RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROCRASSTINATION AND

BIG FIVE FACTOR OF PERSONALITY AT UNIVERSITY

LEVEL

Shahzad Ahmed

Roll No. 6151

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF HARIPUR KHYBER
PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN
2018

i
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROCRASSTINATION AND

BIG FIVE FACTOR OF PERSONALITY

BY

Shahzad Ahmed

Roll No. 6151

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the

Requirement for the degree of

Bachelor of Education (Hons) Elementary

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF HARIPUR, KHYBER
PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN
2018

ii
 CERTIFICATION

Certificate that the contents and form of thesis entitled

“RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROCRASSTINATION AND BIG

FIVE FACTORS OF PERSONALITY” submitted by Shahzad Ahmed

have been found satisfactory for the requirement of the degree of B.Ed.

(Hons).

________________

Dr. Afzal Shah

_______________

External Examiner

_______________

Date________ Chairman

Department of Education

University of Haripur

iii
 Dedication
I dedicated this piece of research

“To Allah Almighty”

My creator, my strong pillar, my source of inspiration, wisdom,

Knowledge and understanding.

He has been the source of my strength throughout this program and on

His wings only have I soared.

“To my parents and teachers”

Who has encourage me all the way and whose encouragement has made

Sure that

I give it all it takes to finish that which I have started.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
Page No

1 INTRODUCTION 10
1.1 Statement Of The Problem 12
1.2 Objective Of The Study 12
1.3 Research Question 12
1.4 Significance Of The Study 13
1.5 Delimitation Of The Study 13
2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Definition Of Significant Terms 14
2.1.1 Socio- Economic Status 14
2.1.2 Occupation 14
2.1.3 Education 14
2.1.4 Income 15
2.2 Parental Involvement In Education 15
2.3 Meaning Of Socio-Economic Status In Relation To Academic 15
Performance Of Pupils
2.4 Family Background 16
2.5 Parents’ Level Of Education And Students’ Academic Performance 19
2.6 Impact Of Parental Education On Children’s Academic Performance 20
2.7 2.7 Parental Involvement In Education And Students’ Academic Performance 22
2.8 Parents’ Income And Students’ Academic Performance 24
2.9 Effect Of Parental Income On Children’s Academic Performance 24
2.10 Parents’ Occupation And Student’s Academic Performance 26
2.11 The Impact Of Parents’ Occupation On Educational Performance 28
2.12 Previous Research Studies 30
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Population 33
3.2 Sample 33
3.3 Research Instrument 33
3.4 Pilot Testing 33
3.5 Validity Of The Instrument 33
3.6 Reliability Of The Instrument 34
3.7 Data Collection 34
3.8 Data Analysis 34
4 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
4.1 Student’s Responses About Their Father Education 35
4.2 Student’s Responses About Their Father Income Status 37
4.3 Student’s Responses About Their Father Occupation 39
4.4 Comparison Between Male And Female Over Their Parental Economic 41

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5 SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 43
5.2 Findings 44
5.3 Conclusion 46
5.4 Recommendations 47
5.4.1 Recommendations for future studies 48
REFERENCES 49
Appendix-A 53
Appendix-B 55

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 LIST OF TABLES
Table No Title Page No

1. Student’s Responses about their Father’ 35

Education

2. Student’s Percentage Responses about their 37

Father’s Income Status

3. Student’s Percentage Responses about their 39

Father’s Occupation

4. Comparison Between Male and Female over 41

their Parental Economic Status

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

vii
All the praises to Allah alone, the Creator of this Universe, who blessed me with an

opportunity to make this humble work.

I am thankful to Dr. Asaf Niwaz Satti Head Department of Education, for his

kind support, illustrative advice, and immense help, throughout the completion of this

work. I am also thankful to Mr. Kifayat khan who gave his precious time from his busy

schedule and helped me in the analysis of data.

I would like to express my profound credit to my research supervisor Dr Tehseen

Tahir, for believing in me and for her continuous thoughts provoking feedback in the

whole research venture that has literally enable the completion of this task possible.

Finally, I would like to express my heart-felt gratitude to my family my mother, my

father, and my brothers for their patience and sacrifices they made for this task to be

accomplished.

Aqsa Kanwal

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 ABSTRACT

The current research study focused upon effect of socio-economic status of parents on

the student’s academic achievement at secondary level. The objectives of the study

were to find out socio-economic status of parents in students achievements, parents’

level of education and students’ academic performance, parents’ income and students’

academic performance, parents’ occupation and student’s academic performance of

male and female 191 students (the male 50 students and female 50 students) from

secondary school where taken as sampling. A questionnaire was used for the collection

of the data. The researcher personally collected data from the students of secondary

school. It was concluded that parents’ financial status, financial and moral support,

socio-economic status of parents, that student academic achievement, provision of

learning environment at home, incentive providing by parents motivate the children to

work harder and achieve higher. As it was found that parents source` of income is a

vital factor that effect academic achievement of student therefore strongly

recommended that unemployment may be controlled and government should increase

bursary allocation the students and poor family may be provided scholarships, free

books and other stationeries retain them in school and enhance their academic

performance.

Key words: Effect, socio-economic, status, Parents, Academic Achievement,

Secondary level.

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 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A person’s education is closely linked to their life chances, income, and well

being (Battle and Lewis 2002).The family is the oldest human group and the basic one.

While the particular form of family structure may and does vary from society to

society, the central foci of family activities are child bearing-and the initial induction

of the child into the culture of a given society-in short socialization. (Jencks, 1979)

The family plays a crucially important role in the dissemination of formal and

informal education. Family characteristics represent a number of variables like

education, occupation, and income, and gender status, size of siblings, beliefs,

neighborhood and community having implication on the educational performance of

the child/ward (Blau, 1967. Duke, N.K., 2000. Sewell, 1975. Halsey, 1980 & Korenman,

1995)

A Family’s socio-economic status correlates with academic achievements of

their sibling at secondary level. That status is based on family income, parental

educations, occupation and social status. Families with high socio-economic status

often are more successful in preparing their young children for school because of the

access they enjoy to harness resources responsible to promote and support young

children’s development. They are able to provide their young children with quality of

necessary education requirements and equipments. With various learning activities at

home since they have easy access to information regarding their children’s health/ as

well as social, emotional and cognitive development the families enjoying higher

x
socio-economic status are informed enough to help children perform better at school.

(Anderson, E. & M. Sullivan, 1998)

The relationship of family socio-economic status of children’s readiness for

school. They opined that across all socio-economic groups, parents face major

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

For poor families, these challenges can be formidable.

Parents are required to place top priority on housing, food, clothing and health

care. Educational toys, games and books may appear to be luxuries and parents may

not have the time, resources, energy, or knowledge to find innovative and less-

expensive ways to foster young children’s development.

Affluent families quite often lack the time and energy to invest fully in their

children’s preparation for school and sometimes face a limited array of options for

high-quality child care-both before their children start school and during the early

school years. Kindergarten teacher’s invariable report that children are arriving at

school inadequately prepared.

