN AKINYELE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF OYO STATE

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO NATIONAL TEACHERS' INSTITUTE,

KADUNA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE AWARD OF POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION
(PGDE)

BY

IBIYEMI JOHNSON BOLAJI

MATRIC NUMBER: 12642

DECEMBER, 2023

i
 CERTIFICATION

I certify that this research work was carried out by:

IBIYEMI Johnson Bolaji.

Centre Manager Supervisor

Dr. (Mrs). Esther Olajumoke Durowoju Dr.( Mrs) Esther Olajumoke Durowoju

State Coordinator
Dr.( Mrs). A. B. Oyinlola

ii
 DEDICATION

This study is dedicated to Almighty God who has been my ultimate strength.

Also, is lovingly dedicated to my wife, Oluremi Ibiyemi. Her support and belief in me were

inspiring and unwavering. Her motivation gave me the energy and determination to complete this

research study.

In addition, to my lovely parents, Mr. Michael Ibiyemi and Mrs. Rachel Ibiyemi (both of blessed

memory), they shown and put my legs on the right path.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All the Glory, Honour and Adoration are unto the most High God, my strength, Alpha and

Omega, the beginning and the end for seeing me through this program. He alone deserves my

praise.

First and foremost, I wish to sincerely acknowledge the unquantifiable assistance, patience and

understanding of my able and disciplined supervisor, Dr Mrs. Esther Durowoju, for her intrepid

efforts which has made this invaluable study a huge success. May God reward you abundantly.

I especially want to thank my family for their support in all ramification and encouragement: my

wife - Oluremi Ibiyemi. Her belief in me was inspiring! We shall eat the fruit of this labour

together in Jesus name. To my wonderful kids - Perfection and Unique, for your endurance and

perseverance during the course of the study. You shall continue to grow in the knowledge of the

Lord.

I appreciate the inspiration and words of encouragement of my father in law, Rev. Dr. Adebayo

Olayode, I owe you a lot. You shall eat the fruit of your labour in Jesus name.

It is noteworthy to express my profound gratitude to all the scholars and authors whose works

have been very helpful to my studies. I have the privilege to reference some of them as I have

learnt directly and indirectly from them. Also, I wish to thank the teachers and students who

participated in completing the surveys in order to achieve the success of this research project.

I am also showing my gratitude to the following individual, Dn. Oluwaseun Adeoba, Bro.

Anakhe Ighaede, Mrs. Rebecca Oladeji, Mr. and Mrs. Adeniran for all their support in one way

or the other. You are greatly valued.

iv
 ABSTRACT

Economics as one of the subjects in secondary school plays an important role in the achievement
of the goals that education aims at especially the complete development of the individual. The
negative family background and poor attitude to economics learning of the student had led to
incessant poor performance of students in economics in public examinations. The study therefore
examined the influence of family background and students' attitude in economics in Akinyele
local government area of Oyo State.
The researcher used descriptive survey design. The population for this study consisted of SS2
students in six selected schools in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. One hundred
students were randomly chosen and that consisted the sample of the study. Three instruments
were used to collect data for this study. They were questionnaire on students‟ attitudes to
economics (QSAE), students‟ family background (SFB) and students‟ achievement test in
economics (SATE). Their reliability was determined using test retest (SATE = 0.79) and scott
and coefficient (ETOS = 0.72) respectively.
Base on the finding of the study, the multiple R2 is 0.568 which is 56.8% and the Adjusted R2
value is .559 which is 55.9%. This means that the variation in students‟ achievement in
Economics in Akinyele LGA accounted for by the predictor variables: family background and
attitude to learning is approximately 55.9% and it is statistically significant at p < 0.05 level.
Furthermore, indicated in Table 4.5 is the analysis of the variance of the multiple regression data.
This produced an F- ratio of F (94) = 61.835 and was found to be significant at 0.05 Alpha level.
This implies that the predictor variables (family background and attitude to learning) do jointly
predict or have effect on the dependent variable (students‟ achievement in Economics) in
Akinyele LGA.

It is therefore recommended that Economics teacher should employ student-centered teaching

strategies to facilitate learning in order to actively engage students, thereby enhance students‟
achievement in Economics.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of contents vi
List of Figures viii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 The Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 24
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study 25
1.4 Research Questions 25
1.5 Significance of the Study 26
1.6 Operational Definition of Terms 26
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 27
2.0 Introduction 27
2.1 Lee Vygotsky Social Development Theory 27
2.2 Abraham Maslow‟s Theory of Human Motivation 31
2.2.1 The Relevance of Maslow‟s Theory of Human Motivation to the Study 31
2.3 Reader- Response Theory 31
2.4 Conceptual Review Family Background Characteristics and Students‟ Academic
Performance 32
2.5 The Concept of Attitude 35
2.6 The Concept of Economics and its Branches 36
2.6.1 What is Economics all about? 36
2.6.2 Economic Indicators 37
2.7 Empirical Review 37

vi
2.7.1 Students' Achievement in Economics 37
2.8 Appraisal of Literature Reviewed 39

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 42

3.0 Introduction 42
3.1 Research design 42
3.2 Variables in the Study 42
3.3 Study population 43
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques 43
3.5 Research Instrument 43
3.6 Students' Family Background (SFB) 44
3.7 Procedure for Data Collection 45
3.8 Method of Data Analysis 45
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 46
4.0 Introduction 46
4.1 Presentation of Objectives 46

4.2 Discussion and Findings 54

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction 56
5.1 Summary of the Findings 56
5.2 Conclusion 57
5.3 Educational Implications of the Study 57
5.4 Recommendations 58
5.5 Limitations of the Study 59
5.6 Suggestions for Further Study 60

REFERENCES 61
APPENDIX 65

vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Profile of the Respondents in Akinyele LGA

Table 4.2: Difference in Students‟ Performance in Economics based on Gender

Table 4.3a: Difference in students' performance in Economics based on their home type

Table 4.3b (ii): Scheffepost-hoc multiple comparisons for groups in homogeneous subset by

home type

Table 4.4c (ii): Scheffepost-hoc means for groups in homogeneous subset by home type

Table 4.4: Composite effect of family background and attitude to learning on students‟

performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA

Table 4.5: Relative effect of family background and attitude to learning on students‟ performance

in Economics in Akinyele LGA

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1: Sex of the Students in Akinyele LGA

Fig. 2: Students‟ Fathers‟ Occupation in Akinyele LGA

Fig. 3: Students‟ Mothers‟ Occupation in Akinyele LGA

Fig. 4: No of Children of Students‟ Family in Akinyele LGA

Fig. 5: Home type of the students in Akinyele LGA

viii
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background to the Study

Family background, according to Clifford (2011) family remains the primary environment of the

child. The author emphasized that family environment has more chances of increasing or

decreasing the intellectual performance of the child. Akubue and Okolo (2008), defined family

as a small kinship structural group with the key function of natural socialization of the new born.

Similarly, in Okunniyi (2014), family is defined as a primary social group of parents, offspring

and possibly other members of the household. Family background refers to all the conditions

and circumstances in the family which influence the child physically, intellectually and

emotionally Muola (2010). Children coming from different family backgrounds are affected

different by such family conditions, which is why some children have good family background

while some have poor background. Citing Eke (2009) noted that with some families, the

background may vary from time to time for the same individuals. Formal education therefore

remains the vehicle for human development which must start from the family. There are different

categories of families. The major categories of families according to Anderson and Taylor (2010)

includes: Traditional families–where the father is the major breadwinner and mother at home

rearing children; divorced families–families that have been reconstituted following the breaking

of marriage; single parent families–likely headed by women; step families–with new siblings and

new parents stemming from re-marriage. A family could also be categorized as extended or

nuclear. Extended families are those in which large group of related kin in addition to parents

and children live together in the same household. This is the type of families prevalent in African

countries.

1
Nuclear families are families where married couple resides together with their children. This type

of family is common in Western countries (Andersen and Taylor 2010). Families are of various

sizes. Family size has to do with the total number of people in a single family which may include

the father, mother, children and even the extended members – all living in one hamlet. According

to Alio (2015) family size has implication for education. The author emphasized that the size of

the family determines to a great extent the relative amount of physical attention and time which

each child gets from his parents. Large families are more common among the lower class of the

society. Children in large families may suffer poverty and lack parental encouragement and

stimulus which motivate their academic performance. Similarly, smaller family size has been

linked with high academic performance (Majoribank 2006) Majoribank further stressed that

students with fewer siblings are likely to receive more parental attention and have support that

leads to better school performance. Family (small or large size) remains the primary environment

of every child. The families begin the process of education and provide physical and

psychological needs of the child. This supports the view of Maduewisi (2012), that the

environmental experiences from family, peer group and school location have great influence in

determining child‟s intellectual ability. She maintained that bright children from under-

privileged family environment may turn dull due to impoverished family environment. She

added that mental development influence intellectual development. This is in line with Hebb

(2007) who observed that the innate potentials of children cannot be attained without adequate

stimulating family environment because the child cannot do well intellectually. The implication

is that a proper stimulating family environment with intellectual potential and appropriate

teaching methods will definitely enhance maximum performance of the child. Durosaro and

Durosaro (2010) in their study attempted to investigate the relationship between students‟ family

2
size and their academic performance; they found out that family size influenced academic

performance. Their study reveals that children from small size families performed better at

school than their counterparts from both average size and large size families. Furthermore,

Yoloye (2009) conducted a study to see if the family background variables might be useful in

explaining their academic performance. Some aspects of family background variables examined

in the study include family size and parents‟ educational status. His findings were that the

polygamous family sizes which were naturally large, reduces the chances of children going to

school in the first instance. In addition, children from such backgrounds who are in schools have

reduced chances of achieving their goals. Thirdly, parents of such families are mostly illiterate

and incapable of providing adequate motivation for their children in schools as compare with the

literate nuclear families. The economic implication of large family size is better explained in

Okunyi (2014) who observed from his study that as families get larger, parents cannot give their

children the same amount of individual attention. They could not afford to provide them with so

many of the things which will help them to make the best possible use of their years at school

such as educational aids, and quiet comfortable rooms in which to do homework undisturbed by

the television, outings to places of interest, leisure time pursuits, and opportunities for traveling.

What is most probably important of all, according to him is the fact that the parents of large

families were found not to talk with their children to the same extent as parents of small families.

All the hindrances resulting from family background highlighted above affect not only

economics as a subject but other subjects as well. The effect of negative family background on

economics as a subject is much due to it nature that involves critical reasoning in analyzing,

calculating and interpreting of logical diagrams.

