INFLUENCE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND AND GENDER (SEX) ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

                In
Nigeria and many other developing countries, education has been considered to
be the cornerstone of economic growth and development. The Nigerian government
believes that to survive in this competitive world economy, quality of
education is the key variable. In this belief, educational reforms have been put
in places which were directed towards improving the quality of education. These
reforms in Nigeria are demanding greater student’s academic achievement and
commitment from teachers. This is because of the belief that socio-economic
background of the students and gender might be responsible for the academic achievement
of students in secondary school.

                The
poor performances of students’ secondary schools pose a persistent challenge to
researchers who have tried to identify the factors that might be responsible
for these poor results. Many reasons have been given such as lack of qualified
and dedicated teachers, lack of infrastructure materials, same attributed to
teacher’s methodology, inability of the students to understand English
language. Yet, not enough attention has been paid to the socio-economic
background and academic achievement in Christian religious study.

                Adamolekun
(1993) viewed that adolescence s the most important period of human life. He
further described adolescence as the spring of life of human being and a very
important era in the total life span.

                Hess
(2000) identified children from a lower class as slow learners, aggressors and
turn at his studies also compared the relative intelligence of children of high
socio-economic background which he disposed that those from high socio-economic
background homes score higher than those children from low socioeconomic
background homes. The differences are clearer in childhood and adolescence age
than in infancy period.

                The
relationship between family size and academic performance of a student is
brought into focus by Yoloye (1994) in Ogundele (1998) it is reasonable to
expect a father with several ways will find himself in greater financial strain
than a father with one wife, therefore a polygamous family will have greater difficulty
in sending his children to schools which the school fees is expensive.

                The
success or failure of parents affect the interest of students in school and
this will determine the academic success or failure of the children in the
school. In a situation where the parents provide the material needed by the
students in the school this will encourage the students to learner more but if
the material needed by the students in the school is not provided this will
discourage the interest of the students.

                Gender
inequality in the educational achievement and opportunity I recent years is
been recognized as one of the major obstacles to women development world-wide
various findings reveal that gender differences in teaching of Christian
religious study in his senior secondary school. All of them were men, can one
therefore ask for the imbalance, why there are no women among them? Is it
because the women fill to reason very well as men do or is it because women are
weaker sex? For this reason a number f research findings have been conducted to
verify the influence of socio-economic background and sex on academic
achievement.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

                It is
obvious that there is a significant relationship between socio-economic
background of the parents and academic performance of the students’. Daramola
(2000) remarked that adolescence from high socio-economic background have
advantages over the adolescents from low socio-economic class. In a higher
class family the basic facilities and opportunities that facilitates academic achievement
are provided for the adolescents such things include, television, radio,
computer etc. on the other hand, the adolescents from low socio-economic class
is handicapped as these facilities which enhance his performances in school are
lacking. Invariably, the situation contributes to the widening stratification
and inequality on the society including Nigeria. This is a counter to the
earning and the dream of Nigeria for an equalitarian society. The issue if not
checked is capable of breeding anti-social behaviour like truancy, running away
from school, pilfering, stealing, low national manpower etc. this loss
opportunity for adolescents could also create inferiority complex and warped
personality among such students.

                Therefore
effects of socio-economic background calls for urgent attention to be carefully
addressed hence the need for the researcher to investigate of academic
performances of students in Christian religious study and how parental
educational attainment, occupation, income and gender of the individual
students impinge on the academic achievement of the students and also to
identify the root causes and proffer solutions.

Therefore the study is designed to solve these problems they
are:

The differences between socio-economic background of
students from high and low class

Gender (sex) as a predictors of academic performance of
students n Christian religious study

The educational background of the parents

1.3 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

There is significant difference in the performance in Christian
religious knowledge of boys and girls

The age of students affects their performances in Christian
religious knowledge

There is significant difference in students offering
Christian religious and other arts subjects in the school

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

                The
purpose of this study is to find out the influence of socio-economic background
and gender (sex) on students’ performance I Christian religious knowledge. This
is to distinguish between the students that are from high and low socio-economic
background with respect to the relationship between the two groups, high socio-economic
background will be better in performance in Christian religious knowledge than
those from low socio-economic background.

                Apart
from this, the study will also examine the issue of gender whether there is
much difference in the scores of male and females in Christian religious
knowledge ins secondary schools.

                This is
to enable the Christian religious knowledge teachers to choose the appropriate
methods or strategies to use in the subject.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

                The
study is significant to so many people like the curriculum developers, educators
and other practitioners in education industries who have studied empirically on
the basis to formulate educational policies that can provide equal
socio-economic backgrounds.

                It
becomes clear that the need for a good and scientifically based education cannot
be over-emphasized since the nation now realized the need for quality education,
which will lead to self reliant nation, it is therefore, significant to fin doubt
the influence of socio-economic background in the performance of students in
Christian religious knowledge.

                Another
reason is that this work is consider important is that it will make the authority
or the government concerned in training more competent teacher in Christian
religious knowledge. However, the findings of this work will enable teachers in
secondary schools to improve in their method of teaching and the attitude of
the government in providing adequate materials. The study is also to enable the
students to have more interest in Christian religious knowledge.

1.6 LIMITATON OF THE STUDY

                This
study covered some secondary schools in Ado local government in Ado local
government in Ekiti state. There was selection among the schools in order to
make the study easy for the researcher nn terms f cost and time. The outcome of
the research would be implemented in all secondary schools in Ado local
government in particular.

                The
study is limited to Ado local government in Ekiti state. The researcher would
have loved to cover a wide area such as covering all the schools in Ado local
government but due to the limited time and logistic reasons.

                The
selected secondary schools in Ado local government area are:

Ado grammar high school, Ado Ekiti.

Ado community high school, Ado Ekiti

Anglican high school, Ado Ekiti

Olaoluwa senior high school, Ado Ekiti

C.A.C grammar school, Ado Ekiti.

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