Family with lower socio-economic status often lacks the financial, social and

educational support that characterizes families with high socio-economic status. Lower

income families have inadequate or limited access to community resources that

promote and support children’s development and school readiness. At secondary

school level, children hailing from low socio-economic status are trained to respect

authority and obey orders that employers like in manual laborers. Conformity and

obedience are encouraged rather than individual critical thinking and evaluative

abilities amongst the pupils at this (Ramey, S.L. and C.T. Ramey, 1994).

“Parents of different occupation classes often have different styles of child

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

xi
 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)

First, parents’ financial circumstances and how it affects students’ academic

achievements in the Awutu Senya and Effutu Educational Districts. In the second

place, the research will investigate the type of learning environment provided by

parents at home and how it determines the academic achievements of students in the

study area. In addition, parents’ educational qualifications and its influence on

students’ academic success is another area of interest, and parents’ jobs and its

influence on children level of attainments. The type of schools that students attend and

its influence on students’ educational achievements. (M. K. 1992)

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The research aimed at studying the Effects of Socio-Economic status of parents

on the student’s academic achievements at secondary school

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To identify the effects of socio-economic status of parents in students

achievements.

2. To identify the effect of parents’ level of education and students’ academic

performance.

3. To identify the effect of parents’ income on students’ academic performance.

4. To identify the effect of parents’ occupation on student’s academic

performance.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How socio economic factors affect the student’s academic achievement of

student?

xii
 2. How can parents play their role to provide children all the opportunities to

make student academic progress better?

3. Is there any effect of parents’ income on the students’ academic achievement?

4. Is there any effect of parents’ occupation on the students’ academic

achievement?

5. Is there any effect of parents’ education on the students’ academic

achievement?

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The findings of this research may benefit the teachers because they may be able

to plan the teaching activities according to every student’s need and approach and

how to treat all the students on equality basis. The findings of this research maybe

beneficial for the students to identify their own problems and how to overcome from

all these problems.

1.5 DELIMITATION:

The study was delimited to only two male and female of secondary schools. It

was further delimited to the students of class 10th.

xiii
 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

This chapter reviews literature on the “Influence of parental socio- economic

status on students’ academic performance in secondary schools’’ class 10. The themes

of this study include: Parents’ level of income, parents’ level of education, parents’

occupation.

2.1 Definition of Significant Terms:

2.1.1 SOCIO- ECONOMIC STATUS

This refers to individual’s/group’s demographic, social and economic position

in relation to others. In this study, socio-economic status was measured in terms of

parents’ level of income, level of education, and occupational status.

2.1.2 OCCUPATION

Is an activity that serves as one’s regular source of lively hood? In this study,

occupation was measured in terms of parents’ work content, occupational prestige

(formal or informal occupation), occupational class and occupation as an indicator of

education/skills and income.

2.1.3 EDUCATION

Is the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills,

especially at a school, college, or university? In this study education was measured

through the analysis of data such as scores/grades obtained from educational

assessments to infer the abilities and proficiencies of students.

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2.1.4 INCOME

This refers to the monetary payment received for goods or services, or from

other sources, as rents or investment. In this study income level was measured basing

on the total monetary payments of parents’ goods or services, rents or other

investments.

2.2 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION

This refers to the amount of participation a parent has when it comes to

schooling and her child’s life. In this study parental involvement in education was

measured in terms of: Parent-teacher communication, parents’ visits to school, parental

supervision of students’ educational progress, assistance of students with assignments

at home and parental participation in school meetings.

2.3 MEANING OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS IN RELATION TO ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS

This section of the literature review discusses the meaning of Social Economic

Status. First, according to (Krieger, Williams and Moss ) as quoted in the draft report

of the Australian Commission on Health (2007); refer to socio- economic position as

an aggregate concept that includes both resource-based and prestige-based measures,

as linked to both childhood and adult social class position. Resource-based measures

refer to material and social resources and assets, including income, wealth, and

educational credentials. Krieger, Williams and Moss used Terms like “ poverty” and

“deprivation” to describe inadequate resources. Prestige-based measures of social

economic status refers to individuals’ rank or status in a social hierarchy, typically

evaluated with reference to people’s access to and consumption of goods, services, and

knowledge. Prestige-based measure is linked to occupational prestige, income, and

educational level. This linkage of occupation, income and education is the one that

xv
 results into variations in academic achievement whereby children from well off

families tend to achieve highly because they have most of the facilities required in the

teaching and learning process. It should be noted that educational level creates

differences between people in terms of access to information and the level of

proficiency in benefiting from new knowledge, whereas income creates differences in

access to scarce material and goods. Weber (2000) considers status to be prestige or

honor in the community. To him status implies” access 10 to life chances” based on

social and cultural factors such as family background, lifestyle and social networks.

All this affects the pupil’s academic achievement. In this study, the term

“socioeconomic status” is used to acknowledge the separate but linked dimensions of

social class reflected in the Weberian conceptualization that is family background,

lifestyle and social networks. The family background and the life style of the members

in any given family do determine what a child will attain in his or her academic

endeavor which is the concern of this study. According to McMillan and Westor

(2002) social economic status is comprised of three major dimensions: education,

occupation and income and therefore in developing indicators appropriate for high

education context, researchers should study each dimension of social economic status

separately. They add that education, occupation and income are moderately correlated

therefore it is inappropriate to treat them interchangeably in the higher education

context. The researcher therefore should review literature on each of the components

of social economic status in relation to academic performance.

2.4 FAMILY BACKGROUND

Family background is key to a students’ life and outside of school, is the most

important influence on student learning and includes factors such as socioeconomic

status, two-parent versus single-parent households, divorce, parenting practices and

xvi
aspirations, maternal characteristics, family size, and neighborhood (Majoribanks

1996). The environment at home is a primary socialization agent and influences a

child’s interest in school and aspirations for the future. The socio-economic status

(SES) of a child is most commonly determined by combining parents’ educational

level, occupational status, and income level (Jeynes 2002). Studies have repeatedly

found that SES affects student outcomes (Baharudin and Luster 1998, Jeynes 2002,

Eamon 2005, Majoribanks 1996, Hochschild 2003, McNeal 2001, Seyfried 1998).

Students 8 who have a low SES earn lower test scores and are more likely to drop out

of school (Eamon 2005, Hochschild 2003). Low SES students have been found to

score about ten percent lower on the National Assessment of Educational Programs

than higher SES students (Seyfried 1998). SES has also been shown to override other

educational influences such as parental involvement (McNeal 2001). It is believed that

low SES negatively affects academic achievement because low SES prevents access to

vital resources and creates additional stress at home (Eamon 2005, Majoribanks 1996,

Jeynes 2002). The economic hardships that are caused by low SES lead to disruptions

in parenting, an increasing amount of family conflicts, and an increased likelihood of

depression in parents and single-parent households (Eamon 2005). For these reasons

SES is closely tied to home environment and one could argue that SES dictates the

quality of home life for children. Previous research has shown that children from

single-parent households do not perform as well in school as children from two-parent

households (Majoribanks 1996). There are several different explanations for this

achievement gap. Single-parent households have less income and there is a lack of

support for the single-parent which increases stress and conflicts (Majoribanks 1996).