The cultural background of the family is determined to a large extent by its socio-economic

3
background. As the child grows up moves out to the interest wider society his/her interaction

with it and perception of it are largely determined from her earlier, experiences at home. The

family setting and its socializing influence mould the personality of the child. Nigeria, for

instance is a society with diverse ethnic groups with various cultural background in areas like

family size, occupation and in extreme cases, religion. These factors pose their own restrictions

on educational upbringing of children. The social sitting or mode of settlement of the family and

extended family system may equally influence the academic performance of a child and by

extension, their educational upbringing.

The responsibility of training a child always lies in the hand of the parents. This statement agrees

with the common assertion of sociologist that education can be an instrument of cultural change

which is being taught from home is relevant in this discuss. Therefore, it is not out of place to

imagine that parental socio–economic background can have possible effects on the academic

achievement of children in school (Ogunshola and Adewale, 2012). Lisa (2003) in support of the

above statement believed that whatsoever affect the development environment of children would

possibly affect their education or disposition to it. It will therefore, not be out of place to say that

parental status is one of such variables. When a woman‟s nutritional status improves, so does the

nutrition of her young children. Parents of different occupation classes often have different styles

of child rearing, different ways of disciplining their children and different ways of reacting to

their children. These differences do not express themselves consistently as expected in the case

of every family; rather they influence the average tendencies of families for different

occupational classes (Rothestein, 2004 in Ogunshola and Adewale, 2012).

Families in general and parents in particular, are therefore, the most important support

system available to the child. The strongest factor in modelling a child‟s personality or behaviour

4
is his relationship with his parents. Coleman (2005) proposed that family influence can be

separated into components such as economic, human and social capital. Hence a family‟s socio-

economic status correlates with academic achievements of their children at secondary level.

Ibalaoro (2012) indicate that the socio-economic status of a student is based on family income,

parental educational level and parental occupation.

The type of family a student come from either monogamous or polygamous, usually has impact

on the student‟s academic performance terms of his or her intellectual development (Adewumi,

Olojo, &Falemu, 2012). This is because in a large family of size a student may not be given the

required attention especially in his or her academics as the family will have more persons to cater

for. The issue of homework, payment of school fees, attending parents Teachers Association may

not be convenient for parent as they have to cater for many children.

Children are however, well cater for perform better in small size family. Meanwhile, Ogbemudia

and Aiasa, (2013) state that children from small size families are likely to be more attentive at

school and perform better in intelligence test those children from large sized families. The reason

has been that they seem to devote more time to their studies than engaging themselves in other

activities.

The role families‟ plays to the students at any given point in time in a child‟s life cannot

be over highlighted. The family is relevant and very significant to the well being of a child as

well as his/her later development in life. Family is the first unit in the social order where the

child‟s upbringings began after birth, still in cradle. According to Adewumi et al (2012)

childhood could be liken to a letters impressed in the shout of a young tree, which grow, and later

enlarge into an integral part of the whole. Sequel to the above, rightful beginning makes the most

essential part of every child‟s upbringing/education. The contribution of the parent to the training

5
of the pupil determines how far he/she will go in life.

It is well noted that when the school work together with the family through learning support

system, students tends to succeed better not just in schools but in life.

The family is an institution as well as an agent of socialization saddle with the responsibility of

determining the pupil‟s attitude towards intellectual, religious, character and moral upbringing.

According to Aliyu (2016) the family lays the fundamentals of moral and religious upbringing of

the child, and in a way dictate how he/she relate with others regarding the idea of right and

wrong , good and bad. The family unit plays the role of helping the students in determining

his/her future career pursuit through socializing them into their choice of vocation or a trade for

self reliance, by exposing the child to either pursue the career of the family or any favorable skill

before the child grow to become an adult (Jekayinka and Oke,2013). The family here includes

everything that surrounds within the family itself and includes the family background, their

socio-economic status, broken home etc. According to Mpiluka (2014), Family backgrounds

have been of immense significant in determining the academic achievement of a child in schools

all over the world. Specifically because academic achievement often time are motivated by the

type of people the child interacts with in their early stages in life from their homes. Muola (2010)

observed that family background could be likening to all the conditions and circumstances within

the family which influences the child physically, intellectually and emotionally as he/she grow

up. The Child that grew up from different family backgrounds are affected differently by such

family condition, which are the reasons behind why some children have good family background

while others have a very poor background. The differences in our family background are some of

the consequences in the variation in pupil‟s academic achievement in

Sequel to the above, secondary school education remains best and first step to human

6
development. Also, education is one of the basic requirements for good in a society where social

vices are on the increase. Relating education and family together, it is noted that educated parents

provide a better and good academic atmosphere for their children. In all parts of the world

secondary schools is the foundation upon which other levels and forms of education are built.

For very obvious reasons, this foundation cannot afford to be rickety, shaking and torpid.

However, the issues of students‟ academic achievement in schools have been of great concern

ever since the introduction of modern education system in Nigeria. Many countries in the world

have realized that secondary school is an integral part of educational process without good

academic achievement at this level other facet of the society will be affected. Nyipir (2010)

observed that the parents are parts of the current challenge facing the primary school system in

the world. This is because the parents have often time fail to do their bid at home and by so doing

makes many children even at early stage in life resort to self-help as a result of the fact their

parents refuse to give them the needed attention they deserved. As a child grew up from infant to

toddler and then to a preschooler, he/she learns how to speak, listen, write and read which are

later develop in order to make the child to achieve academic performance (Chris and Theisen,

2009). Gadsden (2013) observed that greater parental (family background) involvement at early

stage of pupil‟s learning process positively affects the pupil‟s performance in school.

Although, home background includes other variables such as parental socio-economic status,

broken homes, family size and types, parental educational background etc all these are some of

the determinant of family background. Meanwhile, Ojo and Yilma (2010) noted that socio-

economic status of a family is capable of affecting pupil‟s behavior and to some extend

determines their aspiration in life. Ojo et al (2010) further opined that families having worthy

socio-economic status often have more resources in sending their children to school. Most time

7
they usually have access to wide range of ways of providing their children with the needed care,

books and also know how to engage them in various learning activities in the house after school.

They also have access to good quality information about their children‟s wellbeing, as well as

their social, emotional and mental development both in school and at home. Although, Ojo et al

(2010) further revealed that parental socio-economic status such as family income level are

among some of the major challenges face in the family when it comes to providing best possible

care and education for their children. Parental level of education is another key factor that

influences pupil academic achievement. The role parental level of education plays cannot be over

emphasized. According to Gary, (2001), pupil‟s that grew up under parent who are professional

and are engage in managerial occupational backgrounds exhibit higher academic performance

than those from dissimilar background.

Similarly, family size and type are also linked to high academic achievement. Family size and

type to some extent determines the level of attention and time which a pupil gets from their

parents. Financial challenges associated with family with larger size and type could be better

explained in Okunyi (2004) findings. In Okunyi (2004), it was revealed that as families‟

increases, parents sometime cannot afford to give their children the same level of attention

compare to when the family size is manageable. In a situation that the family size is large parent

find it difficult to provide the necessary things needed by the pupil to succeed in School. For

example provision of learning aids, comfortable rooms to stay and do their assignment and home

work, away from distraction from TV, outings to places of interest, holiday trip, opportunity to

visits tourist centers etc.

According to Adesemowo, (2005), every child is born with an intellectual ability and a good and

conducive environment with adequate learning facilities to boost the academic performance of

8
a student. Parent from good learning environment will always have good attitude towards

education and provide literacy materials such as computer, instrumental video tracts, books and

journal, home libraries that will facilitate the learning process.

These as a matter of fact, can give an edge to a student over his or her counterparts in the

environment with poor learning facilities. Adika(2007) in a research found out that overcrowding

at home is also an index of large family size which may likely impede children‟s home work, his

private teaching at home and his leisure. The nature of home from which a child comes to school

may likely affect his emotional disposition and Children from broken home are often more

maladjusted than those from stable homes. The child who lives with either of the parent is likely

to miss the parental or material love from other parent.

Agulanna(2009) reveals that such home are likely no to be well catered for educationally,

physically, morally and mentally.

Children who lack proper home upbringing are likely to be vagabonds, thugs, armed robbers,

thieves and other criminally minded people in the society.

The educational level of parents is likely to influence students in their academic performance.

This means that parent that are intelligent academicians who are well educated and are

professionals are likely to provide their children with materials to develop similar interest and

perform well in their academics (Diaz, 2014). Students‟ whose parents are illiterates often toil to

provide for their school needs because the parents know little or nothing about the value of

education. This give rise to educational failure or nothing for such children. Parent with low level

of education may not be capable of assisting their children or playing a role in their academic life

as they not understand the materials or feel comfortable with their ability (Marchesi& Martin,

2012).

9
Some aspects of family background variables examined in the study include family size and

parents‟ educational status. His findings were that the polygamous family sizes which were

naturally large, reduces the chances of children going to school in the first instance. In addition,

children from such backgrounds who are in schools have reduced chances of achieving their

goals. Thirdly, parents of such families are mostly illiterate and incapable of providing adequate

motivation for their children in schools as compare with the literate nuclear families. The

economic implication of large family size is better explained in Okunyi (2014) who observed

from his study that as families get larger, parents cannot give their children the same amount of

individual attention. They could not afford to provide them with so many of the things which

will help them to make the best possible use of their years at school such as educational aids, and

quiet comfortable rooms in which to do homework undisturbed by the television, outings to

places of interest, leisure time pursuits, and opportunities for traveling. What is most probably

important of all, according to him is the fact that the parents of large families were found not to

talk with their children to the same extent as parents of small families.

Inadequate of unity and necessitate low development in their logical reasoning. The study would

be beneficial to curriculum planners who are in constant search to factors for improving the

subject economics. Finally, the research would contribute to the pool of research efforts geared

toward so backgrounds are affected different by such family conditions that is why some

children have good family background while some have poor background. Citing Eke (2009)

noted that with some families, the background may vary from time to time for the same

individuals. Formal education therefore remains the vehicle for human development which must

start from the family. There are different categories of families. The major categories of families

10
according to Anderson and Taylor (2010) includes: Traditional families where the father is the

major breadwinner and mother at home rearing children; divorced families that have been

reconstituted following the breaking of marriage; single parent families–likely headed by

women; step families–with new siblings and new parents stemming from re-marriage. A family

could also be categorized as extended or nuclear. Extended families are those in which large

group of related kin in addition to parents and children live together in the same household. This

is the type of families prevalent in African countries.

