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PSYCHOSOCIAL
CORRELATES OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS
ABSTRACT
The study
basically examined the psychosocial correlates of academic performance among
primary school pupils in Lagos State. Four research objectives leading to four
research questions and hypotheses were stated to guide the study. A total
number of 120 pupils were carefully selected from the entire population through
the method of stratified and simple random strategy. The descriptive survey
research design in nature and a questionnaire was developed to gather the data
used for the study. Data gathered from
the demographic background characteristics of respondents were presented in
frequency counts and percentages while Correlation statistics using 0.05level
was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study showed that there is no
significant relationship between parental influence and academic performance;
there is a significant relationship between teacher influence and academic
performance; there is a significant relationship between self-esteem and
academic performance; there is a significant relationship between peer group
influence and academic performance. Recommendations were made following the
outcomes of the research findings that there is need to start early at
boosting children’s self-esteem by
encouraging them where necessary in respect to their possibilities of attaining
an academic height; parents and teachers should be educated on the need to
allow self-discovery among young ones.
To ensure no major direct influence from both on their academic performance of
the pupils, maladjusted students should be given psycho- socio therapy
especially in self-esteem and peer group influence. Parents should ensure that
they monitor their children at home and correct them properly in terms of where
they lack in esteem and relating with peer group.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
In the
Nigeria society today, education of children in at least basic education is in
the top burner. It is also necessary that these children be rightly nurtured by
all stakeholders involved in the process and period of their basic education to
ensure that they perform well and optimally academically and otherwise.
Primary
education according to the National Policy on Education 2013 is the basic
education given in institutions to children between ages 6-12yers. The duration
shall be six years. Formal education begins with primary education. Primary
education is compulsory and free under the Universal Basic Education (UBE)
programme introduced by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on September 30th
1999.The two basic functions of primary schools are to prepare the child for
life and to give those with the necessary background the opportunity to proceed
to secondary school level. (NERC, 1969).
The National
Policy on Education (2014) also listed 7 objectives of primary education one of
which is to instill permanent literacy and numeracy and ability to communicate
effectively. It is also to provide the child with the basic tools for further
educational advancement.
According to
Amadi (2014), effective teaching requires a professional teacher. The National
Policy on Education (2014) stipulates that the minimum requirement to teach at
primary school level is a National Certificate in Education (NCE). This effort
is to ensure quality of teaching and ultimately good academic performance by
primary school children.
The
importance of the primary school upon which the educational system is rested
cannot be overemphasized. This level of education therefore deserves the
special attention of all stakeholders. It provides the base and foundation for
every other training which the child receives. The level of education
attainment of any person is strongly influenced by the quality and standard of
knowledge acquired at the formative stage of life.( Adeogun,1999).
Most
knowledge, skills, values and attitudes relevant for living must be introduced
in some ways to the pupils at this stage. Since the rest of the educational
system is built on it , the primary level is key to the success or failure of
the whole system. In fact primary education is the substructure upon which
other education levels are created. (Amadi,2014). This underscores the
importance of good academic performance for every child that undergoes primary school education in Nigeria.
Academic
Performance is how well an individual has done in cognitive and non-.cognitive
tasks. Academic achievement of students especially at the elementary school
level is not only a pointer to the effectiveness or otherwise of schools but a
major determinant of the future of youths in particular and the nation in
general. Learning outcomes have become a phenomenon of interest to all and this
account for the reason why scholars have been working hard to untangle factors
that militate against good academic performance (Aremu & Sokan, 2002). This
phenomenon has been variedly referred in literature as academic achievement, or
scholastic functioning. Academic achievement of learners has attracted
attention of scholars, parents, policy- makers and planners.
Adeyemo
(2001) opined that the major goal of the school is to work towards attainment
of academic excellence by students. According to him, the school may have other
peripheral objectives but emphasis is always placed on the achievement of sound
scholarship. Besides, virtually everybody concerned with education places
premium on academic achievement; excellent academic achievement of children is
often the expectation of parents (Osiki, 2001).