Single parents often struggle with time-management issues due to balancing many

different areas of life on their own. Some research has also shown that single-parents

xvii
are less involved with their children and therefore give less encouragement and have

lower expectations of their children than two-parent households (Majoribanks 1996).

Divorce has also been found to negatively affect academic achievement (Jeynes 2002).

William Jeynes (2002) found that students whose parents had divorced were among

those who scored lowest on standardized test. Possible explanations for this

relationship are that divorce 9 can cause a family’s SES level to decrease and parental

connections are harmed (Jeynes 2002, Majoribanks 1996). Research shows that

supportive and attentive parenting practices positively affect academic achievement

(Eamon 2005). In addition, high parent aspirations have been associated with

increasing students’ interest in education (Majoribanks 2005). The effect of parental

involvement in their children’s school has on academic achievement is less clear

(Domina 2005). Parental involvement in school has been linked to both positive and

negative influences on academic achievement (Domina 2005, McNeal 2001).

Explanations for this discrepancy are not conclusive. It is thought that the type of

involvement may make a difference and that in some cases parents become involved

after their child has already had academic difficulties (Domina 2005, McNeal 2001).

Other recent research has found more conclusively that while parental involvement

may not help academic scores, it does help prevent behavioral problems (Domina

2005). Maternal characteristics are another key factor that affect academic

achievement (Baharudin and Luster 1998, Eamon 2005, Majoribanks 1996). Mothers

who are more educated and have higher self-esteem have children who receive higher

test scores (Baharudin and Luster 1998, Eamon 2005). Also, mothers who delay

childbearing have been shown to provide more “cognitively stimulating” and

supportive environments at home which has a positive effect on school performance

(Eamon 2005). Smaller family size has been linked with higher academic achievement

xviii
 (Eamon 2005, Majoribanks 1996). 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). 10 Adolescents who live in higher quality

neighborhoods typically perform better in school than those who live in poorer

neighborhoods (Eamon 2005). Poorer neighborhoods often lack positive role models,

adult supervision, and connections to good schools (Eamon 2005). That kind of

environment often prevents students from creating healthy social networks and leads to

a lack of motivation which negatively affects academic performance (Eamon 2005).

2.5 PARENTS’ LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Generally traditional research has revealed that more highly educated parents

and especially mothers have greater success in providing their children with cognitive

and language skills that contribute to success in school (Stich and McDonald, 1990).

Parents’ level of education is important to schooling as parents want their children to

maintain the status quo (Mallan, 2009). It’s also believed that parents with higher

educational levels have stronger confidence in their children’s academic abilities and

they also have higher expectations of their children. They expect that their child will

earn good grades behave well in school and attend college. These expectations and

confidence in their children motivate them to do well at school. The confidence parents

have in their children also helped them to build their own confidence and self-concept

which is important in their education (Mallan, 2009). However, parents’ over

expectations might also cause stress to their children which translates to poor

educational attainments. Eccles (2005) pointed out that children learn by example

often through observations at home. If a child's parents are reading books, attending

xix
 ongoing educational classes and taking them along to the museums, libraries- all

activities educated parents are more apt 11 to do- they are engaging the child in a

number of direct learning experiences that will help him or her to achieve the best in

education. Rana (2015) carried out a study on the relationship between the parents’

level of education and academic performance of their children in South Punjab town,

Pakistan. The result showed that there was a significant positive relationship between

parents’ level of education and students’ academic performance. There is a gap here, in

that the researcher carried out his study in urban area but this study was carried out in

rural - arid area so as to find out the influence of parental socio-economic status on

students’ academic performance. Jamila (2009) conducted a study on the effect of

parental level of education on students’ academic performance in Norway. The results

of the study indicated that there was a positive correlation between parental level of

education and their children’s academic achievement. There is a gap here that leaves a

window for further study as all the socioeconomic factors were not exhausted. The

research did not look at how parents’ occupation and income affect children’s

academic performance; this gap in knowledge was filled by this study.

2.6 IMPACT OF PARENTAL EDUCATION ON CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

This section of the literature review discusses the impact of parental education

on their children’s academic performance. It is important to note that many studies

done have indicated that the education of parents greatly affect the achievement of

their children. It has been found out that parents who are educated do influence their

children positively while the uneducated parents have a negative influence. In regard to

this children of educated parents do post high scores in school as compared to children

of uneducated parents. Some of the examples of the studies are discussed in the section

xx
below. First, Juma et al. (2012) in their study in Kisumu East found that parental level

of education influences academic achievement of girls and that the way the parent

perceives his daughter’s capabilities would motivate the girl to do better in school. If

the parent feels that she is able to score highly then she will work hard to meet the

parent’s expectations. 11 Another study on parental education was done by Nannyonjo

(2007) in Uganda. In this study it was found that pupils with parents who did not finish

primary or just finished primary, and pupils with parents who finished senior four or

senior six or university performed considerably better. The highest increase in test

scores was for pupils whose fathers had a university degree. Fathers’ education had a

stronger influence on children’s performance than mothers. These results possibly

reflect the ability of parents to support the pupils’ school work, and likely interactions

of literate parents as well as their ability to support their children with homework or

help with difficult home work questions. Similarly, Okumu et al. (2008) in a study of

Socioeconomic Determinants of Primary School Dropout in Uganda found that high

academic attainment are higher among girls in urban than rural areas. It was

established that educated mothers had the ability to manage time well and hence

getting time to be with her children as compared to uneducated mothers. Also educated

mothers were found to be more effective in helping their children in academic work.

They also monitored and supervised their children’s academic progress; this alone

served as an impetus to enable the child to better in school. On the other hand educated

fathers were found to be very vital in guiding their children to do assignments apart

from helping them to access necessary information required for them to achieve good

grades in their academic work. Its therefore clear that from this that the level of

education of parents are very instrumental in determining the academic achievement of

their children. A study by Alisa (2010), in Malaba, Kenya found that the gap in

xxi
 attainment between children from the poorest and richest backgrounds grew

particularly fast during the primary school years. By age eleven, only around three-

quarters of children from the poorest fifth of families reached the expected level at Key

Stage 2, compared with 97 per cent of children from the richest fifth. Poorer children

who performed well in Key Stage tests at age seven were more likely than better-off

children to fall behind by age eleven, and poorer children who performed badly at age

seven were less likely to improve their ranking compared with children from better-off

backgrounds – an important factor behind the widening gap in academic performance

of children. 12 As can be observed from the studies done by various scholars, the

education of both parents has appositive impact on the academic achievement of their

children. This is usually achieved through helping children in their home, allowing

children to have humble time for studies as well as providing them with all the

academic materials necessary required in order to improve their achievement. The

education that children receive is very much dependent on the education that their

parents received when they were children. Research shows that the literacy of their

parents strongly affects the education of their children. One of the reasons why

parental education strongly affects their children’s education is because “parents who

have gone beyond a high school education are found to be more involved with their

infants and children than those who did not finish high school.