Family (small or large size) remains the primary environment of every child. The families begin

the process of education and provide physical and psychological needs of the child. This

supports the view of Maduewisi (2012), that the environmental experiences from family, peer

group and school location have great influence in determining child‟s intellectual ability. She

maintained that bright children from under-privileged family environment may turn dull due to

impoverished family environment. She added that mental development influence intellectual

development. This is in line with Hebb (2007) who observed that the innate potentials of children

cannot be attained without adequate stimulating family environment because the child cannot do

well intellectually. The implication is that a proper stimulating family environment with

intellectual potential and appropriate teaching methods will definitely enhance maximum

performance in economics, mathematics and other subjects seem difficult to students.

Another aspect of family environmental factor is the structure of the family. Structurally, a

family is either broken or intact. A broken family in this context is one that is not structurally

intact for various reasons; such as death of a parent, divorce, separation, desertion and

illegitimacy in which case, the family was never completed (Coukline 2016). Danesy and

Okedian (2012), in their study, lamented that street hawking among secondary school students

11
have psychologically imposed other problems, such as sex networking behaviour, juvenile

delinquent behaviour, which take much of the student school time that necessitated the poor

academic performance and drop out syndrome noticed among young school students.

Similarly, (Okunniyi 2014) asserted that a child who suffers maternal and paternal deprivation

may experience academic problems including truancy in the school. This is because the child

may lack some necessities like school fees, books and uniforms. These conditions, according to

the authors, are not conducive for effective parenting because when the single parents are

overburdened by responsibilities and by the own, emotional, reaction to their situation, they often

become irritable, impatient and insensitive to their children‟s needs. Apart from the structural

pattern of the family, another powerful variable in the family that determines the students‟

academic performance is the family socio-economic status. According to (Jeynes 2012), the

socio-economic status of a child is most commonly determined by combining portent‟s

educational level, occupational status, and income level. Social class and economic status of the

parents determine the type of school and the standard of training they desire for their children.

The occupation or profession of the parents, the educational level and whether the mothers are

working or non-working mothers places them at an advantage or disadvantage to evaluate their

children‟s academic work and monitor their progress. Status is often determined by the

individual‟s economic attainment, though it is sometimes ascribed on the individual.

Okunniyi (2014) identified three distinct socio-economic groups or statuses which are common

in many countries. They are: upper class which is made up of rich business men and top

government officials among others; middle class- which consists of skilled workers,

professionals and middle ranked government workers and the lower class- which is made up of

manual workers, petty traders and low-income government officials. Francis (2007) opines that

12
the lower income families may be aware of the importance of education in the society, but at the

same time, they are also aware of their limited resources to measure up with such educational

demands. According to the author, a family that can scarcely provide for the basic needs of the

family which include food, shelters and clothing will hardly motivate the academic excellence of

their children, instead they will pressurize their children so seek for job opportunities with the

little education they acquired so far to support the family. The implication of the agreement is

that for families are likely to give their children poor academic background because of lack of

financial support. The socio-economic status of a family is capable of affecting the behaviour of

the children and determines their aspiration. Families with high socio-economic status often have

more success in preparing their children for school because they typically have access to wide

range of providing their young children with high quality child-care, books and encourage

children in various learning activities at home. They also have easy access to information

regarding their children‟s health, as well as social, emotional and cognitive development (Ojo

and Yilma 2010), Ojo and Yilma also noted that in all socio-economic groups, parents face

major challenges when it comes to providing optimal care and education for their children and

these challenges are more pronounced in poor families. This, according to them, is because

sometimes, when the basic necessities are lacking, parents must place top priority on housing,

food, clothing and health care, regarding education materials and books as luxuries. They added

that poor families may also have inadequate or limited access to community resources that

promote and support children‟s development and school readiness. They further asserted that

these disadvantages can negatively affect families‟ decisions regarding their children

development and learning. This situation, according to Ojo and Yilma, may also expose the

13
infants in poor families to a greater risk of entering kindergarten schools unprepared, unlike their

peers from rich families.

Parents‟ motivation is another family background factor which influences the academic

performance of students. Students under motivated condition, exhibits purposeful behaviour

aimed at achieving academic set goals. The performance of these goals determines the motive.

Hickey and Lindsey (2015) clearly distinguished two perspectives of motivation; these are

situational and dispositional perspectives. According to them, disposition perspective asks

questions about students‟ general orientation to learning which relates the students‟ priority and

students‟ nature. The situational perspective according to the scholars focuses on learning

context. These scholars further identified to factors that greatly influence students‟ motivation.

These are: interpersonal factors such as curiosity, perseverance, and autonomy (intrinsic-factors)

and environmental factors such as parents, peers and sibling (extrinsic factors). Research shows

that supportive and attentive parenting practices positively affect academic performance (Eamon,

2005).

In addition, high parental aspirations have been associated with increasing students‟ interest in

education (Majoribanks, 2006). The effect of parental motivation and involvement in their

children‟s school has on academic performance is less clear (Domina 2015), parental motivation

and involvement in school has been linked to both positive and negative influences on academic

performance (McNeal, 2011, Domina, 2015). Explanations for this discrepancy are not

conclusive. It is thought that the type of involvement and motivation may make a difference and

that in some cases parents become involved after their child has already had academic difficulties

(Domina, 2015, McNeal, 2011).

14
Other recent research has found more conclusively that while parental motivation may not help

academic performance, it does help prevent behaviorual problems (Domina, 2015). Students with

fewer siblings are likely to receive more parental attention and motivation and thus have more

access to resources than children from large families. The additional attention and motivation

leads to better school performance especially in mathematics (Majoribanks, 2006, Thondike,

1997 and Samon, 2005). Thondike reorganized seven ways of motivating students viz:

awareness on the part of the parents of the value of education whether such parents are literature

of illiterate; existence of books, newspapers, comic books; good nutrition and sleeping habit;

adequate facilities for sleep, for study and for rest; satisfaction of physical needs like food,

shelter and clothing; objects in the home which challenges the child‟s curiosity.

Douglas (2014) established a positive correlation between children‟s academic performance and

motivation. The author laid considerable emphasis upon parental interest as a factor governing

children‟s chances of being awarded grammar school admissions. For the author, the simple

most important factor that influences educational attainment of children appears to be the degree

of parents‟ interest in their children‟s education. Douglas further stated that middle class parents

express great interest in their children‟s education as indicated by more frequent visits to school

to discuss children‟s progress, buying relevant textbooks and other necessary materials needed in

the school for their children. The author also found from his study that parental interest and

encouragement become increasingly important as a spur to high attainment as the children grow

older. He also attached importance to the child‟s early years, since in many cases, performance

during the first years of school is reflected throughout the secondary school. He suggested that

during primary socialization, middle-class children receive greater attention and stimulus from

their parents. This forms basis for high performance in the educational system. Students from

15
low socio-economic status families may not be strongly motivated to do well in school and may

not be knowledgeable about techniques of being successful in school. High socio-economic

status parents who have benefited in a variety of ways from education serves as effective and

enthusiastic advocate of schooling (Carlson, 2013).

In line with this Okwulanya (2013) opines that motivation from educated parents strengthens the

academic aspiration and language development in their children to perform better in their

academic work. According to the scholar, some children may come from homes were academic

is much valued, where there are books around them and most of the time, they see their parents

reading. Their parents may give them books as Christmas presents. They encourage them to read

many books wither by organizing mini library for them at home or by encourage using the state

library. The author went further to emphasize that some children may come from illiterate

homes, where no importance is attached to books. In such families, children scarcely see their

parents at home. In all, the researcher‟s conclusion is that motivated students are likely to engage

in an activity more vigorously and more effectively than unmotivated one. Motivation is always

goal orientated. The importance of parental level of education to academic performance of

students cannot be over emphasized. Students from professional and to a lesser extent managerial

occupational backgrounds exhibit higher academic performance (Gary, 2011). In support of this

view, Onochie and Okpalla (2015) opined that educational level of parents which is an indicator

of socio-economic status has direct influence on child‟s values and academic performance in the

school. They mentioned that children from illiterate families may learn little or nothing from

home that can help them develop interest in academics. This is in contrast to what is obtainable

from children from literature families where parents provide atmosphere conducive for the

16
formation of good study habits (Qeca, 2010). Parental occupation is also an important family

background variable.

The occupation of one‟s parents may determine to a large extent one‟s opportunity to attend

secondary school or not. Ezeji (2011) noted that parents like their children to take to their

occupation, like parents who are lawyers, doctors, musicians among others. Examples of such

people in the country include Gani Faweiheni, the prominent human right lawyer, Oliver Akalite

(Oliver De coque) and Osita Osadebe who were famous musicians each of these great men had

one or more of his children in his type of occupation. Uwaoma (2016) asserted that most

vocational students were children whose parents were farmer or craft men. In Nigeria most

children whose parents cannot afford to pay for high cost of formal education enroll into

apprenticeship programmes such as carpentry, brick laying, petting trading and others. In the

study area, there is a seeming general poor performance among secondary school students.

The study examined the extent to which these variables (family background and student's attitude

predict students' achievement in economics. Akinyele local government was formed in 1976, out

of which Ido local government was carved out in 1989, leaving it with its present of structure of

twelve wards with headquarters at Moniya.It is bounded in the east by Lagelu LGA, by Afijio

LGA in the North, by Ibadan North in the South, and in the West by Ido LGA. There are thirty

five government secondary schools in the local government and the local government hosts

above hundred private second schools.

The various subjects in the school curriculum contribute in different ways to human and national

development. The emphasis placed on certain subjects in preference to others, may, to some

extent, reflect their contributions in the quest for human and social developments. One of such

17
subjects includes Economics. It is perhaps a subject that attracts many readers because of its

impact in the development of the nation. It is included among the subjects in the humanities

which is required for students to enroll into any lucrative courses like Economics, Banking and

finance, Accountancy, purchases and supplies, Insurance, Marketing, and host of others in our

tertiary institutions. Some aspect of Economics seems more difficult than others. The

calculations and statistics as well as the diagrammatical aspect of Economics are generally

believed to be non-interesting to students.

Economics comes from the ancient Greek word "Oikonomikos" or "Oikonomia". Oikonomikos

literally translates to "the task of managing a household". Adam Smith was a Scottish

philosopher, widely considered as the first modern economist being the first to write on the

concept. In 1776, Adam Smith, in his essay wealth of the nation, define economics as " an

inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. The wealth centric definition of

economics according to Smith limited its scope as a subject and was seen as narrow and

inaccurate. Smith's definition forced the subject to ignore all non-wreath aspect of human

existence. The smithian definition prevents the subject from exploring the concept of resource

scarcity. The allocation and use of scarce resources are seen as a central topic of analysis in

modern economics.

British economist Alfred Marshall defined economics as the study of mankind in the ordinary

business of life. Marshall argued that the subject was both the study of wealth and mankind. He

believed it was not a natural science such as Physics or Chemistry but rather a social science.