Academic
achievement represents one of the key aspects of school adjustment (Caprara,
Barbaranelli, Patorelli, Bandura & Zimbado, 2000). It remains one of the
important targets for elementary school teachers, parents and students alike.
High school academic achievement is linked to positive attitudes to school.
Well achieving children experience less stress, have better mental health and
are less likely to skip classes or drop out of school in later years. (Caprara
et al, 2000)
Several
methods are used to measure child academic performance, including standardized
and teacher- made achievement test scores, assessments, teacher ratings of academic performance, and
report card grades. Standardized achievement tests are objective instruments
that assess skills and abilities children learn through direct instruction in a
variety of subject areas including reading, mathematics, and writing (Sattler,
2001). Teacher rating scales allow teachers to rate the accuracy of the child's
academic work compared to other children in the class, and allow for ratings on
a wider range of academic tasks than examined on standardized achievement tests
(DuPaul & Rapport, 1991
Though
Academic Achievement is closely linked to intellectual ability as well as
family characteristics, (Jacob & Harvey, 2015), a child’s ability to
operate effectively in social environment is vital for making good use of
intellectual potential. Intelligence is only one of the elements belonging to
the internal factors of academic performance. However, this is not the most
important factor in all cases, because besides intelligence, academic
performance depends on other internal conditions, too (motivation, attitudes,
personality traits, etc.) and external ones (method, exigencies, nature of the
academic tasks, school textbooks, etc.(Kulcsar, 1978) The intellectual factor
accounts only partially for academic results, which indicates that, for a large
number of pupils, the poor academic achievement is mainly determined by
non-intellectual factors, such as high emotional insecurity, poor motivation,
negative attitude, weak self-regulation or other psycho-social unfavourable
circumstances
Psycho-social
factors are influences that affect a person psychologically or socially. There
are multidimensional constructs encompassing several domains such as mood
status (anxiety, depression, distress and positive affect), Cognitive behaviour
responses (satisfaction, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control) and
social factors (sociometric status, education, employment, religion, ethnicity,
family, physical attributes, locality, relationships with others, change in
personal roles and status. (Shin-chi, Suzuki and Yuko Taker, 2013)
The
influence of home environment on students’ academic achievement at the
individual level is still prevalent, but less strong in much of the literature.
There is an awareness of the importance of the home environment or family
structure on student’s academic achievement. The home has a great influence on
the students’ psychological, emotional, social and economic state. In the view
of Ajila and Olutola (2000), the state of the home affects the individual since
the parents are the first socializing agents in an individual’s life. This is
because the family background and context of a child affect his reaction to
life situations and his level of performance. Although, the school is
responsible for the experiences that make up the individual’s life during
school periods, yet parents and the individual’s experiences at home play
tremendous roles in building the personality of the child and making the child
what he is. Thus, Ichado (1998) concluded that the environment in which the
student comes from can greatly influence his performance in school. The state
of the home may affect individual since the parents are the first socializing
agents in an individual’s life. This is because the family background and
context of a child affect his reaction to life situations and his level of
academic achievement.
Parent
involvement in a child's early education is consistently found to be positively
associated with a child's academic performance (Hara & Burke, 1998; Hill
and Craft, 2003; Marcon, 1999; Stevenson
and Baker, 1987). Specifically, children
whose parents are more involved in their education have higher levels of
academic performance than children whose parents are involved to a lesser
degree. The influence of parent involvement on academic success has not only
been noted among researchers, but also among policy makers who have integrated
efforts aimed at increasing parent involvement into broader educational policy
initiatives. Coupled with these findings of the importance of early academic
success, a child's academic success has been found to be relatively stable
after early elementary school (Entwisle & Hayduk, 1988;Pedersen, Faucher,
& Eaton, 1978). Therefore, it is important to examine factors that
contribute to early academic success and that are amenable to change.