2.7 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION AND STUDENTS’

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Generally parental involvement in education takes many forms including the

provision of secure and stable environment, intellectual simulations, parent to child

discussion, good models of constructive social and educational values and high

aspirations relating to personal fulfillment, contact with school to share information,

xxii
participation in school events and school work and governance (Desforges&

Abouchaar, 2003). Epstein (1992) established that parental involvement in education-

checking homework, attending school meetings and events, discussing school activities

at home has a very powerful influence on students’ academic performance. While

parental involvement positively affects student's academic achievement, low socio

economic parents are least likely to be involved in their children’s education (Gratz,

2006). Low socio -economic parents are often working most of the time to take care of

their families and they have no or limited time to participate in their children’s

education (Ratcliff & Hunt, 2009). However, the researcher is aware that the low

socio- economic parents are also willing and just as eager to help their children

succeed in their education 13 as their counterparts in high socio- economic status but

they are limited by their low level of education, income and occupation. Bawa (2000)

reported a parental involvement in education project as part of a wide learning and

educational achievement in nursery, primary and special school in Newham.

Evaluation over the years indicated considerable enthusiasm for working together on

the part of the parents and even the teachers. Teachers felt that parents’ attitude had

become very positive and had also raised their expectations. However, there was no

evidence reported which related the initiative to impact on pupils achievement and also

the researcher only focused on the nursery school, primary school and Special school

but this study only focused on public secondary school students. Hafiz & Waqas

(2013) carried out a research aimed to explore the effect of parental involvement in

education on their children’s academic achievement in Allama Iqban Town, Pakistan.

It was found that parental involvement has significance effect in better academic

performance of their children. However their research was conducted within a city

/urban area but this research was conducted in rural -arid area.

xxiii
2.8 PARENTS’ INCOME AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Zhang (2012) examined students and their families’ income in China. He

studied in their early years (lower primary school children). The study measured

students reading skills, verbal interaction and phonological awareness in relation to

their families’ level of income. The results showed that low income children exhibited

lower levels of cognitive linguistic skills, lower verbal interactions and lower

phonological awareness and generally lower academic performance than their

counterparts from high and middle income families. It also showed that children from

high income families were more proficient in reading skills than in low income

families although the research only examined early childhood pupils but this research

focused on students in secondary schools. Sean (2013) presents in his comprehensive

study how students from families with high income are having best performance than

those from low income families. His study took place in United States of America. He

posited that the impact of the parents’ income can be shown in the early timing of the

students’ learning. He maintained that parents of higher income take their children to

school earlier than their lower income counterparts. They can afford to take their

children through preschool learning and this have greater impact in their later

educational outcomes since it provides them with the required cognitive and social

development. This is unlike their low income counterparts who do not afford preschool

learning for their children and prefer having their children 10 commence learning from

class one (grade one) onwards. However, the researcher is aware that low income

parents are also as eager and desire to take their children to school earlier as their

counterparts in high income families.

2.9 EFFECT OF PARENTAL INCOME ON CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

xxiv
 This section reviews literature on parental income and how it relates to

children’s academic performance. Several studies have been done which show how

parental income affects their children’s academic performance. These include the ones

discussed in the following section. First, Akanle (2007) in his study on, Socio-

Economic Factors Influencing Students Academic Performance in Nigeria identified

parental income in his work to be a convincing factor upon which the academic or

vocational successes of secondary school students lie. He found parental income not to

be sufficient to sustain the academic and personal social life of the student in sub rural

school areas. This to a large extent affected the psychological balance or homeostatic

balance in the class room, which causes low concentration, low perception, frustration,

sickness and emotional disability in academic performance of the students. Therefore

when a child is deprived of the essential needs he may be found to perform poorly in

his school work. A study by Bjorkman (2005) in Uganda found investment in children

to be related to household income. The study established that for low levels of income

very few girls attended education and there was a large gap between boys and girls

enrolment and that income shocks not only affected investment in children’s education

but also children’s performance. When families are constrained by fewer resources and

there are differences 13 in boys and girls access to resources, children’s learning is

consequently affected. Lack of adequate resources and time among both boys and girls

were found to lead to low scores in class. The girl child was found to be overwork with

household chores making her to attain poor grades as compared with the boy child.

Similarly, a study conducted by Mogaka (2012) in Keumbu division Kisii County on:

Influence of parents' socio-economic status on their children's performance in KCPE

found out that the level of income, parent’s background and number of siblings were

very vital in determining pupil’s academic achievement. The study found out that

xxv
pupils from families with many children, and uneducated parents scored poorly when

compared to pupils from families with few children whose parents were educated.

From the foregoing studies it can be realized that the parent’s income can affect the

academic achievement of their children especially if the earnings cannot enable the

parents to provide their children with the basic necessities whereby education is one of

them. According to Evans (2004), lower income children have less stable families,

greater exposure to environmental toxins and violence, and more limited extra-familial

social support networks. There is no doubt that parents in such settings would report

lower educational expectations, less monitoring of children’s school work and less

overall supervision of social activities compared to students from high socio-economic

and intact families. Evans repeatedly discovered that low SES children are less

cognitively stimulated than high SES children, as a result of reading less and being

read to less, and experience less complex communications with parents involving more

limited vocabulary. On other hand Pedrosa et.al (2006) in their study on social and

educational background pointed out that those students who mostly come from

deprived socio-economic and educational background performed relatively better than

others coming from higher socio-economic and educational areas. They named this

phenomena educational elasticity “The total income of families, monthly or annually

and their expenditures also put a great effect on the learning and academic

opportunities accessible to youngsters and their 14 chances of educational success.

Furthermore, he also pointed that due to residential stratification and segregation, the

students belonging to low-income backgrounds usually attend schools with lower

funding levels, and this situation reduced achievement motivation of the students and

high risk of educational malfunction in future life endeavors” (Escarce, 2003).

xxvi
2.10 PARENTS’ OCCUPATION AND STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Parents are the primary persons in raising children in any society that is why

the family is regarded as the primary agent of socialization (Adekey, 2002). It is

through parents’ occupation and efforts that children are socialized to become

productive citizens in education and general life (Adekey, 2002). Mudassir and

Abubakar (2015) conducted a study on “The impact of Parents’ occupation on

academic performance of secondary school students in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.”

The result showed that students from parents with formal occupation perform well than

those from parents with informal education. However, the researchers did not give any

details on how the time that parents spent in their occupations (whether formal or

informal) affects students’ academic performance. This gap was filled by the study.

Gratz (2006) opined that parents in inferior occupations earn lower incomes and often

have to work longer hours to earn more for their families. Therefore they are often left

with less time to spend with their family members and getting more involved in their

children’s educational activities. However it’s also important to note that not all

parents in inferior occupation work for long hours. Muhammed (2012) conducted a

study on the “Impact of parents’ profession on their Children’s learning English in

Pakistan.” The results revealed that for learning English parents’ profession has

positive correlation on it that varies with respect to their professions. In this study

Mohammed found out that children whose parents have more advanced or better

profession live in places where English language is spoken frequently and therefore

they are more conversant with the language than those whose parents have inferior

professions .The study only focused on learning of English but this research was

focused on the general academic performance of secondary school students.

xxvii
2.11 THE IMPACT OF PARENTS’ OCCUPATION ON EDUCATIONAL

PERFORMANCE

Parental occupations play a significant role on their children’s academic

performance. Various studies have been done on this variable. For instance, Ajayi et al.