The Marshallian definition, like Smith's definition, ignored problem of scarce resources, which

possess unlimited potential use. Lionel Robbins, another British economist, defined economics

as the subject that studies the allocation of scarce resources with countless possible uses. In his

18
1932 text," An essay on the nature and significance of Economics science," Robbins said the

following about the subject:"Economics is the science which studies human behavior as a

relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses". Robbins definition is

the most embracing definition of the subject, economics but the critics point out clearly that

Robbins' definition of economics transformed the subject from normative social science into

positive science with an undue emphasis on individual choice. His definition prevented the

subject from analyzing topics such as social choice and social interaction theory, which are

important topics within the modern microeconomic theory.

The modern definition, attributed to the 20th century economist, Paul Samuelson, builds upon

the definitions of the past and defines the subjects as a social science. According to Samuelson,"

Economics is the study of how people and society choose, with or without the use of money, to

employ scarce productive resources which could have alternative uses, to produce various

commodities over time and distribute them for consumption now and in the future among various

persons and group of society." Economics as a subject is about management of scarce resources

to satisfy our numerous needs.

Economics offers tremendous benefits to both teachers and students especially when it is taught

in the right way, under the right atmosphere. According to chladek (2017), Economics has the

following benefits; you learn how the world functions. Studying economics provides insight into

issues such as taxation, inflation and interest rates that influence our daily lives. The study of

economics helps uncover and understand current real - world issues. It give people insight into

how individuals and organizations make decisions and predict potential changes in the world.

Economics helps know and understand the opportunities and threat from markets and

government policies. It also makes one a good decision makers. Economics is the study of how

19
to assess alternatives and make better choices. Economics enable one to increase his or chances

at a successful career. With an economic degree, you can work as stockbroker, economist,

consultant, data analyst, statistician, market research analyst, credit analyst, business developer

etc. Studying for a degree in economics gives a range of skills that allow one to apply Economics

knowledge to real life situations as well as development of logical thinking. Economics vastly

complement other majors. Not only business majors like Accounting, Marketing, or Finance

contain economics in their curricular, but also non business majors like journalism and computer

science are interconnected to Economics. It gives intellectual satisfaction. Economics allows

students to ponder about human interactions and social phenomena in a variety of ways such as

decision theory. Moreover, a myriad of different fields are intertwined into Economics you get to

learn some statistics, mathematics, some psychology, and a little sociology.

Economics plays an important role in the achievement of the goal that education aims at; the

complete development of the individual. It is the potential for growth in knowledge and wisdom;

the acquisition of keen understanding of human nature and of human relationship, the freedom of

choice etc. It develops the cognitive domains of the individual as it develops the capacity for

discrimination, judgment and decision.

Economics as a subject features prominently in the school curriculum, the failure rates in it at the

school certificate level in spite of all the good efforts of researchers, is a phenomenon that is

giving students, teachers and school authorities a big concern. This is because, the low

performance in this subject has shattered the dreams of students of getting admission into

lucrative courses such as Economics, Banking and finance, Accounting, Statistics, Business

administration and a host of others in our tertiary institutions. As stipulated in UTME 2020

Brochure, at least a credit pass is a requirement before any candidate is eligible for
20
Economics is concerned with human behaviour such as how people earn their living and make a

choice between alternatives to satisfy their wants. It focuses on the study of firms and the

government whose activities are geared to the production of goods and services for the

satisfaction of human want since economics is concerned with human behaviour. So economics

is a social science, and like any science subject, the reasoning procedure in economics is

methodological, its analysis is systematic, and the validity of its various theories can be tested.

When economics was introduced into the secondary school curriculum, its popularity grew

rapidly because the first few schools which offered it in West African School Certificate

Examination [WASCE] had unexpectedly good results. There was a positive relationship

between the quality of results in economics and the number of candidates that offered it in

subsequent years in the WASCE. Economics was first taken in the West African School

Certificate Examination as a school subject in Nigeria in 1967. Since school certificate was a two

year course, it may be said that economics came into the secondary school curriculum in Nigeria

in 1966, much later than most other secondary school subjects. Economics was, however, taken

by private candidates in the General Certificate Examination before it became a secondary

school subject. It was recognized that economics problems were at the heart of modern society.

Ever since economics was first taken, as a school subject in West African School Certificate

Examination in 1967, the number of schools that teach it and the number of candidates that take

the examination has witnessed a phenomenal increase. For example in 1967, it was 0.07% of the

total number of candidates that sat for the examination, in 1969 it was increased to 12.56%, in

1970, it was 17.16% and by 1976 exactly 10years of its inceptions, the population has risen to

76.95%. For further confirmation by more recent entries, we have that in 1985, 441,448 school

candidates entered for economics while in the same year English had 373,507. In 1996 it was

21
711,377 for economics, 748,239 for mathematics, and 748,984 for English language. By this

analysis it is probably understatement that English Language and Mathematics top the list of

entries. It may be said that economics is probably the most popular subject in the secondary

school curriculum if the popularity of a secondary school subject may be determined by the

number of schools that teach it and the number of candidates that offer it in school learning

certificate examination

It may be said that economics comes after English language and Mathematics. Furthermore,

when it is appreciated that economics became a secondary school subject in Nigeria in 1966, it

may be said that the growth in its popularity as a secondary school subject in Nigeria has been

monumental. or object determines what the person thinks, feels and how the person would like to

behave towards that idea or objects Student beliefs and attitudes have the potential to either

facilitate or inhibit learning (Yara, 2014).Many factors could contribute to student‟s attitude

toward studying science (Economics). Popoola (2011) also reported that students attitudes and

interests to sciences, especially Agricultural science correlate highly with their science

achievement. Halladyna and Shanghnessy (2012) and Adesoji (2010) have concluded that a

number of factors have been identified as related to students‟ attitude to science (Economics).

Such factors include; teaching methods, teacher attitude, influence of parents, gender, age,

cognitive styles of pupils, career interest, social view of science and Scientifics, social

implicating of science (Economics) and achievement.

Students' attitude as another interesting variable in this study is one of the main factors that

determine their success in economics learning. Seitz (2010) describes attitude as a mental

disposition relative to a way of thinking. It is also an inclination towards positive or negative

way of thinking which is capable of affecting or enhancing teaching and learning process. When

22
a student develops a positive attitude towards a particular subject, no matter how difficult the

subject is the attitude developed will help the student to excel in the subject. An individuals'

attitude therefore, relatively stable overt behavior which affects leaning status (Olagunju, 2014).

Attitude has cognitive, affective, and connective components; it involves beliefs, emotional

reactions and behavioral tendencies related to the objective of the attitudes (McGroarty, 1996).

There are some factors that affect the students' attitude towards a particular subject as teachers

teaching strategies, teacher's content knowledge, students' home background and the nature of

the subject. A student must be interested in the subject he/she is learning. A student that has no

interest in what he /she is being taught will learn nothing no matter the teachers' ability to pass

the knowledge and skills to him/her.

Most of the researchers on the issue have concluded that student's attitude is an integral part of

learning and that it should, therefore, become an essential component of subject. There are

several reasons why research on students' attitude toward learning is important. First, attitudes

toward learning are believed to influence behaviors, (source: Weinburgh, 1998) such as selecting

and reading books, speaking in a foreign language. Secondly, a relationship between attitudes

and achievement has been shown to exit. (Source: Weinburgh, 1998) reported that there is

support for the proposition that attitudes influence achievement, rather than achievement

influencing attitude achievement, rather than achievement influencing attitudes.

Studies have established a strong link between students' attitude and students' academic

achievement. Putting all these together, studies suggest that there is a relationship between

attitude and methods of instruction and also between attitude and achievement; and that it is

possible to predict achievement from attitude scores. What is needed to complement the results

23
of such studies however is the nature of relationship between students‟ attitude and factors

related to teaching and learning of Economics? Results of these types of study are likely to

broaden our knowledge as how we can influence students‟ attitude positively towards Economics

as a subject in Akinyele local government area of Oyo state Nigeria. Despite the greater number

of Economics graduates produced by our tertiary institutions; every year there are numbers of

secondary schools where Economics teachers are not competent in the teaching of the subject.

Also, the attitude of the students in secondary schools towards Economics as a profession is not

encouraging. This makes the teaching of Economics ineffective and inefficient even where there

are competent teachers to teach. It is on this premise, that this study is designed to investigate the

attitude of students to teaching and learning of Economics in secondary schools.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) and National Examination Council (NECO)

results revealed that students' performance in Economics has not been encouraging. Research

revealed that in the last few years, Economics results of students is poor. WAEC chief examiner

reported that very few candidates displayed in- depth knowledge of the subject and originality in

their presentation of ideas. Facts available from various researches shows that besides general

apathy of the teachers and students to abstract theories and laws, there is also the ineffective

method of teaching which has contributed to this trend in performance. Against this background,

this study investigated or examined the extent to which these variables (family background and

student's attitude) predict students' achievement in economics.

24
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which family background and

student's attitude correlates with the students' achievement in economics in Akinyele local

government area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the following are the objectives:

1. To investigate the profile of the respondents in the study.

2. To ascertain difference in students' performance in Economics based on their gender.

3. To ascertain difference in students' performance in Economics based on their home type.

4. To investigate the composite effect of family background and attitude to learning on

students‟ performance in Economics in Akinyele Local Government Area.

5. To examine the relative effect of family background and attitude to learning on students‟

performance in Economics in Akinyele Local Government Area.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were answered in the study:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in the study?

2. Is there any significance difference in students' performance in Economics based on their

gender?

3. Is there any significance difference in students' performance in Economics based on their

home type?

25
 4. What is the composite effect of family background and attitude to learning on students‟

performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA?

5. What is the relative effect of family background and attitude to learning on students‟

performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study shows the extent to which family background and students' attitude correlate to

student's achievement in economics thereby addressing poor learning outcome in economics, has

added to the pools of studies on constant search for solution towards enhancing effective learning

outcome. It acquainted economics teachers with the necessity of students, family background and

students' attitude to improve students‟ learning outcome. It would afford students the opportunity

to see if the family background variables might be useful in explaining their academic

performance.

1.6 Operational Definition of Terms

Family background: This refers to all the conditions and circumstances in the family that

influence student physically, intellectually and emotionally.

Student's attitudes: This is students' disposition towards the teaching and learning of economics

as measured by their responses to the Questionnaire on students' Attitude to economics.

Achievement in economics: This is the measurable level of performance of students in

economics as measured by their scores on economics achievement test.

Economics: A social science that studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and

scarce means which have alternative uses.

