THE IMPACT OF PEER INFLUENCE AND PARENTAL SUPPORT ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE UPPER BASIC EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

Educational activities are geared towards ensuring that students achieve mastery of educational objectives. In school, the extent to which these objectives have been achieved, is determined by their level of peer pressure, parents and time management as students’ success are reflected in their academic performance (Allen (2005).

The world is becoming more and more competitive in education endeavour and quality of performance has become the essential factor for personal progress in the society. It is, because of this that parents desire their children climb to the ladder of academic performance to a high level as possible. This desire for a high level of academic performance puts a lot of pressure on students, teachers and schools and in general the education system itself. In fact, it appears as if the whole education revolves round the academic performance of students, though various other outcomes are also expected from the system (Amuda, 2014). Thus, a lot of time and effort of the schools are used for helping students to achieve better in their scholastic endeavours. The contemporary society cannot achieve its aim of economic growth, technical development and cultural advancement without harnessing the talents of its citizens. People with similar interest, age group, background and social status forms a part of the Peer Group. This type of peer group is both social and primary group of like-minded and aesthetics group. The students’ behavioural change happens in the school wherein peers have a vital role in achieving such a change. Role of peer influence has direct or indirect influence on the academic performance. Social and emotional development and educational objectives are influenced by peer group (Allen 2005).

Peers play an increasing role of influence from early age to teenage. Adolescents have healthy relationship with their peers and give importance to them compared to other age groups and their trust on them is more pronounced. Pressure means giving force to any activities. Peer pressure means influence of friends on each other and inducing changes in the mental and emotional behaviour by the people belonging to same group with similar interest, age, background and social status. Peer influence normally linked with adolescent risk taking behaviour; such as crime, drug abuse and sexual behaviours. These behaviours are associated with peer influence. The positive result also seen due to the effect of peer influence, for example a marked increase in the achievement, voluntary charity, public work and many others. But contrarily, the maximum result is for negative behaviour. Normally, the students skip classes, steals, and cheats, takes to drugs or alcohol as a cause of peer influence. Influences of peer may be in all ages and places, such as in work place, in school, or in society. Peer influence tends to influence the group to loiter in the street, watch films, bunk class, tease others, steal, and spoil public properties. Parental influence, defined as motivated parental attitudes and behaviours intended to influence children’s educational well-being. It is a multidimensional and bidirectional construct (Christenson, 2004; Fantuzzo) that has been shown to have clear links with social and academic outcomes for children. Traditionally parental influence has been defined as engaging parents in school-based activities and events related to their child’s education (Epstein, 2001). This comprehensive view of parental influence is grounded in the understanding that children’s success in academics is influenced by multiple contexts (e.g., home, school, and community) in a dynamic and bidirectional manner. Many researchers recognise the important role of a strong positive bond between homes and schools play in the development and education of children. Research has also shown that successful students have strong academic support from their involved parents. Furthermore, research on effective schools, those where students are learning and achieving, has consistently shown that these schools, despite often working in low social and economic neighbourhoods, have strong and positive school-home relationships. More importantly, these effective schools have made a real effort in reaching out to their students’ families in order to bring about liaison and cooperation.

Brown & Iyengar (2008) analyzed all the aspects of parents’ vital roles in adolescent lives. Critical examination of the research done on the influence of parenting styles was evaluated through the five main aspects, Parental Control, Gender and parenting style, Parental education, perceptual differences between parents and their children; and ethnicity and diversity. Parents’ firm, yet warm and authoritative parenting style proves to be the most successful in creating positive performance and achievements in adolescents. Parents who create reasonable rules and take active roles in an adolescent’s life will find the students having higher grades and greater performances in school. Parents should facilitate and encourage independent problem solving, choices and self determination in their adolescent if parents want them to be independent and motivated in school. Wong (2008) analysed the effects of parental involvement and autonomy support in relation to academic performance of adolescents

Cassidy & Conroy (2006) established the idea that parents’ interactions with adolescents’ shape how they evaluate themselves through self-esteem and achievement levels. Adolescents’ perceptions of their own abilities are strongly linked to their parent’s beliefs rather than to the adolescent’s actual level of ability. The higher level of parental support and interest in the adolescent the greater amount of self-esteem and confidence the adolescent will feel, thus creating strong, more motivated attitudes towards academics. When an adolescent is confident and content with who they are, it produces self-confidence in school when answering questions and taking exams. Parents who play an active role in their adolescent’s school attend school activities and help with homework, have proven to increase the adolescent’s academic performance and the amount of time they are willing to put into homework

Spera (2005) analysed and proved that parental monitoring, goals, values and aspirations were the basis of where and how their adolescent developed their own. Adolescents, who come from parents of a positive, loving, authoritative structure, tend to be more motivated, focused and academically successful. Parents who provide a rationale for behaviour and actions at home are teaching self-control and respect in their adolescent at school towards their teachers and fellow students. When life at home is satisfactory, then life at school becomes much better. Academic performance means the students’ ability to write or orally communicate exactly the fact or the content. This also reflects to what extent the educational system has achieved their goals. Academic performance indicates the extent to which the students have a mastery of the subject

Academic performance refers to excellence in all academic discipline. Academic performance encompasses students’ ability and performance; it is multi-dimensional; it is intricately associated to human growth and cognitive, emotional and social physical development. Academic performance also refers to how well a student is accomplishing his tasks and studies. There should be an interrelated relationship between parental and peer group influence on academic performance. It was believed that student’s academic performance correlates with parental and the peer group influence. Peer Influence can be either positive or negative. If a student is influenced negatively by peer, it affects his or her academic performance. Nevertheless, stronger student does have an impact on their peers and actually help improve their overall academic performance. Conversely, positive peer influence on academic performance depends on person’s self-identity, self-esteem and self-reliance. Research has shown that positive correlation exists between performance and peer relationships.

Statement of the problem

The influence of peer group and parental support is highly manifested from the adolescent years of the child and upwards. Here the child encounters ways, ideas behavior different from what he has learnt from home. These encounters could be positive or negative. The negative behavior could be in form of antisocial behavior like disobedience to parents in school authority, engagement in all forms of truancy and unruly behavior such as stealing, telling of lies, engaging in all forms of violence and unwanted pregnancies. All these could have negative effect on learning outcomes of the child. Studies have also shown that the socio-economic status of parents may have elastic effects on their children academic work as poor parents may lack enough resources to sponsor their children, provide good schools, good housing facilities, medical care and social welfare services. Some other researchers are of the view that parents socio economic status may not necessary affect academic performance at most academic giants had such humble beginning lacking basic necessities of life. To some, parental support may not necessarily affect a child’s reaction to life, situations and his level of performance. It was also discovered from recent research that students who were bullied by their peers of school tended to report high levels of self-esteem, more connected for their peers, teachers and school and more motivated to perform well at school. Base on this background the study is up to investigate the impact of peer influence and parental support on the academic achievement of the upper basic education in secondary school.

Objective of the study

The objectives of the study are;

1. To determine the relationship between parental support and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state
2. To determine the relationship between peer group influence and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state.
3. To determine the level of academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

Research question

The following research question were formulated

1. What is the relationship between parental support and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state?
2. What is relationship between peer group influence and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state?
3. What is level of academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

Research hypotheses

The following research question will be formulated

H0: there is no significant relationship between parental support and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

H1: there is no significant relationship between parental support and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

H0: there is no significant relationship between peer group influence and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

H2: there is significant relationship between peer group influence and academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

H0: there is no significant level of academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

H3: there is significant level of academic achievement in upper basic education in Makurdi, Benue state

Significance of the study

The findings from this study will be of immense benefits to the counselors, teacher, the society, school and researchers. To the counselor- it will help to create discipline in the life of adolescents. When this is done there will be sanity, peace and order, which will enhance the moral tone of the school as well as the society. It will also help the counselor to know the right technique to adopt in modifying negative peer pressure. To the teacher-the teacher will equally benefits from the finding of the study because the finding will help them know what is expected of them as they are role model. To the school-the findings of the study will directly lead to the raising of our standard of education because experience has shown that disciplined students learn faster and perform better academically than undisciplined students. Therefore, the findings of this study will help the school produce students who can contribute meaningfully towards the development of the nation in future. The findings of the study will be made known to public by organizing conferences, workshops and seminars to inform them of the positive and negative effect of peer influence and parental support on academic achievement. This will help sensitize in-school adolescent by making them to be aware of the merits of good peer pressure and parental support. Finally, the results of the work will be of great help to future researchers. This will be a source of research materials or empirical data for them

Scope of the study

the scope of the study covers the impact of peer influence and parental support on the academic achievement of the upper basic education in secondary school. The study will be limited to selected secondary schools in Makurdi, Benue state

limitation of the study

This study was confirmed with some constraint below are some of the factors that delayed the progress and early completion of this work.

1. TIME:This work would have been better that what it is if enough time was given to travel to different part of the country and companies for collection of data.
2. TRANSPORTATION:Due to the high cost of transportation fares caused by bad roads, fuel scarcity, it was not possible to travel to different parts of the country in collection of more data.
3. LACK OF MATERIALS:The unavailability of goods and up to-date textbooks, journals etc libraries and in accessibility of the internet to the common man also hampered the progress of this work.
4. Financial Constraint:As students, there was not enough capital to spend in transportation and fact finding for the research work

Definition of terms

Peer influence: Peer influence is when you choose to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do, because you want to feel accepted and valued by your friends

Parental support: Parental support has been defined as “parental behaviors toward the child, such as praising, encouraging and giving physical affection, which indicate to the child that he or she is accepted and loved”

Academic achievement: Academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in school, college, and university

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