Researchers
have reported that parent-child interactions, specifically stimulating and
responsive parenting practices, are important influences on a child's academic
development (Christian, Morrison, & Bryant, 1998; Committee on Early
Childhood Pedagogy, 2000). By examining specific parenting practices that are
amenable to change, such as parent involvement, and the mechanisms by which
these practices influence academic performance, programs may be developed to
increase a child's academic performance. While parent involvement has been
found to be related to increased academic performance, the specific mechanisms
through which parent involvement exerts its influence on a child's academic
performance are not yet fully understood (Hill & Craft, 2003).
Understanding these mechanisms would inform further research and policy
initiatives and may lead to the development of more effective intervention
programs designed to increase children's academic performance.
A positive
student-teacher relationship has been defined as the teacher's perception that
his or her relationship with the child is characterized by closeness and a lack
of dependency and conflict (Birch & Ladd, 1997). Closeness is the degree of
warmth and open communication between the student and teacher, dependency is
the over-reliance on the teacher as a source of support, and conflict is the
degree of friction in student-teacher interactions (Birch & Ladd, 1997).
Previous research found that close, positive student-teacher relationships are
positively related to a wide range of child social and academic outcomes in
school (Hughes, Gleason, & Zhang, 2005). Specifically, a close
student-teacher relationship is an important predictor of a child's academic
performance (Birch & Ladd, 1997; Hamre & Pianta, 2001). Previous
research has also found that parent involvement in a child's education
positively influences the nature of the student-teacher relationship (Hill
& Craft, 2003; Stevenson & Baker, 1987). Therefore, the student-teacher
relationship was examined for its ability to explain the relation between
parent involvement and a child's academic performance.
Today
self-esteem as one of the influential factor which affect student’s academic
achievement has received increasing attention. In psychology, the term
self-esteem is used to describe a person's overall sense of self-worth or
personal value. Self-esteem is often seen as a personality trait, which means
that it tends to be stable and enduring.
Self-esteem
can involve a variety of beliefs about the self, such as the appraisal of one's
own appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. According to (Branden,
1969), Self-esteem is an essential human need that is vital for survival normal
and healthy development
It has been declared that high self-esteem can
lead to high academic achievement. Self-esteem can be referred to as person's
global judgments of competency regarding one's self-worth (Harter, 1988). This
construct emerges when children compare their self-evaluation with actual
performance on a variety of tasks.
In general,
high self-esteem help individuals to view themselves as active and capable persons
to promote changes through effort and set higher goals which cause learning new
things. Interestingly, numerous researchers have demonstrated that the best way
to improve student achievement is to increase their self-esteem (Rubieet al.,
2004). Research has also documented that high self- esteem plays an important
role in academic achievement, social and personal responsibility (Redenbach,
1991). Those who have higher academic achievement tend to feel more confident
in contrast those who lack confidence in themselves achieve less.
Goethe found
out that weak students do better when grouped with other weak students. (As
implied by Zajonc’s analysis of older siblings (1976) it shows that students’
performance improves if they are with the students of their own kind. There are often different results by gender,
as in Hoxby’s K-12 results (2000); Sacerdote (2001) finds that grades are
higher when students have unusually academically strong roommates. The results of Zimmerman (1999, 2001) were
somewhat contradictory to Goethe results but again it proved that students
performance depends on number of different factors, it says that weak peers
might reduce the grades of middling or strong students. (Alexander, Gur et al.
1974; Fraser, Beamn et al. 1977) explained that some of the practices adopted
by college administration in higher education like residential colleges or
organized study groups also help to increases performance.
Keeping in view all of the variables discussed
by different researchers we have chosen only those variables that are
recognizable and relates to primary school settings.The majority of the studies
to date seem to indicate that further investigation is required to unravel the
complex determinants of academic performance.
1.2 Statement
of Problem
Amongst the
seven primary education objectives stipulated in the National Policy on
Education is the need to instill permanent literacy and Numeracy and ability to
communicate effectively in the children.