(2003) conducted a study on Parents’ education, occupation and real mother’s age as

predictors of students’ achievement in mathematics in some selected secondary

schools in ogun state, Nigeria. In their study they found out that parents’ occupation

was next to parents’ education in predicting academic achievement in Mathematics.

The result showed that students whose parents belong to the high ranking occupational

status had better grades in Mathematics than their counterparts whose parents belonged

to the low ranking occupational status. This is because parents with high ranking

occupational status might have enough income which can be used to provide the

needed materials and support for their children in order to arouse their interest in

Mathematics than their counterparts in low ranking occupation whose major obligation

is to provide shelter and food for the family. In regard to occupation status, it is clear

that the social economic status of the parent has a direct impact on the education

achievement of their children. This therefore calls for concerted efforts to improve

their levels of occupation in order for their children to attain higher grades in

education. Graetz (1995) conducted a study on socio-economic status of the parents of

students and concluded that the socio economic background has a great impact on

student’s academic performance, main source of educational imbalance among

students and student’s academic success contingent very strongly on parent’s socio

economic standard. Considine and Zappala (2002) also having the same views as

Graetz (1995), in their study on the Influence Of Social And Economic Disadvantage

In The Academic Performance Of School Students noticed, where the parents or

xxviii
guardians have social, educational and economical advantage definitely strengthen the

higher level success in 15 future. But it is also noted that these parents make available

sufficient psychological and emotional shore up to their children by providing good

educational and learning environment that produce confidence and the improvement of

skills needed for success. (Gratz, 2006). Suman (2011) explored the influence of

parental education, parental occupation and family size on science achievement of the

secondary school students in western Uttar Pradesh in India. The results indicated that

family variables including parental education had significant relationship with the

achievement of their children. The influence of occupation of mother and father on the

academic achievement of their wards was calculated separately. It was found that the

average scores of the children of housewives mothers were 70.89% which were lowest

of all other categories. The highest average scores of academic achievement were

78.28% which belonged to the children of mothers involved in teaching profession.

The children of the mothers who were doing some job other than teaching was

74.9% .Therefore; he concluded that occupation of the mother positively influenced

the academic achievement of the child. It was seen that students belonging to labourer

or agricultural families obtained lowest scores. The mean scores of students belonging

to this category were calculated and it was 68.14% which was lowest among all other

categories. He also found out that the occupation of the parents positively influenced

the academic achievement of the child. But the impact of mother's occupation was

more on the academic achievement of the child as compared to father's occupation.

According to the Cultural capital Theory, one could expect students from families who

are closest to the academic culture to have greatest success. In agreement with this

theory, Combs (1985) concluded that, in all nations, children of parents high on the

educational, occupation and social scale have far better chance of getting into good

xxix
 secondary schools and from there into the best colleges and universities than equally

bright children of ordinary workers and farmers A study by Ezhilrajan (2012) also

found out that parental qualification had some positive and significant impact over

mathematical problem solving ability of IX standard students of Tindivanam city.

However, the study indicated that Parental occupation does not have any significant

role to play over mathematical problem solving ability of IX standard students.

2.12 PREVIOUS RESEARCH STUDIES

kimaiga hezron okemwa had conducted study titled “The influence of

parental socio-economic status on pupil’s academic performance in 2014 at Kenya.

The main objectives were: a) Investigate the impact of parent’s educational level on

pupil’s academic performance at primary school level in Kiamokama Division. b)

Establish the influence of parent’s incomes on pupil’s academic performance at

primary school level in Kiamokama Division. The major recommendations were that

the government should encourage people to come up with projects which can be

funded through microfinance societies in order to improve their economic status. The

development of community based organizations will be a big assert in improving the

incomes of citizens and finally their ability to provide quality education to their

children. The occupation of parents was found to influence the educational

performance of pupils at primary level in the study area. This study therefore

recommends that the government should sensitize parents and guardians on how the

activities they do affect their children’s education. This will enable them to choose

occupations that will have appositive impact on the education of their children and

hence improving their educational performance.

xxx
stanslaus otengo juma had conducted study titled “Influence of parental socio-

economic status on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in

tana river county, Kenya in 2016.

The main objectives were: a) To determine the influence of parents’ income

on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Tana River County.

b) To examine the extent to which parents’ level of education influences students’

academic performance in public secondary schools in Tana River County. c) To

establish the level to which parents’ occupation influences students’ academic

performance in public secondary schools in Tana River County. d) To determine the

extent to which parental involvement in education influences students’ academic

performance in public secondary schools in Tana River County. The major

recommendation were that the Parents’ income and students’ academic performance

Due to low parents’ income in Tana River County as established in this study the

researcher recommended that the government should increase bursary allocation to the

students from poor families to retain them in school and enhance their academic

performance. Parents’ level of education and students’ academic performance It was

established in this study that most of the parents in Tana River County are uneducated

and that their low level of education frustrates their involvement in students’ academic

performance. In light of this fact it was recommended that schools in Tana River

County should put in place appropriate systems to enhance parental involvement in

education. Parents’ occupation and students’ academic performance. The researcher

found out that most parents in Tana River County were peasant farmers who earn very

little income per month. In light of this fact it was recommended that the government

should boost the economic status of households in Tana River County through

investing in more income generating projects in the region. Parental involvement in

xxxi
education and students’ academic performance this study established that there is low

parental involvement in students’ education in Tana River County. In light of this fact

it was recommended that parents should be highly sensitized about the benefits of

parental involvement in education. They need to know that parental involvement in

education goes beyond merely school fees payment but creation of conductive learning

environment at home, monitoring students’ progress in education among others.

xxxii
 Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with methodology and procedure adopted to conduct the

research this study aims to identify the Effect of Socio-Economic status of parents on

the student’s academic achievements at secondary school. The study was descriptive in

nature and survey method was used to collect the data.

In this chapter, the method and procedure of the study is described under the

following headings.

3.1 POPULATION

The population of the study comprised of 191 male & female students of the

Working Folk Secondary School.

3.2 SAMPLE

Simple Random sampling technique was used for the selection. Out of 80 male

students, 50 male students and out of 91 female students, 50 female students from the

Working Folks School of Secondary level were chosen as sample of the study.

3.3 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

A questionnaire was used as a tool for the collection of the data.

3.4 PILOT TESTING

A questionnaire was distributed among the students’ of Working Folk School

of Secondary level, who were not included in sample.

3.5 VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT

A questionnaire was distributed among the expert to get their feedback. Some

questions were refined according to the suggestions.

xxxiii
3.6 RELIABILITY OF THE INSTRUMENT

The reliability of the questionnaire was found out by using Cronbatch Alpha.