26
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

Theoretical frameworks and the theories that underpin this research are Lee Vygotsky social

development theory, Abraham Maslow's theory of human motivation and Reader- Response

Theory. Literature

2.1 Lee Vygotsky Social Development Theory

Lee Vygotsky Social development Theory (1896-1934)Vygotsky‟s Social Development Theory

was propounded by Russian Psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896 -1934), who lived during Russian

Revolution. Vygotsky‟s work was largely unknown to the West until it was published in 1962.

Social Development Theory argues that social interaction precedes development; consciousness

and cognition are the end product of socialization and social behaviour. Vygotsky‟s theory is one

of the foundations of constructivism. It asserts three major themes.

1. Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In

contrast to jean piaget‟s understanding of child development (in which development

necessarily precedes learning), Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He

state: “Every function in the child‟s cultural development appears twice: first, on the

social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter-psychological)

and then inside the child (intra-psychological)”.

2. The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The MKO refers to anyone who has a better

understanding or a ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process,

27
 or concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, coach, or older adult, but

the MKO could also be peers, a younger person, or even computers.

3. The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD is the distance between a student‟s

ability to perform a task under adult guidance and/or with peer collaboration and the

student‟s ability solving the problem independently. According to Vygotsky, learning

occurred in this zone.

Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the socio-cultural context in which

they act and interact in shared experiences (Crawford2000). According to Vygotsky, human use

tools that develop from, a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social

environments. Initially children develop these tool s to serve solely as social functions, Ways to

communicates. Initially children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, way to

communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that then internalization of these tools led to higher

thinking skills. Many schools have traditionally held a transmissionist or instructionist model in

which a teacher or lecturer „transmits‟ information to students. In contrast, Vygotsky‟s theory

promotes learning contexts in which students play an active role in learning. Roles of the

teachers and students are therefore shifted, as a teacher collaborate with his or her students in

order to help facilitate meaning construction in students. Learning therefore becomes a reciprocal

experience for the students and teacher. Vygotsky laid emphasis on the concept of culture and

human development. The concept of culture and education is inseparable. He opined that as

learning progresses, the child‟s own language comes to serve as her primary tool of intellectual

adaptation. Eventually, children can use internal language to direct own behaviour. Vygotsky‟s

internalization refers to the process of learning-and thereby internalizing a rich body of

knowledge and tools to thought that first exist outside the child. This happens primarily through

28
language. A difference exists between what child can do on his/her own and what the child can

do with help. He calls this difference the zone of proximal development. Since much of what a

child learns comes from the culture around her and much of the child‟s problem solving is

mediated through an adult‟s help, it is wrong to focus on a child in isolation. Such focus does

culture and social agents, such as parents and more competent peers, contribute significantly to a

child‟s intellectual development.

2.2 Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist developed the theory of human motivation now known as

Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs in 1947, Maslow noted that some human needs were more

powerful than others. He divided those needs into five general categories, from most urgent to

most advance: physiological, safety, belonging/love, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow first

published his theory in the 1940s and it became a widely accepted notion in the field of

psychology and anthropology. Maslow was a professor at Brandeis University from 1951 until

1969; his major texts included University from 1951 until 1969; his major texts included

motivation and Personality (1954) and Toward a Psychology of Being (1962). Maslow

consequently extended the idea to include his observations of human‟s innate curiosity. Over the

years, Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs theory remains relevant. It posits where the lower order

needs (physiological and safety needs) may be linked to organizational culture. Every new

organization passes through this lower order stage in which they struggle with their basic

survival needs. At the third level of the Maslow‟s hierarchy, social needs would correspond to

the formation of organized roles within the organization into distinct units, depicting the human

resource management function which resonates according to the tone set by environmental

culture. The positive interaction of human beings, learning and learning factors would result in

29
relaxed, creative and friendly classroom setting which is devoid of tension, teachers‟ sole

authority and students‟ subservience which is capable of truncating the teaching-learning

processes. Abraham Maslow‟ believed that man is inherently good and argued that individual

posses a constantly growing drives that have great potential. The needs hierarchy system,

devised by Maslow (1954), is a commonly used scheme for classifying human motives. It

involves five categories of motives arranged with lower-level needs on the bottom which must be

satisfied first, before the higher level needs come into play (Wallace, Goldstein and Nathan

1987, 277). The five general level of needs as described by Hamner and Organ are shown in the

following hierarchical order.

i. Physiological needs: Food water, sex and shelter.

ii. Safety needs: Protection against danger, threat and deprivation. Behaviour which arouse!;

uncertainty with respect to continue employment or which reflects favourism or

discrimination. Unpredictable administration of policies is powerful motivators of the

safety needs in the employment relationship at every level (Hamner and Organ 1978,

137).

iii. Social needs: Giving and receiving of love, friendship, affection, belonging, association,

and acceptance. (If the first two levels are fairly well gratifies a person becomes keenly

aware of the absence of friends).

iv. Ego needs: Need for achievement (n Ach), adequacy, strength, and freedom. The essence

of this is the need for autonomy or independence. Status, recognition, appreciation, and

prestige. In essence this is the need for self-esteem or self worth.

30
 v. Self-actualization needs: the need to realize one‟s potentialities forcontinued self-

development and the desire to become more and more ofwhat one is and what one is

capable of becoming. (The conditions of modern industrial life afford only limited

opportunity for the self-actualizing need to find expression) (Hamner and Organ 1978).

2.2.1 The Relevance of Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation to the Study

Two major postulates can be derived from Maslow‟s need hierarchy. They are: 1) A satisfied

need is not a motivator of behaviour. 2) To the extent that lower order needs becomes satisfied,

the next higher-order level of needs becomes the most prepotent determinant of behaviour

(Hamner and Organ 1978, 139). The extent that jobs incorporate elements that satisfy some

higher order human needs determines their potential for motivating workers (Imel 1982, 3) A

person's level of aspiration cis closely related to the hierarchy of needs (Haimann, 1973). The

ultimate ned category described by Maslow was that of self-actualization. This belief served as

the basis for the assumption of McGregor‟s Theory Y viewpoint on motivation which was based

on self-direction, self-control, motivation and maturity (McGregor, 1960).

2.3 Reader- Response Theory

This theory is propounded by I.A Richards in the 1920s and further advanced by D.W. Harding

and L. Rosenblatt in the 1930s, stresses the importance the reader's role in interpreting texts.

Rejecting the idea that there is a single, fixed meaning inherent in every literary work, this theory

holds that the individual creates his/her own meaning through a "transaction" with the text.

Based on the personal associations, each interpretation is subjective and unique.

Reader- Response theory largely emphasizes the active and communicative role of the reader.

The reader is no longer a passive reader who negotiates the meaning of the text as the author had
31
intended. Instead of looking at the meaning from within the text, the readers discover meaning

from within themselves, thus negotiating meaning from outside the text. This is easier when

teachers listen more to learners; consider their feelings and pay attention to their relationship

with other learners as much as the course content. Learners are encouraged to take responsibility

for their learning which mostly occur through their insight and experiences. Knowledge is

believed to be something created afresh each student on tasks in a social environment. The

mental ability of individual learners determines what they learn; so students learn in groups on

projects, discussing how best to solve problems.

This Theory provides bed rocks for this study in that teaching student with reciprocal and

Transactional strategies make them become active learners. It allows students engaged with text

and come into them by constructing meaning and arriving at comprehension of the texts.

Because their personal responses are valued, they begin to see themselves as having both

authority and responsibility to make judgments about what they read. This process is evident in

the parts where students are take turns to play the role of the instructor, when students are asked

to choose a topic in a text and explain why it's important to them. The response of fellow

students also play a pivotal role: Through interaction with their peers, students move beyond

their initial individual reaction to take into account a multiplicity of ideas and interpretation thus

broadening their perspective.

2.4 Conceptual Review Family Background Characteristics and Students’ Academic

Performance

Family background plays an important role in successful school outcomes. It is a collective

terminology comprising of variety of family features including structure, socioeconomic status,

32
parental school involvement, parental relationship quality, parental school aspirations, parents‟

level of education, size, cultural background, parental involveme99nt in both academic and

extra-curriculum activities of the children, domestic issues, organizational and physical

closeness, and so on affect student‟s academic performance. These have been found to predict

academic achievement (Astone and McLanahan 1991; Keith et al. 1993). No doubt, it becomes

imperative to investigate the different aspects of academic achievement within a specific family

situation. However, the family situations cannot be detached from the general culture (example,

societal values traditions, attitudes and home environment). Qaiser, Ishtiaq, Zaitoon and Wahab

(2012) noted that researches reveal that there are a variety of factors that account for the poor

and unsatisfactory academic performance of students. According to them, such factors include

illiteracy of parents, domestic issues and problems, large family size, lack of parent‟s attention

and control, low socioeconomic status and family structure. Parents‟ level of education. The

influence of the level of education of parents on the academic performance of their children is

evident in all countries. Pamela and Kean Family Background and AcadeIcheke Journal of the

Faculty of Humanities Vol17 No.4December, 2019 www.ichekejournal.com(2010) states those

that students whose parents have a tertiary level of education perform, on average, significantly

better in test of science, reading and mathematical ability than do those whose parents have only

basic schooling. Thus, across these three disciplines, the average grades achieved by students

with well-educated parents ranged from 7% higher than those achieved by students with poorly

educated parents in developing countries to 45% higher in most developed countries. Even the

majority of the literature on parents‟ education pertains to the direct, positive influence on

achievement (Ryan and Deci, 2000), the literature also suggests that it influences the beliefs and

behaviour of the parents leading to positive outcomes for children and youths (Heiss, 2006) for

33
example, Alston and Williams(2002) found that parents of moderate to high income and

educational background held beliefs and expectations that were closer that those of low-income

families to the actual performance of their children, Low-income families instead had high

expectations and performance beliefs that did not correlate well with their children‟s actual

school performance. Research on parenting also has shown that parent education is related to a

warn, social climate in the home. Gottfried et al. (2004) found that both mothers‟ education and

family income were important predictor of the physical environment and learning experiences in

the home but that mothers‟ education alone was predictive of parental warmth Likewise, smith et

al. (2007) found that the association was mediated by the home environment. The mediation

effect was stronger for maternal education than for family income. Thus, these authors posited

that education might be linked to specific achievement behiviours in the home. Murray and

Fairchild (2009) also found that maternal education had the most consistent direct influence on

children‟s cognitive and behavioral outcomes with some consistent direct influence on children‟s

cognitively stimulating home environment. Iverson and Walberg (2002) had revised 18 studies

of 5,831 school-aged students on a systematic research of educational,

Family Background and Academic perform a psychological and sociological literature.

Accordingly, they had concluded that students‟ ability and achievement are more closely linked

to the socio-psychological environment and intellectual stimulation in the home than they are to

parental socio-economic status indicators such as occupation and amount of education.