Another objective for primary education according to the National Policy
on Education is to provide the child with the basic tools for further
educational advancement. These
objectives are far from
being achieved as a result of the
poor performance of some pupils in primary schools in Nigeria (Kosofe Local
Government Area in Lagos state in particular) especially in their inability to
read, write and express themselves correctly in English language (Permanent
Literacy Skill) . Their low performance
in English has led to low enrolment of some of these children into Secondary
Schools .This is also contrary to the objectives of the National Policy on
Education for primary education. This in turn has delayed the progress of these
children. Some of them have given up and decided to discontinue their
educational pursuit as they have lost confidence in their ability to succeed
academically if they eventually manage to get enrolled after further attempt.
Some studies
have attributed the poor performance of children to some psycho-social factors
like the (family) parental influence, (school) the teacher, peer group and
(Personality Traits) and self-esteem.
1.3 Purpose
of Study
The purpose
of this study is to find out the extent at which some psycho-social factors
such as parental influence, teacher influence, peer group influence and
self-esteem influence the academic performance of primary school children in
Lagos State. Specifically, this study seeks to:
1. To examine the relationship between
parental influence and academic performance.
2. To ascertain whether teacher influence
have significant effect on academic performance
3. Find out if peer group influence has
significant effect on academic performance
4. Examine the effect of self-esteem on
academic performance
1.4 Research
Questions
The study
will address the following research questions:
1. Is there a relationship between parental
influence and academic performance?
2. What is the relationship between teacher
influence and academic performance?
3. How is self-esteem related to academic
performance?
4. Is there a relationship between peer
group influence and academic performance?
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
The
following null hypotheses were tested in the study:
1. There is no significance relationship
between parental influence and academic performance.
2. There is no significance relationship
between teacher influence and academic performance.
3. There is no significant relationship
between self esteem and academic performance.
4. There is no significant relationship
between peer group influence and academic performance
1.6Significance
of Study
This
research has implication for addressing the problems that result in poor
academic performance of primary school children, especially in Lagos State.
This study is therefore relevant to teachers and school administrators who may
wish to ensure that pupils under their care are well nurtured in the right way
in other to bring out the best in them to ensure excellent academic
performance. The study is also important to Parents who expect excellent
performance from their children. This will help them to understand the manner
in which to interact and influence their children in order to ensure good
academic performance.
Schools will
also benefit from this study as it will help them to ensure that they provide adequate human
resources and the right environment to give children balanced education to
ensure good academic performance.
This study
is also relevant to Learners as it will help primary school children to make
their basic education worth the while in order to have a solid foundation for
higher education in the future. The Government will also be able carry out
proper supervision of schools to ensure that government policy on education is
being followed to ensure good academic performance by children.
1.7 Scope of
the Study
This study
is limited to one hundred and twenty pupils from two public primary schools and
two private primary schools in Kosofe Local Government Areas of Lagos State.
1.8
Operational Definition of Terms
For the
purpose of this study, the following terms will be defined thus;
Primary
School Pupils
Primary Schools pupils are children between
ages 6- 11years who are given education
in formal institutions of learning known as primary school.
Primary
/Elementary Education
The words
primary education and elementary education shall be used interchangeably in
this study.
Fafunwa
(1974) defined primary education as a
system of education that helps the child to master the 3Rs that is reading, writing and arithmetic, develop
sound standard of individual conduct, acquire some skills and appearance the
value of manual work.
Primary
education is the first stage of compulsory education coming between early
childhood education and secondary education.
Academic
Performance
This is the
behaviour of a student that can be directly observed by evaluating what he/she
has learnt during a course of study. This behaviour can be measured through
class work, homework, class participation and tests. It is the extent to which
a student has reached the educational goals set for him.
Psycho-social
Correlates
Psycho-social
Correlates are the psychological and
social factors which are related and connected in some way to influence the
academic performance of a child. In this study, we shall focus on variables
which are concerned with five of these factors which include Family /parental
influence/ involvement, teacher influence, peer group influence and self
esteem.
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