Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
The child’s parents are the greatest influence on his/her development in two indisputable ways. Firstly, parents provide the child with his/her biological heritage. Secondly, they organize his/her life. Parents within this family structure, act as socializing agent in providing goals and value system from which the child develops various patterns of behaviours.
In some situations, parents adopt care free attitude towards the learning of their children, even their social orientation, and this has in many instances, caused the low academic performance of children even their maladaptive behaviours in their immediate society (Hake, 1999).
According to Ndubuisi (2005) there is a positive correlation between parental attitude and children’s social orientation and academic achievement. Ndubuisi is of the opinion that parents’ dimensions of value placement on their children’s well-being or otherwise significantly affects the child’s positive or negative adaptation to his/her society.
As Adeleke (2000) puts it, parents who place positive value on their children, care for them very well by providing them with necessary amenities at home which help to facilitate their educational careers, and by providing medical care and nurturing them morally. The resultant effect is the moulding of good behaved children who are well adjusted to their immediate environment.
Uzomah (2006) postulates that if parents exhibit positive values in terms of providing for their children’s education, such children who are well catered for, will no doubt, be high academic achievers, while those whose parents place negative values on their education will grow up to be low achievers in their educational career. This will equally show in their poor social adjustment to their larger communities.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Parents’ attitudes play important role in the social and academic lives of their children. For instance, parents who place negative values on the academic career of children will not provide them with the necessary books, school uniforms and pocket money for feeding. They will not also give the children good and nutritious diets that would cause them to grow rapidly and to be more intelligent. The result of this is poor academic performance by the children. In terms of their social orientations, children would not behave well in their society, if their parents display negative values in the method of bringing them up in the right dimension. This study is embarked upon as a result of the concern for the influence of parental value system on success orientation among adolescents in the society.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to examined the influence of parental value system on success orientation among adolescents in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were raised in this study:
- Will parents’ negative value system affect their children’s social orientation?
- To what extent will the academic achievement of parents affect their children’s success orientation in schools?
- To what extent will the positive value system of parents affect their children’s social adjustment?
- Is there any relationship between parental care and children’s behaviour?
- To what extent will there be gender difference in success orientation due to parental value system?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following research hypotheses were formulated to guide this study:
- There will be no significant influence of parental value system on adolescents’ academic performance.
- There will be no significant influence of negative parental value system on social adjustment of adolescents’ in the selected secondary school.
- There will be no significant relationship between positive parental value system and adolescents’ success orientation.
- There will be no significant gender difference in success orientation among adolescents due to parental value system.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study will be of great benefit to the various segments of individuals and group of individuals in the society as stated below:
- The students will benefit from this study because its findings and recommendations will help them to appreciate that they need parental care and placement of positive values for them to be successful in the society. It will make the students to be more adaptive to their parental control and care.
- Parents would also benefit from this study because it will enable them to be up and doing in the upbringing of their children if they want them to be notable in both the academic and social world. This study will enlighten parents on the best method of bringing up a child in the home etc.
- Teachers would be beneficiaries of this study because, it will enable them to be more enlightened on how best to train up their children in the home and at school, as surrogate parents.
- The society will undoubtedly, benefit from this study because it will help them to learn that parental value system has something to do with the child’s behaviour and his/her academic success in the school.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study covered the influence of parental value system on the success orientation among adolescents in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Operational definitions of terms were appropriately provided in this study, thus:
(1) Parental Value System:
This study sees parental value system as a situation or level at which parents attach importance to or place certain values on their children’s education or success in life. Most parents do not care for their children or wards, therefore, they are assumed to place negative values on their children’s success, whereas, many other parents take proper care of their children, and these parents are regarded as those who have positive parental value system on their children and wards.
(2) Adolescents’ Academic Performance:
This refers to the level or rate at which youths or adolescents in school perform in their academic career in school. It also shows the level at which students carry out their school works at a given period of time and the result of it.
(3) Parental Discipline:
This means the level of discipline, parents give to their children or wards at home in order to bring them up in a positive way. Parental discipline allows children to grow up embracing the proper norms and values in their immediate society or communities.
(4) Socio-Economic Status:
This refers to the level of social stratification of individuals in a given society. It is the socio-economic distinction amongst members of the society.
(5) High Academic Achievers:
This means those who record high academic performance in the school during their courses of study.
(6) Low Academic Achievers:
This refers to those students who record low academic performance during their courses of study in the school.
(7) Maladaptive Behaviour:
This means the behaviour of an individual that is not welcomed by the larger society. Maladaptive behaviours are those characters that are anti-social in nature.