Moreover, the extent of education of parents has influence on the quality of education given to

their children up to secondary school level. In some literature, discussions on family educational

background is intertwined in socio-economic status and it have been widely used for predicting

academic performance. White and Marakinyo (2003) reported that there is a relationship

34
between socio-economic status (SES) and academic achievement. According to White and

Morakinyo (2003), a definite relationship exists between SES and academic achievement. He

noted that the frequency obtained correlation ranged from 0.10to 0.70 which is a positive

relationship. This implies that as one factor increases, the other also increases. Highly educated

parents can also use their social capital to promote their children‟s development. A cohesive

social network of well-educated individuals socializes children to expect that they too will attain

high levels of academic success. It can also transmit cultural capital by teaching children the

specific behaviours, patterns of speech, and cultural references that are valued by the educational

and professional elite. In most studies, parental education has been identified as the single

strongest correlate of children‟s success in school, the number of years they attend school, and

their success later in life. Because parental education influences children‟s learning both directly

and through the choice of a school-related factors.

2.5 The Concept of Attitude

Attitude is an expression of favour or disfavour towards a person, place, and thing or even as a

result of affective, cognitive, or evaluation. It is a predisposition or tendency to respond

positively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation. New Oxford English Dictionary

(9th Edition). It sees attitude as an enduring learned predisposition to behave in a consistent way

towards a given class of objects.

Good (1993) also defined attitudes as the predisposition or tendency to react specifically towards

can object value or situations, usually accompanied by feelings and emotions. These definitions

highlight the fact that an attitude is learned through experience and is a readiness to act in a

particular way. An attempt to group attitude under two broad categories_ positive and negative

35
attitudes follows. Attitude has cognitive, affective, cognitive and conative components; it

involves beliefs, emotional reactions and behavioral tendencies related to the object of the

attitudes McGroarty, (1996). It refers to an individual's inclination aspect, a disposition and

tendency to react positively or negatively to something. It is, in short, the way someone thinks or

behaves.

Seitz (2010) describes attitudes as a mental disposition relative to a way of thinking. It is also an

inclination toward positive or negative way of thinking which is capable of affecting or

enhancing teaching and learning process. When a student develops a positive toward a particular

subject, no matter how difficult the subject is the attitude developed will help the student to excel

in the subject. An individual's attitude therefore is relatively stable overt behavior which affects

learning status (Olagunju, 2014). Attitude has cognitive, affective and conative components: it

involves beliefs, emotional reactions and behavioral tendencies related to the object of the

attitudes (McGroarty, 1996).

Attitudes do not remain static; they can be changed through the learning process such as by using

appropriate materials and teaching techniques. Attitudes also improve as a result of proper

teaching as learners who learn well will acquire positive attitudes (Choy,2002). He also noted

that attitudes are acquired through the principles of learning following the stimulus respond.

2.6 The Concept of Economics and its Branches

Economics is the study of scarcity and how it affects the use of resources, the production of

goods and services, the growth of production and well-being over time, and many other

important and complicated issues that affect society.

36
2.6.1 What is Economics all about?

Economics is the study of how things are made, moved around, and used. It looks at how people,

businesses, governments, and countries choose to use their resources. Economics is the study of

how people act, based on the idea that people act rationally and try to get the most value or

benefit. Economics is the study of how work and business are run. Since there are many ways to

use human labour and many ways to get resources, it is the job of economics to figure out which

ways produce the best results.

2.6.2 Economic Indicators

Economic indicators show how a country's economy is doing in a specific area. When

government agencies or private groups put out these reports regularly, they usually have a big

effect on the stock, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets. They can also help investors

figure out how the economy will affect markets and make decisions about investment

Macroeconomics looks at the economy as a whole, both nationally and globally. It does this by

stimulating the economy with a lot of data and variables from the economy. It could be a certain

part of the world, a country, a continent, or the whole world. It mostly looks at how economies

grow, change, and go through cycles. Foreign trade, government fiscal and monetary policy,

unemployment rates, inflation and interest rates, the growth of total production output as shown

by changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and business cycles that cause expansions,

booms, and recessions are all looked at. There is a connection between microeconomics and

macroeconomics. The sum of all microeconomic events makes up an aggregate macroeconomic

event. But these two areas of economics use very different theories, models, and research

37
methods that can make them seem to go against each other. Many economists study how to put

together the basics of microeconomics with macroeconomics into theory and research.

2.7 Empirical Review

2.7.1 Students' Achievement in Economics

Academic performance in economics 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 classes 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 an instructor opinion of the student as well. Grading

systems vary greatly by county and school; common scales include a percentage form 1-100,

lettering systems from A-F, and grade point averages (GPA) from 0-4.0 or above.

According to Ward, Stocker and Murray-Ward (2006) academic performance in economics

refers to the outcome of education; the extent to which the student, teacher or institution have

achieved their educational goals. Academic performance in economics 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 achieve 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 mathematic and English language among secondary school students.

The trend of poor achievement of secondary school students in economics has also been

confirmed by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). The WAEC result analysis for

the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 revealed the following statistics of the performance
38
of Nigerian student in secondary schools in public examination. The percentages of students who

passed during the years were report to be 22, 54, 13.76, 22.54, 24.94, and 25.99 percent

respectively. That is, on the average, less than a quarter (21.94 percent) of the students that sat

for the May/June West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations obtained

credits in five subjects including English and mathematics during the five years (WAEC, 2007-

2011).

According to the West African Examination Council Zonal Co-ordinator, revealed the statistics

of the 2012/2013 WAEC. A total of 324, 998 candidates registered for the Examination 168,835

are Males: while 141,242 are Females: candidates who registered for the WAEC examination.

Withheld results, the results of 51,876 candidates, representing 16. 73% of candidates are being

withheld by the WAEC Board, based on various reports, mostly for these candidates alleged

involvement in examination malpractice, while another Statistics shows that a whooping number

of 250,487 candidates representing 80. 78% have 2 credits and above, while 217,161 candidates,

representing 70. 03 of the total 2012 WAEC candidates, have three credits and above. Several

factors have generally been identified as causes of poor academic performance. Morakinyo

(2003) believes that the falling level of academic performance in economics is attributable to

teachers‟ non-use of verbal reinforcement strategy. Welsh (2007) also found that the attitude of

some teachers to their job, poor teaching methods and the like influence students‟ academic

performance.

The blame for poor academic performance in economics among secondary school students could

be attributable to a variety of factors such as student inability to manage their time, peers

influence, family factors and the likes. Parents, teachers, curriculum, experts and evaluators have

39
expressed considerable concern over the deteriorating students‟ performance in public

examinations.

2.8 Appraisal of Literature Reviewed

Academic performance is the display of knowledge and skills attained, as shown by the marks or

grade achieved by the students of a school in an examination. It is the extent to which a student

meets with the expectations of his/her studies. While family background plays an important role

in successful school outcomes, it is a collective terminology comprising of variety of family

features. Studies have revealed that there are a variety of factors that account for the poor and

unsatisfactory academic performance of students and that the search for the factors is unending.

These factors include those resident in the child such as basic cognitive skills, physical factors,

peer influence, health factor, psycho-emotional factors, lack of interest in school programme;

those residents in the school such as school environment, physical building of school,

interpersonal relationship among the school personnel; those resident in the society such as

instability of educational policy, underfunding of education sector, leadership and job

Students with fewer siblings are likely to receive more parental attention and have more access

to resources than children from large families. The additional attention and support leads to

better school performance (Eamon 2005; Majoribanks 1996). The fewer the family size, te better

has somewhat become the „rule‟ for higher academic performance. Moreso, the position a child

occupies in a family equally plays a significant role in his development and academic

achievements. Generally, the first child enjoys benefits particularly among the middle class and

the „rich‟ (Domina 2005). Though many believe that this is not, therefore, this necessitated

further investigation.

40
The parent are excited and determined to give the firstborn all he needs. The last born are

sometimes not adequately provided for; not only by their parents but equally by their brothers

and sisters. The mere fact that their elder brother is a lawyer and their sister is a doctor; blindfold

them to the extent that they themselves will not work hard. In other worked, they are relaxed by

their elders‟ achievements. However, there are exceptional cases to this.

Studies on learners' attitude to academic subjects showed that attitude influences Students'

achievement. Research findings on the influence of attitude to economics are contradictor. While

some researchers found a significant influence on students' attitudes to Economics especially the

aspects of calculation and interpretation of theories. Others did not and this necessitated further

studies in this area.

In conclusion, there is a dearth of empirical studies in the area of family background, Students'

attitude to Students' achievement in economics. This gap called for insight into the correlation of

family background, Students' attitude to students' achievement in economics.

41
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the research methods that were adopted for the study. Specifically, it

discusses the research design, variables of the study, sample and sampling technique, research

instrument, procedures for data collection and data analysis. This study aimed at investigating

the relationship among family background, attitudes and students' achievement in economics.

3.1 Research design

The study adopted the descriptive research design of correlation type as it investigated the extent

to which the independent variables (family background and student's attitude) correlates students'

achievement in economics.

3.2 Variables in the Study

There are three variables in the study as it features below:

Independent variables:

These are:

a. Family background.

b. Students‟ attitude.

The Dependent variables:

This is the student's achievement in economics.

42
3.3 Study population

The population of study consisted of senior Secondary school two (SS II) students offering

Economics and their respective teachers in selected public and private schools in Akinyele local

government area in Oyo state, Nigeria.

3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques

A total number of six 6 Senior Secondary Schools were randomly selected in Akinyele Local

Government Area of Oyo state. SS II Economics students were purposely selected to participate

in the study because SS II students have been exposed to the rudiments of Economics and have

started treating laws and theories in economics. SS3 students were not selected because they are

preparing for the forthcoming WAEC and are writing external examination. 16 to 17 students

were selected from each of the 6 making a total of 100 SSII Economics students who were

involved in the study.

3.5 Research Instrument

Four research instruments were used for the purpose of data collection for this study. These are:

i. Students' Achievement Test in Economics (SATE).

ii. Questionnaire on Students' Attitude to Economics (QSAE).

iii. Students' Family background (SFB).

iv. Economics Teachers' Observation Scale (ETOS).

The achievement test was designed by the researcher to measure Students' achievement in

economics. It contains two sections Viz A and B. Section A contains demographic information

43
on the teachers of economics such as name of the school and class while section B contains essay

questions on prescribed laws, drawn parallel to questions obtainable WASSCE/ NECOSSCE.