The reliability was 0.72

3.7 DATA COLLECTION

The data were collected through personal visits of the researcher.

3.8 DATA ANALYSIS

For the analysis of data, percentage and t test were used by using SPSS.

xxxiv
 Chapter 4

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of the data collected by the

researcher from the students of Working Folk Grammar High School and College

through questionnaire keeping in the view the objectives of the study, data were

collected. Data were tabulated and analyzed by using SPSS package.

4.1 STUDENTS’ RESPONSES ABOUT THEIR FATHER EDUCATION

Table 1: Student’s Responses about Their Father Education

S.N Statements S.A A U D.A S.D.A

1 Parents' educational qualifications influence the 50.7 44.8 2.5 1.5 0.5
interests they attach to their children's
2 Parents’ interest in their students’ education 54.7 42.4 0.5 1.0 1.4
affects their academic attainments
3 Parental supervision of students’ learning 59.1 36.0 1.5 2.0 1.4
activities affects their achievement level in school
4 Parents’ academic qualifications influence 62.6 30.0 5.9 0.5 1
children’s educational achievements in school
5 Parents’ educational qualifications determine the 56.2 30.5 9.4 2.5 1.4
kind of assistance children receive at home in
respect of their studies
6 Parents’ educational attainments enhance home 45.8 47.3 3.9 1.5 1.5
environment for students’ learning activities
7 Parents’ attitude towards education positively 52.2 41.4 3.4 1.5 1.5
correlates with their children’s educational
achievement
8 Parental monitoring of students’ progress in 51.2 43.3 2.5 1.5 1.5
education positively influences students’
academic performance
9 Parents who set rules and regulations for their 59.1 36.5 2.5 0.5 1.4
children positively influence their academic
achievement.
Mean 55 39 4 1 1

The above table shows the 50.7% student strongly agreed that “Parents' educational

qualifications influence the interests they attach to their children's”, while 0.5% Student

showed their strongly disagreement with the statement. 54.7% Student strongly agreed that

“Parents’ interest in their students’ education affects their academic attainments”,

xxxv
furthermore 0.5% student showed uncertain with the statement. 59.1% student strongly

agreed that “Parental supervision of students’ learning activities affects their achievement

level in school”, as well as 1.4% Students showed their strongly disagreement with the

statement. 62.9% student strongly agreed about “Parents’ academic qualifications influence

children’s educational achievements in school”, plus 0.5% Students showed their

disagreement with the statement. 56.2% student strongly agreed that “Parents’ educational

qualifications determine the kind of assistance children receive at home in respect of their

studies”, along with 1.4% students showed strongly disagreement with the statement.

47.3% students agreed that “Parents’ educational attainments enhance home environment

for students’ learning activities”, although 1.5% Student showed strongly disagreement

with the statement. 52.2% student strongly agreed that “Parents’ attitude towards education

positively correlates with their children’s educational achievement”, whilst 1.5% student

showed strongly disagreement with the statement. Students strongly agreed that “Parental

monitoring of students’ progress in education positively influences students’ academic

performance”, at the same time 1.5% student showed their strongly disagreement with the

statement. 59.1% student strongly agreed that “Parents who set rules and regulations for

their children positively influence their academic achievement”, moreover 0.5% student

showed their disagreement with the statement.

xxxvi
4.2 STUDENT’S PERCENTAGE RESPONSES ABOUT THEIR FATHER INCOME

STATUS

Table 2: Student’s Percentage Responses about Their father Income Status

S.N Statements S.A A U D.A S.D.A

10 Parents’ financial status determines how regular a 70.9 26.6 0.5 1 1.0
student is given money for lunch and transport for
school
11 Parents’ financial status determines the ease with 57.1 37.5 3.9 1 0.5
which students’ fees and other leaves are paid
12 The financial and moral support a student receives 55.7 35.5 4.9 2.5 1.4
from parents’ affects his psychology, which is
reflected in their academic achievement in school
13 Socio-economic status of parents influences the 51.7 37.9 4.4 3.4 2.6
level of academic achievement of the student in
school?
14 Student academic achievement is influenced by the 45.9 39.7 4.6 5.9 3.9
socio-economic status of the parents
15 Provision of learning environment at home such as 52.7 43.3 2.0 0.5 1.5
light, lantern, textbooks, quiet atmosphere for
studies helps in academic achievements of students
16 Incentive providing by parents motivate the children 51.7 38.9 5.9 2.0 1.5
to work harder and achieve higher
Mean 55 37 4 2 2

Table no 2 shows that 70.9% student strongly agreed that “Parents’ financial status

determines how regular a student is given money for lunch and transport for school”, and

0.5% student showed their uncertain with the statement. 57.1% student strongly agreed

that “Parents’ financial status determines the ease with which students’ fees and other

levies are paid”, also 0.5% student showed their strongly disagreement with the statement.

55.7% student strongly agreed that “The financial and moral support a student receives

from parets’ affects his psychology, which is reflected in their academic achievement in

school”, despite the fact that 1.4% student showed their strongly disagreement with the

statement. 51.7% student strongly agreed that “Socio-economic status of parents

influences the level of academic achievement of the student in school”, though 2.6%

showed their strongly disagreement with the statement. 45.9% student strongly agreed that

xxxvii
“Student academic achievement is influenced by the socio-economic status of the parents”,

with 3.9% student showed their strongly disagree with the statement. 52.7% student

strongly agree that “Provision of learning environment at home such as light, lantern,

textbooks, quiet atmosphere for studies helps in academic achievements of students”,

however 0.5% student showed their uncertain with the statement. 1.7% student strongly

agree that “Incentive providing by parents motivate the children to work harder and

achieve higher”, yet 1.5% student showed their strongly disagreement with the statement.

xxxviii
4.3 STUDENT’S PERCENTAGE RESPONSES ABOUT THEIR FATHER

OCCUPATION

Table 3: Student’s Percentage Responses about Their Father Occupation

S.N Statements S.A A U D.A S.DA

17 Students whose parents have better jobs and 53.2 39.9 4.9 0.5 1.5
higher levels of educational attainment
perform better
18 parental background is a significant 62.6 33.0 2.5 0.5 1.4
contributory factor which influence the
academic achievement of students in school
19 Students whose parents are in formal 67.5 28.6 1.5 0.5 1.9
employment exhibit better academic
performance than those whose parents are in
informal employment
20 Parents’ working hours have direct 84.2 11.8 2.5 1 0.5
correlation with their involvement in their
children’s education
21 Parents in informal employment struggle to 55.2 36.0 6.4 1.2 1.0
cater for their children’s educational needs
than those in formal employment.
22 Parents’ ability to support students’ 48.3 46.3 3.0 1.4 1.0
education influences their confidence level
and attitudes towards learning
23 Parents vocational/ professional qualify 77.8 14.8 3.0 1.4 3.0
influence students level of achievement
24 The parents who are an prestigious 98.5 1 0.5 0 0
occupation want their children to take up the
same type of occupation
25 Some occupation don’t give parent time to 57.1 29.1 6.9 3.4 3.5
attend to their children’s academic need
Mean 67 27 3 1 2

Table No 3 shows that 53.2% student strongly agree that “Students whose parents

have better jobs and higher levels of educational attainment perform better”, along

with 0.5% student showed their disagreement with the statement. 62.6% students

strongly agree that “parental background is a significant contributory factor which

influence the academic achievement of students in school”, on the other hand 0.5%

showed their disagreement with the statement. 67.5% students strongly agree that

“Students whose parents are in formal employment exhibit better academic

xxxix
performance than those whose parents are in informal employment”, then again 0.5%

showed their disagreement about the statement. 84.2% student strongly agree that

“Parents’ working hours have direct correlation with their involvement in their

children’s education”, nevertheless 0.5% Student showed their strongly disagreement.

