CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Total or wholesome maximum development of the student is the primary concern of any established educational system. The development of a student should not be restricted to academic only but should also include personal development, social and emotional development. Several views have been advanced regarding this optimum wholesome development and ways of attaining it.
Despite differences of views, there is agreement on one point that personality and social development of a student are dependent on the socio-economic status of the parents. Socioeconomic status (SES) encompasses not just income but also educational attainment, financial security, and subjective perceptions of social status and social class. Low Socioeconomic status and its correlates, such as lower educational achievement, poverty and poor health, ultimately affect the personality and social development of students.
Socioeconomic status is typically broken into three categories namely; High socio-economic status, middle socio-economic status and low socio-economic status, and when placing a family or individual into one of these categories, any or all of the three variables that describe socioeconomic i.e income, education and occupation can be assessed (Gottefredson, 2004). When analyzing the three levels of socioeconomic status, the household income, earners’ education are examined. Students with low socio-economic background often have low personality and social development , while the reverse is the case for students from high socio-economic background.
Research indicates that students from low social economic status (SES) households and communities develop academic skills more slowly compare to students from higher socio-economic status group.
However, the goal of education cannot be restricted merely to develop the competence of 3 Rs in the student. Infact, it aims at developing the well-integrated person so as to enable him to get adjusted in the society. Hence, the aim of education may be put as bringing out broad personality changes in the individual which includes attitudes, interests, ideals, ways of thinking, work habits, personal and social adaptability etc. besides imparting subject matter knowledge to him.
According to Agulana and Nwachuku (2001) in the quest of finding survival feet, the nation has evolved series of socio-economic and educational measures and policies such as Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), austerity measure, Universal Basic Education (UBE) and devaluation of the naira. These measures have not improved the socio-economic and educational status of families in the country. They have rather increased their suffering and widened the socio-economic gaps between families.
Curry (2006) lamented that parents becomes poor due to their hard measures, they can no longer provide shelter, and clothing and special need of their children in school such as provision of textbook, school uniforms and good medical bills cannot be met. Many rural and sub-urban dwellers can no longer pay the school fees of their children.
Sometimes students from low socio-economic background are engaged in labour such as hawking, subsistence farming and become domestic helps or engage in other menial jobs to support their academic pursuit. The health status of the student which could also be traceable to parental socio-economic background can be another factor that can affect the personality and social development of the student.
Parents with high Socio-economic status differ from parents with low Socio-economic status and a student from the former is most likely to benefit from the following number of factors which contribute towards the wholesome development of the student namely, staying facilities, means of recreation, parental personality, administrative and supervisory policies at homes, humanistic relations and democratic discipline among the family members etc. All these factors help in creating a conducive home environment for learning and development. The income of family, education level of parents, the quality of life in family environment and standard of living influence the personality and social development of their children.
Personality is what a person is—it includes everything of a person. And, what a person is, can be known through the behaviour of a person. And, one behaves as he is directed by his attitudes, and is accustomed to or habituated to. The socio-economic status of parents is to play a very significant role through a host of its activities, and by way of creating a very congenial environment, in the development of the student into a personality that is sound in body, and mind, socially balanced, emotionally strong and noble.
The peer group is the main agent of social development of a student. Basically, these are some of the attributes of a student from a high socio-economic background that improves acceptance amongst peers and enhance social development: They enjoy good nutrition and balanced-diet which makes such students bodily well-built and strong and are liked by their peers. Also, those who are good looking, become popular among the peer group. Only a student who is healthy can productively engage in sporting activities. Research has found out that students better in physical activities or sports, win more friends.
Students whose parents are rich tend to be happier since all their basic necessities of life such as food, shelter and clothing are met. In many cases, luxury items are even provided from them. A happy student, friendly in nature, would naturally win more friends. The frequent laughter is a sign of friendly invitation. Those who are good at studies, may attract some form of friendship with them while at the same time some may become envious of their class-achievements.
The social development of a student can be positive or negative depending on the kind of relationship he makes. For example, a student from a low socio-economic background who is poorly looked after at home, and rejected by the normal peers, (and being punished frequently by his teachers because of his academic failure), is very much liable to be attracted towards the deviant peer group. And, moving in that group means that he is definitely to grow into a delinquent. So, “acceptance” by the peer-group is very important if the student is to be protected against delinquency. And, for the peer acceptance, the conduct of the student should be such that the normal peers may like him.
Again, the conduct of the student would be good only if the desired parental care (discipline) and monitoring had been there. Furthermore, children from poor homes are more likely to be easily enticed with money, gifts and luxuries from the deviant peer group. They may be lured to engage in socially unacceptable vices such as hooliganism, drunkenness, drug abuse, rape, prostitution etc. These hinder the good personality and social development which the student might have attained if he or she were from a rich background.
The concept of stratification is closely linked with the concept of status. In a broad way it may be asserted that social status accrues to a person on the basis of possession by him and of the characteristics valued by society. Thus the term status is meaningful in every kind of society. Status may be based on strength and skill or on the basis of possession of land and wealth or on the basis of education and knowledge and so on. Every society whether rural or urban, whether agricultural or industrial, has a status system. People are recognized as differing in status, some being perceived as of superior status and some as of inferior status. The concept of social class has been variously defined. Some look upon it as merely subjective classification while some have attempted to measure it by using objective method.