The laws on which the questions were based in the demand and supply, SATE was given to

lecturers in the Department of Economics, in the University of Ibadan, who assisted to establish

its face validity. The content validity was ensured through the test blue print which prepared to

distribute the items across the levels of the cognitive objective.

To obtain its reliability, SATE was administered to SSII Economics Students from 3 senior

Secondary School in Akinyele metropolis of Oyo State. Test retest as carried out on the Essay

items; a reliability of 0.79 was obtained which indicated that the items are reliable.

3.6 Students' Family Background (SFB)

This instrument was self designed to measure the students‟ family background with focus on it

impact on their achievements in Economics. It comprised 30 item objective questions with

options A- E. Each question carries 1 mark. The instrument includes the type of marriage, size of

children, income of parents etc. It was made up of two sections namely::section A and B. Five

response options of Always, Often Occasionally, Rarely and Never were used to score the

manifestation of each items. Rating scale of 5,4,3,2 and 1 are assigned to Always, Often

Occasionally, Rarely and Never respectively.

The instrument was validated by the researcher's supervisor and some of the lecturers in the NTI

PGDE, federal school of statistics, Ajibode, Ibadan and the feedback from them were used to

improve the quality of items. Using two raters, the rating scale was used to watch 12 Economics

teachers from 6 Senior Secondary in Akinyele local government area of Oyo state. The inter -

rater reliability of ETOS was determined using Scott and co-efficient of 0.72 was obtained.

44
3.7 Procedure for Data Collection

A letter of introduction was given to the schools were the research was carried out. The

researcher proceeded to seek and obtain the consent of the school principals, teachers and SSII

students of participating schools. The teachers were informed about the purpose of 5he research

and what it entails. Also, briefing sessions was organized for teachers and students that

participated in the study. These preliminary activities took about 2 weeks.

The teacher were observed using inter rater scale in each of the six 6 schools on the one of the

independent variables using ETOS while QSAE and SATE were administered to the students in

all the participating schools of the study. The researcher was assisted by the research assistants to

administer and supervise the test. Administration and collection of teachers' and students'

instruments covered a period of four weeks in the Local Government Area selected for the study.

3.8 Method of Data Analysis

The data collected in this study were first be analyzed using the descriptive statistical tools of

frequencies and simple percentage to answer research question one on the profile of students and

teachers that participated in the study. The data were further analyzed using Scheffepost-hoc to

determine the relative and composite contribution of the independent variables (family

background and student's attitude) to the dependent variable (Students' achievement in

economics). T-test was employed to analyse the research data to check if there is any significant

difference in students' performance in Economics based on gender. The results were interpreted

at < 0.5 level of significance.

45
 CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction

The analysis of the data gathered by questionnaire is presented in this chapter, along with the

discussion of the results. This study delved into the family background and attitude as correlates

of students‟ achievement in economics in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State.

4.1 Presentation of Objectives

Research question 1: What is the profile of the respondents in the study?

Table 4.1: Profile of the Respondents in Akinyele LGA

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

SEX |
Male 39 39

Female 61 61

FATHER’S OCCUPATION

Civil servant 26 26

Trader 41 41

Armed forces 11 11

Artisan 22 22

Total 100 100

MOTHER’S OCCUPATION

Civil servant 35 35

Trader 32 32

46
Armed forces 8 8

Artisan 25 25

Total 100 100

NO OF CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY

1–3 58 58

4–6 29 29

7–9 6 6

10 and above 7 7

Total 100 100

HOME TYPE
Monogamy 62 62
Polygamy 38 38
Total 100 100
The results in the Table 4.1 are presented in the following diagrams:

Fig. 1: Sex of the Students in Akinyele LGA

47
Fig. 2 Students’ Fathers’ Occupation in Akinyele LGA

Fig. 3 Students’ Mothers’ Occupation in Akinyele LGA

48
Fig. 4: No of Children of Students’ Family in Akinyele LGA

Fig. 5: Home type of the students in Akinyele LGA

49
Table 4.1 and Fig. 1-5 showed the profiles of the respondents of the study. The results revealed

that the male students represent 39% of the total students sampled, while 61% of the total

students sampled were female. From the result, 26% of the students claimed that their fathers are

civil servant, 41% of them said that their fathers are traders, 11% asserted that their fathers are

armed forces while 22% of them claimed that their fathers are artisan. In addition, 35% of the

students claimed that their mothers are civil servant, 32% of them said that their mothers are

traders, 8% asserted that their mothers are armed forces while 25% of them claimed that their

mothers are artisan. Furthermore, students from family with 1 - 3 children was 58%, 4 - 6

children was 29%, 7 – 9 children was 6% while 10 and above was 7%. Of the total respondents

62% of the students claimed that they are from monogamy family while 38% stated that they are

from polygamy family.

Research question 2: Is there any significance difference in students' performance in Economics

based on their gender?

Table 4.2: Difference in Students’ Performance in Economics based on Gender

Std. df t Sig
Deviatio
Sex N Mean n Mean difference
achievement_scor Male
e 39 9.13 5.550 2 1.312 0.60
1.391

female 61 7.74 4.916

Table 4.2 showed the significance difference in students‟ performance in Economics based on

gender. The result revealed that the mean score of male students is π = 9.13 while that of the

50
female students is π = 7.74, the mean difference was 1.39 and t (2) = 1.312 p>0.05. Since P is

greater than 0.05, which implies that there was no significant difference. The t-value observed

indicating no significant difference between male and female performance in Economics. Hence,

there was no significant difference in male and female performance in Economics.

Research question 3: Is there any significance difference in students' performance in Economics

based on their home type?

Table 4.3: Difference in Students’ Performance in Economics based

on home type
Std. df t Sig
Deviatio
sex N Mean n Mean difference
achievement_scor Monog
e amy 62 8.00 4.912 -.687 0.075
-.737
98
Polyga
38 8.74 5.651
my

Table 4.2 showed the significance difference in students‟ performance in Economics based on
home type. The result revealed that the mean score of students form monogamy family is π =
8.00 while that of the polygamy family is π = 8.74, the mean difference was -.737 and t (98) =-
.687 p > 0.05. Since P is greater than 0.05, which implies that there was no significant difference.
The t-value observed indicating no significant difference between the performance of students
from monogamy and polygamy families in Economics. Hence, there was no significant
difference in the performance of students in Economics based on home type.

51
Research question 4: What is the composite effect of family background and attitude to learning

on students‟ performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA?

Table 4.4: Composite effect of family background and attitude to learning on students’
performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA

Model Summary
Adjusted R Std. Error of
Model R R Square Square the Estimate
1 .754a .568 .559 3.450

a. Predictors: (Constant), attitude_to_learning_score,

familybackground

Table 4.5: ANOVAa

Sum of Mean
Model Squares Df Square F Sig.
1 Regression 1472.369 2 736.185 61.835 .000b
Residual 1119.136 94 11.906
Total 2591.505 96

a. Dependent Variable: achievement_score

b. Predictors: (Constant), familybackground, attitude_to_learning_score

Tables 4.4 show the model summary and regression ANOVA respectively. The multiple

regression correlation coefficient (R) shows a high positive relationship between predictor

variables: family background and students‟ attitude and the dependent variable (students‟

achievement in Economics in Akinyele LGA) as shown in Table 4.4 is 0.754, the multiple R 2 is

0.568 which is 56.8% and the Adjusted R2 value is .559 which is 55.9%. This means that the

variation in students‟ achievement in Economics in Akinyele LGA accounted for by the predictor

variables: family background and attitude to learning is approximately 55.9% and it is

statistically significant at p < 0.05 level. Furthermore, indicated in Table 4.5 is the analysis of

52
the variance of the multiple regression data. This produced an F- ratio of F (94) = 61.835 and was

found to be significant at 0.05 Alpha level. This implies that the predictor variables (family

background and attitude to learning) do jointly predict or have effect on the dependent variable

(students‟ achievement in Economics) in Akinyele LGA.

Research question 5: What is the relative effect of family background and attitude to learning

on students‟ performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA?

Table 4.5: Relative effect of family background and attitude to learning on students’
performance in Economics in Akinyele LGA
Coefficientsa
Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients
Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.
1 (Constant) -14.482 2.450 -5.912 .000
familybackground .481 .054 .639 8.943 .000
attitude_to_learning_sc
.136 .040 .244 3.417 .001
ore
a. Dependent Variable: achievement_score

Table 4.5 showed the contribution of each of the predictor variables to the prediction of students‟

achievement in Economics in Akinyele LGA, Oyo State. Family background β = 0.639; t (94) =

8.943; p < 0.05) did contribute significantly to the prediction model for students‟ achievement in

Economics in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State at 0.05 level. In the same vein

attitude to learning β = 0.244; t (94) = 3.417 p < 0 .05) did contribute to the prediction of

students‟ achievement in Economics in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.

53
4.2 Discussion and Findings

According to the findings, it has been shown that the family background of a student as well as

the students attitude towards learning affects student performance in Economics as it is analyze

above.

The results showed the demographic profile of students and teachers who participated in this

study. The findings revealed that for students, data on their distributions based on their schools,

age range and gender were reported. Each of the sampled schools has equal number of students

who participated in the study. In terms of age range, majority of the students were early

teenagers. Female students were more than the male.

Also for teachers, the findings showed their distributions based on their schools, age range,

gender, marital status and highest professional teaching qualification.

The result showed that there was significant composite contribution of students‟ family

background and attitude to students‟ achievement in Economics. This implies that when both

variables are put together, they jointly predict students‟ achievement in Economics, the result

demonstrated that 55.9% of the variation in the students‟ achievement in Economics were

accounted for the joint effect of the independent variables while the remaining may be due to

other factors and residuals not in the model. This implies that all the two factors are important

predictors of students‟ achievement in Economics. They interact with each other to determine

students achievements in Economics. In a nutshell, achievement in Economics could be

predicted by the combination of the family background and students‟ attitude.

The study concurs with Durosaro, (2010) and Olagunju, (2014), who examined the influence of

family background and attitude to learning respectively students‟ in cognitive task and concluded

54
that both factors ( family background and students‟ attitude) contributed to academic

achievement of secondary school students. Swap, (1993) added that lack of good family

background contribute immensely to students‟ failure in economics.

55
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

This study investigated the extent to which family background and student's attitude correlates to

with the students' achievement in economics among SS 2 students in Akinyele local government

area of Oyo State.

5.1 Summary of the Findings

This study investigated the effect of family background and students‟ attitude on the students

performance in economics in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State. Four research

questions were answered and three instruments were used to collect data. The data collected were

analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance.

i. The majority of sampled students were female and many students belong to the

monogamy family.

ii. Family background and student's attitude do jointly predict or have effect on the

performance of students in economics. This implies that to improve students'

achievement in economics, educator must focus and work on the two elements (family

background and students' attitude).

iii. There was no significant difference between the performance of students from

monogamy and polygamy.

iv. There was no significant composite effect (contribution) of family background and

student's attitude on Students' achievement in economics. This implies that the two

factors together have no composite effect on students' achievement. On the other hand,

attitude has lower significant to the students achievement.