55.2% student strongly agreement “Parents in informal employment struggle to cater

for their children’s educational needs than those in formal employment”, be that as it

may 1.0% student showed their strongly disagreement with the statement. 48.3%

student strongly agree that “Parents’ ability to support students’ education influences

their confidence level and attitudes towards learning”, even so 1.0 student showed their

strongly disagreement with the statement. 77.8% student strongly agree that “Parents

vocational/ professional qualify influence students level of achievement”, just the same

1.4% student showed their disagreement with the statement. 98.5% student strongly

agree that “The parents who are a prestigious occupation want their children to take up

the same type of occupation”, in any case 0% student showed their strongly

disagreement with the statement. 57.1% student strongly agree that “Some occupation

don’t give parent time to attend to their children’s academic need”, anyhow 3.4%

showed their disagreement about the statement.

xl
4.4 Comparison between male and female over their parental economic

status.

Factors Gender Mean SD STM T P

Male 40.6700 2.69326 0.26933

1.226 0.222
Economic status Female 40.2100 2.61424 .26142

Male 31.5100 2.21334 .22133

1.862 0.064
Income status Female 30.8800 2.55951 .25595

Male 42.0100 1.93059 .19306

3.409 0.001
Occupational status Female 41.0000 2.24733 .22473

Male 1.14192 4.76031 .47603

Total Status Female 1.12092 5.33162 .53316 2.938 0.004

Table 4 shows the comparison between male and female over their parental economic

status 0.05 levels of significance. The mean scores value of the male and female over

their parental economic status (Economic status, Income status, Occupational status,

and Total Status) are (40.670, 40.210, p=0.222>0.05), (31.5100, 30.8800,

p=0.064<0.05), (42.0100, 41.0000p=0.001<0.05), (1.14192, 1.12092p=0.004<0.05)

respectively. The entire table shows that the difference between male and female over

their parental economic status not significant statistically for economic status, while

significant for income status, occupational status, total Status. The null hypothesis H01

is therefore, accepted for economic status of the parents, and while rejected for the

(income status, occupational status, total Status). Further the mean scores value of

male students is grater that the corresponding mean scores of the female student for the

xli
economic status, income status, occupational status, total status Thus, the parental

economic status of male students found better than female students.

xlii
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter reflects on important aspects of the study like the summary of the

research, finding followed the conclusion drawn from the findings of study and the

ensuring recommendations’. The details are providing below.

5.5 SUMMARY

The current research study focused upon the effect of socio-economic status of parents

on the student’s academic achievement of students at secondary level. The objectives

of the study were: to find out the effect of socio-economic status of parents on the

student’s academic achievement at secondary level, to identify the effects of parents’

level of education and students’ academic performance, to identify the effects of

parents’ income on students’ academic performance and to identify the effects of

parents’ occupation on student’s academic performance. 50 male students and 50

female students of secondary school class 10th were taken as sample. The researcher

prepared a questionnaire for students of secondary level. Five point likert scales with

the options, Strongly Agree (S.A), Agree (A), Uncertain (U), (D) Disagree, and

Strongly Disagree (S.D.A), was used. After going through related literature, books,

journal and articles’, the suggestions were incorporated in questionnaire. Data were

collected from 100 students (50 male students and 50 female students) of secondary

level class 10th. The researcher personally visited the Working Folks Grammar higher

secondary school and collage to collect data. It was demonstrated that parents'

educational qualifications, parents’ interest in their students’ education, parental

supervision of students, learning activities, parents’ academic qualifications, parents’

educational attainments, parents’ attitude towards education, parental monitoring of

xliii
 students progress, parents who set rules and regulations for their children positively

influences their academic achievement. Parents involvement and participation has a

significant effect on the academic performance of student therefore it is suggested

interaction and communication between the parents and teachers may strengthened for

better result of students.

5.2 FINDINGS

1. 50.7 %student strongly agreed that parents' educational qualifications influence the

interests they attach to their children's.

2. 54.7% Student strongly agreed that parents’ interest in their students’ education affects

their academic attainments.

3. 59.1% student strongly agreed that parental supervision of students’ learning activities

affects their achievement level in school.

4. 62.9% student strongly agreed about parents’ academic qualifications influence

children’s educational achievements in school.

5. 56.2% student strongly agreed that parents’ educational qualifications determine the

kind of assistance children receive at home in respect of their studies.

6. 47.3% students agreed that parents’ educational attainments enhance home

environment for students’ learning activities.

7. 52.2% student strongly agreed that parents’ attitude towards education positively

correlates with their children’s educational achievement.

8. 51.2% students strongly agreed that parental monitoring of students’ progress in

education positively influences students’ academic performance.

9. 59.1% student strongly agreed that parents who set rules and regulations for their

children positively influence their academic achievement.

xliv
10. 70.9% student strongly agreed that parents’ financial status determines how regular a

student is given money for lunch and transport for school.

11. 57.1% student strongly agreed that parents’ financial status determines the ease with

which students’ fees and other levies are paid.

12. 55.7% student strongly agreed that the financial and moral support a student receives

from parents’ affects his psychology, which is reflected in their academic achievement

in school.

13. 51.7% student strongly agreed that socio-economic status of parents influences the

level of academic achievement of the student in school.

14. 45.9% student strongly agreed that student academic achievement is influenced by the

socio-economic status of the parents.

15. 52.7% student strongly agree that provision of learning environment at home such as

light, lantern, textbooks, quiet atmosphere for studies helps in academic achievements

of students.

16. 51.7% student strongly agreed that incentive providing by parents motivate the

children to work harder and achieve higher.

17. 53.2% student strongly agreed that students whose parents have better jobs and higher

levels of educational attainment perform better.

18. 62.6% students strongly agree that parental background is a significant contributory

factor which influences the academic achievement of students in school.

19. 67.5% students strongly agree that students whose parents are in formal employment

exhibit better academic performance than those whose parents are in informal

employment.

20. 84.2% student strongly agreed that parents’ working hours have direct correlation with

their involvement in their children’s education.

xlv
21. 8% student strongly agreed that parents vocational/ professional qualify influence

students level of achievement.

22. 98.5% student strongly agreed that the parents who are a prestigious occupation want

their children to take up the same type of occupation.

