1.1 Introduction
The family unit is the first and primary foundation of the child learning process. Apart from the materials stimulation, needed by the child and provided by his family for his intellectual development a child also is expected to be emotionally balanced. This will enable him to cope with the entire social tolerant that would disturb him at school. All families do not have equal economic and social status and since children from different homes attend different problems therefore the various children under this condition would be disturbed at school much effect is therefore required of the teachers in identifying the child’s problems which may be traceable to his family. The teacher should study the student’s family background and correlate them with the child performance at school.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Education is as old as man himself. Man is by nature curious and that inspires in him the urge to explore the environments around him. Through the ages, man has attempted various means to transmit knowledge in whatever form he had acquired to the upcoming generation. The place of education in the development of individuals and the nation at large cannot be under-estimated. It is evident in the fact that education helps individuals develop their mental capabilities and become functional members of the society. Every society therefore, plan its own system of education in terms of the aims, contents, processes, etc.
The process of educating a child is not solely the function of the school system although the school is an institution for teaching and learning. Nwabachili and Egbue (1993) see formal education as a consciously planned form of socialization in a formal setting such as school. They stressed that non-formal education involve all those systematic programmes and process of education and training done outside formal education setting. For instance, the traditional education system in Nigeria has a clearly demarcated learning experience for each age grade which culminates into the acquisition of desired values, attitudes and the specialization of individuals in some specific crafts or vocation. Every responsible member of the community serves as a transmitter-teacher and trainer of the societal norms and skills to younger generations. Other agents of socialization include the family, peer group, religious institutions, mass media.
The family is the first social environment a child finds itself. According to Clifford (1981), family remains the primary environment of the child. Families are important to provide safe, nurturing environment in which children can learn to function in the society. The child learns to play appropriate roles and acquires abilities, attitudes and modes of response that will enable him participate in social life in the larger society. Thus, his personality is shaped and the cultural demands and expectations are transmitted.
Children bring their family experiences with them to school. Children coming from different background are affected differently by such family backgrounds. Hence, teachers need to have a better understanding of their students’ families and how they function. In other words, a child’s attitude, disposition and aspiration in education are to some extent influenced by the family. Educational aspiration is an individual’s desire to obtain a status objective or goal such as particular level of education. Quaglia and Cobb (1996) succinctly define aspiration as a student’s ability to identify and set goals for the future while being inspired in the present to work. It is an important variable in predicting academic achievement and may be seen as an element in academic achievement motivation, focusing on the desire for success and the development of academic objectives to succeed in education, particular education fields or to gain a particular degree.
The literature has placed considerable emphasis on the family background as agent in generating variation in educational aspiration and attainment. One reason why families are associated with variation in educational aspiration is that families are sources of genetically determined academic potentials. This may take the form of differences in intellectual capacity that lead children to be successful in school and thus prefer more education. Other family background variables include family structure, family socio-economic status which comprises parents’ educational level, occupational status and income level, parents’ attitude and expectation, home environment, etc.
It is against this background that the researcher is interested in investigating the influence of family background on educational aspiration of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
The culture of poor attitude and low educational achievement among secondary school students is currently one of the prevalent issues in education. In a bit to understand the immediate and root cause of this, there is misunderstanding among stakeholders in education. Government, parents, teachers and students blame one another. Given the fact that the family is the first social environment of a child and each brings with him or her the family experiences, it is pertinent to examine the influence of family background on educational aspiration of secondary school students.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to explore the Impact of Family Background on the Occupational Aspirations of Secondary School Students using Umuahia LGA, Abia State as a Case Study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the influence of family structure on educational aspirations of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area.
- To examine the influence of family socio-economic status on educational aspirations of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area.
- To examine the influence of parents’ attitude and expectation on educational aspirations of secondary school students.
- To identify the difference in educational aspirations of secondary school students in Urban and Rural areas of Uyo Local Government.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Is there any difference in educational aspirations of secondary school students in Urban and Rural areas of Uyo Local Government?
- To what extent does family structure influence educational aspirations of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area?
- To what extent does family socio-economic status influence educational aspirations of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area?
- To what extent do parents’ attitude and expectation influence educational aspirations of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area?
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