56
 v. There was a relative contribution of family background and student's attitudes on

students' achievement in economics.

5.2 Conclusion

From the result of the study, it could be concluded that the study of economics is demystified if

students have good family background and have right attitude to learn economics. The teachers

as well as educator should therefore understand the impact of family background and students'

attitude on the performance of students. Strategies that could correct student's attitudes should be

adopted.

5.3 Educational Implications of the Study

Based on the findings from this study, students' achievement in economics in Oyo State public

and private schools is a concern that needs improvement.

Hence, these findings will help educational administrator to the see need to organized regular

seminars, workshop and in service training for the teachers in order to improve on qualities of

the strategies employed in teaching of economics. Additionally, teachers should be familiar with

textbooks used or recommended for the students. Teachers should mostly employ students'

centred methods in teaching economics. Also, teachers need motivation for such improvement

and should be provided with all necessary incentives such as adequate salaries, good working

conditions and other fringe benefits that compare favourable with what their counterparts in

other professions receive. Such practices will assist greatly in the improvement of teaching and

learning in the public and private Secondary schools and will impact student achievement.

The findings of this study will also help curriculum planners to consider the students'

background i.e economics and cultural background in designing school curriculum and in

selection of texts to be used. The findings will help teachers to inculcate hard work and instill

57
discipline in their students to enable them learn with high level of understanding and perform

well to expectations. This could be achieved if students are accommodated by their teachers and

students are shown emphatic understanding of their problems irrespective of their background.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study it is evident that family background and students' attitude

correlate with students' achievement in economics. Therefore, the following recommendations

are made:

i. Teachers should encourage their students to improve on their psychology state of mind so

as to be free from obstacles posted by poor family background and negative attitudes.

ii. Teachers should adopt teaching strategies that has been discussed in this study in the

teaching of economics in particular. They should be encouraged to use them as strategies

to reinforce the conventional method.

iii. Curriculum designers should make sure that students' economics and cultural background

etc are considered in designing the school curriculum.

iv. Government and education providers should organized time to time seminars, workshop

etc to orientate students on negative impact of poor attitude to work.

v. Inspectors should visit schools more regularly to inspect students' notes and make sure

that teachers are doing what they are employed to do. Teachers should no longer be left

on their own to teach what they know to teach or what they want to teach. They should be

thoroughly supervised to make sure that they follow the procedure outlined in this study.

58
 vi. The activities of school counselor should not be undermined in schools. It should be

made compulsory for schools to have a functioning office for the councilor. This could

reshape the mind of students and restructures their mind set towards learning.

vii. Most secondary school teachers do not have the knowledge of some graphical

interpretations of laws and theories in economics. To be able to widen their scope in the

field, they need to go for in-service training, workshops and seminars on teaching of

economics which will help to make them better teachers.

5.5 Limitations of the Study

In the course of this study, many constrains were encountered. First, it is not possible for the

researcher to go round all the secondary schools in Oyo state to carry out the investigation. This

has militated against the generalization of the result of the study. The study was only conducted

in selected Schools in Oyo states due to constraint of time.

Secondly, in this study, it was discovered that most schools especially the public schools, delay

the teaching of some aspect of economics till the final year e.g. market structure. This constituted

barrier to the study. This was why the researcher made use of the public school which their

syllables suite the findings.

Thirdly, some of the teachers were not willing to partake in the study, they displayed nonchalant

attitude towards the research. The researcher had to search for schools that were not only willing

to participate but also ready to give answers to questions pushed to them.

It is our belief that in spite of these limitations, the findings of this study will serve as a reference

point for further studies in economics teaching and learning and could help in solving the

problem of learning economics which often leads to mass failure in economics.

59
5.6 Suggestions for Further Study

In view of the limitations of this study, the following suggestions are made for further research:

this study could be replicated in other parts of the country on a large scale to ascertain the

generalization of findings. This study has shown that the effective replication being

recommended here should however involve more students and teachers. Teachers should ensure

that students are effectively taught business studies and other related subject at junior level as

this boosts their chances of knowing economics very well.

Based on the literature Reviewed in this study, it was realized that most of the strategies

discussed have not been used in other aspects of economics such as in proper explanation of laws

and theories, interpretation of graphs etc. these areas could be explored by future scholars in any

subsequent studies.

60
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 APPENDIX

NATIONAL TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE, KADUNA

LOYOLA CENTRE
FAMILY BACKGROUND AND ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE (RBAQ)
Dear Respondent,
I am a Post-graduate student in Education from National Teachers‟ Institute. This questionnaire is
designed to elicit relevant information on your attitude towards Economics. All information provided
would be treated confidentially. Please be honest as much as possible. Thank you.

Ibiyemi Johnson Bolaji

SECTION A: Demographic Information
Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

Father‟s occupation: Civil servant Trader Armed forces Artisan

Mother‟s occupation: Civil servant Trader Armed forces Artisan

Number of children in your family: 1 – 3 4–6 7 –9 10 and above

Home type: Monogamy Polygamy Relative

65
SECTION B

Instruction

In your experience at your school, about how often each of the following occur? Mark your answer
in the boxes. Examples: √ or ×

S/ ITEMS ALWAY OFTEN RAREL NOT

N S Y AT ALL

1. My parents purchase textbooks for me.

2. My parents do visit the school to find out factors

affecting my learning attributes.

3. My parents do not bother to get home lesson teacher

for me, since there are many teachers in my school.

4. My parents are not concerned about my other

financial responsibilities because the government

pays school fees.

5. My parents have not been assisting to solve any

problem concerning school activities.
6. My parents provide all necessary learning material.

7. My parents communicate with the school and the

teachers regarding school activities and also
monitor the school activities closely.
8. My parents interact with me concerning my
academic performance and school activities.
9. My parents always motivate me on my academic
performance.
10 My parents used to supervise my homework and

academic progress.

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 SECTION C: ATTITUDE TO LEARNING ECONOMICS

In this section, you are provided with a range of statements concerning your views about Economics

as a subject. Kindly respond by marking (√) the response as it occurs to you using the format below:

Very True of Me = VTM,

True of Me = TM,

Rarely True of Me = RTM,

Not True of Me = NTM

N/S ITEMS VTM TM RTM NTM

1. I like Economics because it is essential for daily living.

2. I enjoy learning Economics.

3. I look forward to a Economics lessons.

4. Is Economics a boring subject to me

5. I find Economics applicable in other subjects.

6. I know I can get a good grade in Economics if I work hard.

7. I think I need Economics for my career.

8. I think it is important to do well in Economics.

9. I belief that Economics is a very difficult subject.

10. I feel like I would avoid Economics if it were optional.

11. Do you look forward to a Economics lessons.

12. I think it is important to do well in Economics.

13. I ensure that I complete my Economics assignment on time.

14. Economics is always ranking among the least performed subjects

in our school.

15. Learning Economics involves a lot of memorization of facts and

67
 formula difficult to grasp.

16. Economics concepts are discrete and not related to activities in my

environment.

17. I have no ability or talent to succeed in Economics.

18. Not everyone can be good in all the subjects.

19. I know I can get a good grade in Economics if I work hard.

20. I make no of personal effort to improve.

21. Economics teacher is the one who can make me pass Economics.

22. My parents were never good in Economics.

23. My friends hate Economics.

24. I make no personal effort to improve my performance in

Economics.
25. I seek for external assistance to meet up.

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SECTION D: ECONOMICS ACHIEVEMENT TEST (EAT)

Kindly choose the best option/ correct answer to the following:

1. The popular and most acceptable definition of economics was propounded by (a). Adam

Smith (b). Robert Owen (c). Prof Lionel (d). Robbins.

2. Who among the following is regarded as the father of Economics? (a). Prof Lionel (b).

Robbins (c). Adam Smith (d). Alfred Marshall.

3. Economics is aimed to balance the scale of numerous wants and (a). Preference (b).

Numerous (c). Needs (d). Scarce resources.

4. A supply pattern that is against the law of supply is called (a). Excess supply (b). Abnormal

demand (c). Abnormal supply (d). Stagnant supply.

5. Which of these is said to be relatively scarced? (a). Means (b). Alternative uses (c).

Alternative forgone (d). Demand.

6. Economics is not a natural science but (a). Social science (b). Political science (c). Applied

science (d). Earth science.

7. Which of the following cannot lead to shift in demand? (a). Income of the consumer (b).

Price of the commodity (c). Price of other commodities (d). Seasons.

8. The arithmetic mean is the same (a). Mean (b). Median (c). Mode (d). Standard deviation

9. The range of 6, 7, 5, 2, 1 is (a). 5 (b). 6 (c). 4 (d). 11.

10. Ends in the Robbins definition means (a). Wants (b). Resources (c). Scarcity (d). Alternative

uses

69
11. Given these series of numbers: 3, 4, 1, 2, 6, 5, 4, 1, 8 and 6. Calculate the mean (a). 4 (b). 10

(c). 14 (d). 5.5.

12. When price is above equilibrium, there is (a). Excess of supply over demand (b). Excess of

demand over supply (c). Demand is equal supply (d). Both are in excess.

13. Who among the following is called the father of Economics (a). Fedric lugard (b). Prof

Lionel (c). Robbins (d). Adam Smith.

14. The normal demand curve slopes downward from the (a). Left to the right (b). Right to the

left (c). Middle to the top (d). Down to the middle.

15. The rewards for labour is (a). Hard work (b). Promotion (c). Interest (d). Wages and salaries

16. In calculating N. I., the x - m is equal (a). Income tax (b). Income from abroad (c). Net

income from abroad (d). Personal capital.

17. Which of these tools of Economics analysis goes with sectors? (a). Bar chart (b). Histogram

(c). Pie chart (d). Pictogram.

18. In a class of 11 girls and 9 boys, calculate the average number of the students (a). 20 (b). 10

(c). 2 (d). 1.

19. To ascertain PCI, population is (a). Added to N.I (b). Substrate from N.I (c). N.I divided by

population (d). Population divided by N.I.

20. Alternative forgone is best explained as (a). Opportunity cost (b). Forgone alternative (c).

Separation (d). Money cost.

70
MARKING GUIDE

1. C.

2. C

3. D

4. C

5. A

6. A

7. B

8. A

9. B

10. A

11. A

12. A

13. D

14. A

15. D

16. C

17. C

18. B

19. C

20. B

71