23. 57.1% student strongly agreed that some occupation don’t give parent time to attend to

their children’s academic need.

24. The mean scores value of the male and female over their parental economic status

(Economic status, Income status, Occupational status, and Total Status) are (40.670,

40.210, p=0.222>0.05), (31.5100, 30.8800, p=0.064<0.05), (42.0100,

41.0000p=0.001<0.05), (1.14192, 1.12092p=0.004<0.05) respectively. Its shows that

the difference between male and female over their parental economic status not

significant statistically for economic status, while significant for income status,

occupational status, total Status. . The null hypothesis H01 is therefore, accepted for

economic status of the parents, and while rejected for the (income status, occupational

status, total Status).

5.3 CONCLUSION

1. It was demonstrated that parents' educational qualifications, parents’ interest in their

students’ education, parental supervision of students, learning activities, parents’

academic qualifications, parents’ educational attainments, parents’ attitude towards

education, parental monitoring of students progress, parents who set rules and

regulations for their children positively influences their academic achievement.

2. It was indicated that parents’ financial status, financial and moral support, socio-

economic status of parents, that student academic achievement, provision of learning

environment at home, incentive providing by parents motivate the children to work

harder and achieve higher.

xlvi
 3. It was concluded that students whose parents have better jobs and higher levels of

educational, parental background is a significant contributory factor, students whose

parents are in formal employment, parents’ working hours, parents in informal

employment struggle, parents’ ability to support students’ education, parents

vocational/ professional qualify parents who are a prestigious occupation influence

level of achievement.

4. It was established that the difference between male and female over their parental

economic status is not statistically significant while significant for income status,

occupational status so the parental economic status of male student are found better

than female students.

5. It was illustrated that the difference between rural urban over their parental economic

status is statistically significant for economic status, income status, occupational status

so the parental economic status of rural students are found better than urban students.

6. It was confirmed that the difference between public and private over their parental

economic status is statistically significant for economic status, income status, and

occupational status so the parental economic status of public students are found better

than private status.

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

i. As it was found that parents’ source is a vital factor that effect academic achievement

of student therefore strangely recommended that unemployment may be controlled and

government should increase bursary allocation the students and poor family may be

provided scholarships, free books and other stationeries retain them in school and

enhance their academic performance.

xlvii
ii. Education play a fundamental role in improving the education outcomes of therefore it

is recommended that government may sure the provision of education facility for

students with in the institution.

iii. Parent’s involvement and participation has a significant effect on the academic

performance of student therefore it is suggested interaction and communication

between the parents and teachers may strengthened for better result of students.

iv. The study reveal that there is low parental involvement in students education, in the

light of this fact it is recommended that parents should be highly sensitized about the

benefits of parental environment in education. They need to know that parental

involvement in education goes beyond merely school fee payment but creation on

conducive learning environment at home, monitoring students’ progress in education

among others.

v. Majority of the parents are not aware about the influence of home environment on the

student’s academic achievement therefore it is recommended that parents may be made

aware of the importance of the home environment on their children academic

achievement for this purpose teacher educationist can play their role to make them

aware of the importance of home environment for their student academic achievement.

vi. Parents are advised to pay full attention on their children at home. They should make a

time table for their children regarding home work and studies. In this way their

academic performance will be included.

5.4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES

i. It is recommended that this type of research study should be conducted in other district

and provinces.

ii. It is recommended that the same study may be conducted on female’s cooperation at

elementary, at secondary and at collage level.

xlviii
REFERENCES

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 Appendix - A

University of Haripur
Department of Education

Questionnaire on:

Effect of Socio-Economic Status of Parents on the Student’s Academic

Achievement at Secondary Level

Student Name: ____________________Age: ______________

Class: _________________________ Gender:

Male Female
Name of Institution: ________________________________

DIRECTIONS:

1. Read the following statements.

2. Mark or Tick the following statements in the relevant box.

(S.A = Strongly Agree, A= Agree, U = Uncertain, D = Disagree, S.D.A = Strongly

Disagree)

Students Percentage Responses about Their Father Education

S.N STATEMENTS S.A A U D.A S.D.A

1 Parents' educational qualifications influence the interests

they attach to their children's
2 Parents’ interest in their students’ education affects their
academic attainments
3 Parental supervision of students’ learning activities affects
their achievement level in school
4 Parents’ academic qualifications influence children’s
educational achievements in school
5 Parents’ educational qualifications determine the kind of
assistance children receive at home in respect of their studies
6 Parents’ educational attainments enhance home environment
for students’ learning activities
7 Parents’ attitude towards education positively correlates with
their children’s educational achievement

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8 Parental monitoring of students’ progress in education
positively influences students’ academic performance
9 Parents who set rules and regulations for their children
positively influence their academic achievement.

Students Percentage Responses about Their Father Income Status

10 Parents’ financial status determines how regular a student is

given money for lunch and transport for school
11 Parents’ financial status determines the ease with which
students’ fees and other levies are paid
12 The financial and moral support a student receives from
parents’ affects his psychology, which is reflected in their
academic achievement in school
13 Socio-economic status of parents influences the level of
academic achievement of the student in school?
14 Student academic achievement is influenced by the socio-
economic status of the parents
15 Provision of learning environment at home such as light,
lantern, textbooks, quiet atmosphere for studies helps in
academic achievements of students
16 Incentive providing by parents motivate the children to work
harder and achieve higher
Students Percentage Responses about Their Father Occupation

17 Students whose parents have better jobs and higher levels of

educational attainment perform better
18 parental background is a significant contributory factor which
influence the academic achievement of students in school
19 Students whose parents are in formal employment exhibit
better academic performance than those whose parents are in
informal employment
20 Parents’ working hours have direct correlation with their
involvement in their children’s education
21 Parents in informal employment struggle to cater for their
children’s educational needs than those in formal employment.
22 Parents’ ability to support students’ education influences their
confidence level and attitudes towards learning
23 Parents vocational/ professional qualify influence students
level of achievement
24 The parents who are an prestigious occupation want their
children to take up the same type of occupation
25 Some occupation don’t give parent time to attend to their
children’s academic need
26 Do parents on poor occupation find it difficult to provide
learning aids for their children’s

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 Appendix - B

Approval Letter for Data Collection

File No. Date: March 13th, 2018

To

The principle,

Working Folks Grammar Higher Secondary School and College.

Subject: Request to Furnish the Required Data for Research Purposes Only

Dear Sir,

With due respect, it is to bring into your kind notice that Ms Aqsa Kanwal, Roll No

6139, has been the student of Education Department. She is in Eight Semester now and

as a requirement of her degree, she needs to carry out a research.

She is conducting research title “Effect of Socio-Economic Status of Parents on the

Student’s Academic Achievement at Secondary Level” under the supervision of

faculty member, Dr. Thseen Tahir. She needs data about the students studying in the

school. You are requested, in this regard, to facilitate him in terms of data collection.

Your act of kindness would be highly appreciated.

Research supervisor

Dr. Tehseen Tahir, Assistant Professor

Head, department of Education

Dr. Asaf Niwaz Satti

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