PARENTS’ ATTITUDES AND ITS EFFECTS ON PUPILS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PANKSHIN LGA, PLATEAU STATE

\CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Education according to Okolo (2009) is a vehicle for social change and unavoidable means of physical, social, economic, political, religious, moral development for lifelong learning and survival.
In the opinion of Edukugho (2002) cited in Imogle (2002), the prosperity of a country depends not on the abundance of its revenue, nor the strength of its fortifications, but on the number of its cultivated citizens, men ands women enlighten and of character.
Education according to Isiechei and Olufowobi (2005) implies the skillful process of bringing out the inmate potentialities in an individual. It develops human endowments and aims at the development of the entire personality of an individual.
Education to structural functionalism apostles takes effect from home, where young people learn things, knowledge and skills are learned informally by imitating examples provided by adults. Adults instructed their young ones such as boys following their fathers to the farms, girls assisting their mothers at home, knowledge of moral values on how to behave in the society were inculcated into the children, and they are being monitored and closely guided by the parents. The taking over by schools of further preparation of the children for future moral and values training and for future occupational roles is what the personas; refers to as ‘school as the society in miniature’. It is the belief of the functionalists that, there must be proper understanding between the home and the school, which is the representative of the larger society, as regards training of the children or the wards (Haramlabes and Holborns,2008). They further opined that the cooperation between the home and the school and the existence of degree of homogeneity amongst his members that bring about external similarities that collective life demands would lead to the survival of the entire society.
The home is the first agent of socialization and as a result, its significance cannot be over-emphasized (Shrivastave and Chandiramani,1995). The influence of home or even parents towards the academic performance of their children should be positive in order to ensure that students performs excellently well in their academic works. Shrivastava (1991) and Jong (1993) conclude that family environment plays a pivotal role in a child’s academic achievement. On the other han d, a negative attitude will produce bad output from students. The students may become drop-outs, hooligans, cheats in school.
The study carried out by Bansal, Thind and Jaswal,(2006) showed that good quality of home environment, had significant positive correlation with high level of achievement motivation among high achievers. Similarly, Paulson (1996) indicated that parental involvement had positive effect on adolescent level of achievement while, Estrada, Arsenio, Hess and Holloway (1987) critically reviewed the dimensions of home environment and reported that controlling and punitive home environment is essentially detrimental for cognitive development and this academic achievement.
This study therefore, was envisaged to access parents attitudes and its effects on pupils academic performance.
1.2. Statement of the Problem
The expectation nowadays is that every individual should aspire to be an achiever, and the key criteria to judge one’s level of potentialities and capabilities is perhaps through scholastic academic performance. It has become an index of a child’s future, and it is therefore, putting much of a pressure on the minds of the both the children and their parents. The scholastic performance is a function of cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of personality, and is the resultant of various factors like economic, political, social, personal and other environmental factors. Thus, the resultants factors will show case the nature (positive, negative) of parent’s contribution towards their wards academic performance.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
This study sought to find out and achieved the following
Aims and objective
i. To find out the relationship that exist between parents assistance an d their children.
ii. To find out the various assistance needed by children for better academic performance.
iii. To differentiate between children that were assisted by their parents and those that were not in their academic performance.
iv. To outline both the positive and negative effects of parents assistance toward their children academic performance.
v. To define the concept academic performance.
1.4 Research Questions
Essentially, the difficulty in ascertaining whether parents attitudes towards their children and its effect on their academic performance is important, the following questions were raised to help in conducting the findings. Thus,
i. Does significant relationship exist between parents assistance and their children in their academic performance?
ii. What is the various assistance needed by children for better academic performance?
iii. Is there any difference between children that were assisted by their parents and those that were not in their academic performance?
iv. What are the effects of parents assistance on their academic performance.
v. What is academic performance?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
The researcher develops one null hypothesis. Thus, there is no significant relationship between parents assistance on their children and their academic performance.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The importance of this study cannot be over-emphasized. Thus, this study will be of the benefit to the following categories of persons.
Parents/families:- the study will enlighten the mind of so-many parents to understand the benefit and essence of their contribution towards their wards academic performance.
Researcher:- this study will serves as a resource room to any researcher carrying or undertaking a similar finding with vital information that would help him/her in his/her findings.
Society/world at large:- this finding will help to bring and provide a worthy society in the world to come. If recommendation are strictly adopted by providing children necessities regarding their academics.
Students: the students will certainly know that, their academic performance would highly be justifiable and worthy of note through their parents assistance.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study will be limited to only twelve schools in the environment of Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau state. Thus, these schools include:
i. Local Government and education authorities, Pankshin.
ii. Na’avit nursery and primary school Pankshin
iii. Saint Anthony nursery/primary school, Chip
iv. Local Government and education Authorities, Chip
v. Cocin primary school, Abwor, Dyis Lankan
vi. Local Government and education authorities,Lankan
vii. Cocin nursery and primary,school Feir
viii. Local Government and education, Feir
ix. Foundation nursery and primary school, Tazuk, Wokkos
x. Local Government and education Authorities, Tazuk, Wokkos
xi. Pyabor nursery and primary school, Kaduna and
xii. Local Government and education Authorities Kaduna.
The research will work with these schools to gain relevant information from them.
1.8 Definitions of Operational terms
Academic: This is related to a college, academic, school, or other educational institution especially one for higher education.
Performance: an act of presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. The action or process of performing a task or function.
Academic performance: this is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their short or long-term goals.
Effects: a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.
Parents: a person’s father or mother. Or be or act as a mother or father to someone.
Children: a young human below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority