CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter presents brief discussions on the related studies and literature, local and

foreign viewed by the researchers which gave relevance to the topic of the present study.

Foreign Literature

Widespread study and research in the educational sociology gives the substantiation of

significant relationship between family socio-economic status and the academic achievement of

students. Socioeconomic status is a combined measure of an individual’s or family’s economic

and social position relative to others, based on income, education, and occupation. According to

Akampurira Abraham in the case study about “The Family Affects Academic Performance of

Students”, family background tends to a negative association with the academic success whereas

parental engagement like volunteering in most cases should be positive correlations. It is generally

acknowledged that family environment is the most powerful influence in determining the child’s

academic motivation and achievement. These motivation thing were apparent during the early

schooling years of the students like when they were still in the preparatory level or elementary

level but as time goes by, students learned to be more independent with regards to their learning

styles wherein parent’s guide were being set aside.

A research from the American Psychological Association reinstate that socioeconomic

status encompasses not just income but also educational attainment, financial security, and

subjective perceptions of social status and social class. It can encompass quality of life attributes

as well as the opportunities and privileges afforded to people within society. The project

“Children’s level of living-the impact of family income” was carried out in the year 2000 in
Norway by Norwegian Social Research. The main aim of the project was to study the relationship

between family income and everyday life of their children. The focus was on the families with low

income. The result showed a positive correlation between families income level and the children’s

everyday life i.e. the children from such low income families had poor living standards. The

researcher (Norwegian Social Research) only focused on low income parent but this research

focused on both the low income and high income families.

A study entitled “Effect of Socio-Economic Status of Parents on Academic Performance

of students in Technical Colleges in Delta State of Nigeria concluded that there is a relationship

between socioeconomic status of the parents and the choice course made by the students, so parents

should try as much as possible to supervise the work of their children, and counseling them into

making right career choices, these should be not based on the wealth of family. Parents should

strive to live together for proper up bring of their children, in order to avoid having dropouts and

nonentities as students. Parents as well as government should provide good learning atmosphere

for the students to enhance better performances of the students, on the other hand students should

make use these learning materials provided for them by the government and parents and stop

perambulating around the streets of Nigeria, and stop forming different cults and nefarious groups

that does foster their academic performance in schools. Teachers also have a role to play by making

sure these students are well taught, occupied with assignments and class-work so as to create sense

of seriousness in them. These assignments should be marked and recorded as continuous

assessment. Quizzes and test via examination should also be administered by the teachers.

Workshop practice should also be taught in all the technical colleges to make them self-reliant and

practically oriented.