The objective characteristics used are Education, Occupation, and Income. This is why it is called socio-economic status (SES) stratification. The pattern of life varies according to socio-economic group to which the family belongs. These are marked differences to behaviour pattern in families of different socio-economic status in use of money in student training and attitude towards discipline and parents. Middle and rich class parents regard their children with pride and hope. They supervise their children closely and expect them to avoid any behaviour which might bring criticism to the family. The child is encouraged to be independent.
Good personality and social development is emphasized because it is way of bettering themselves. This is especially true in the case of boy. The middle and rich class child is expected to inhibit emotional expression and aggression at an early age. He is given little information about sex and is generally criticized by his parents for his behaviour related to sex. The middle and rich class student is protected by his parents, is usually brought up in a domestic home atmosphere and is given as many advantages as his parents can afford.
The attitude of lower class parents towards the child is different. Students from lower class families are given greater physical and social freedom than those from middle and rich classes and there is little concern on the part of their parents about their education. The lower class student often feels unloved, unwanted and rejected at home and thus seeks companionship outside at home. The socio-economic status of the family influences the type of home in the community. This determines to a large extent what kind of associates the student will have. Favourable or unfavourable attitude will be developed depending upon the kind of students the child is associated with the school and his recreational activities. The economic status of family determines what the family's social status will be.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Economic insecurity increases emotional insecurity. Poverty in many cases cause psychic wounds, aggressive personality problems such as stealing, truancy and running away are more often found in poor home. School maladjustments are more often found in economically insecure homes. Jealousy has been found to increase as family income decreases. The father's occupation has a profound influence on the student's outlook. In the early years of the childhood, it is important as it has a direct bearing on the child's upbringing such as his food, clothing and play equipment. However, as he becomes older and begins to play with other student, the father's occupation has a cultural significance in that it gives the student social prestige. When a child is ashamed of his father's occupation, either because of the level of the work or because of the type of clothes demanded by the work, it will affect the child's attitude toward his father, his home and himself as an individual.
Even within a community where people share the same institutions there may be notable differences in the customs and standards of different group within the community. Depending largely upon the socio-economic position of his family there are difference in the context to which the student's home has facilities such as a telephone, an automobile, separate rooms for each child in the family, a playroom, a varied supplies of books and so on. A student of low socio-economic status may be seriously handicapped in his social relationship. If for example, he is ashamed of his clothing or uncertain of his manner or if he is not invited to the home of other student or if he ashamed to invite others to his home. The difference in the customs and standards of different socio-economic groups, do not however, show a consistent pattern and they are not uniformly disadvantageous to the person of lower status.
In studies of some group, it has been found that students of lower socio-economic status tend to be somewhat more authoritarian in their attitude toward certain form of socially disapproved behaviour. In other study it was observed that children in a poor neighbourhood did not disapprove, as much as did students in their better circumstances, acts such as damaging public property (littering the environment).
In recent times, people are becoming aware of the interrelated nature of various variables on students such as socioeconomic status and personality and social development. It is believed that parental socioeconomic status has a tremendous effect on the personality and social development of students.
But the assumption that the socioeconomic status of parents is positively related to the personality and social development of students is questionable, debatable and arguable. This is because some researchers have found out that the socio-economic status of parents do not affect the personality and social development of the students.
This study sought to determine the effect and the extent to which socio-economic status of parents affect the personality and social development of the students.
1.3 Scope of the study
This study focused on the analysis of the influence of parental socioeconomic status on students’ personality and social development. The study was limited to SS1 Students of both public and private secondary schools in Eti-osa Local government. The variables that make up parental socioeconomic status that were investigated include income, education and occupation.
Other variables that affect personality and social development were not studied. Students from high, middle and low socioeconomic status were used as a source of data for this study. Geographically, the study was limited to schools in Eti-osa local government which comprises Ajah, Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi areas. Findings may not be generalized to other regions. Specifically, the study sought to find out the effects of social and economic factors that affected personality and development of students in Eti-osa Local government. The study took a period of two months.
1.4 Research Questions
The research questions guiding this study are:
1. What is the relationship between parents’ educational level and students; personality and social development?
2. What is the relationship between parents’ income level and students; personality and social development?
3. What is the relationship between parents’ occupational level and students; personality and social development?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses postulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1: There will be no significant relationship between parents’ education level and students’ personality and social development
Ho2: There was a significant relationship between parents’ income level and students’ personality and social development.
Ho3: There was a significant relationship between parents’ occupation and students’ personality and social development.
Ho4: There will be no significant difference in the personality and social development of students from low socio-economic status and those from high socio-economic status.
1.6 Significance of the study
Educational administrators, teachers, parents, students, government and researchers are expected to benefit from the result of this study.
The findings from this study will help the educational administrators in the educational system to formulate and implement different kinds of Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) programs in the school curriculum that will put the students’ different socioeconomic status into consideration. Personal, Social and Emotional Development programs have gained recognition and have been implemented in the British Curriculum even from elementary school. However, these programs have not been paid so much attention to by the Nigerian Educational administrators.
It is also expected that teachers will benefit from this study’s findings. Teachers’ knowledge of the influence of parental socio-economic status and personality and social development will enable them to restructure their teaching methods and instructional resources to suit every students’ background. It will also help teachers to develop the right attitude towards all students regardless of socio-economic status.
The findings of this work will also be of benefits to parents. If parents realize the effect their socio-economic status have on the personal and social development of their child, parents with low socio-economic status will intensify their efforts in improving their socio-economic status since the desire of every parent is to have a total developed child, not only in the academic or cognitive abilities but also through emotional, personal and social development.
The result of this work will also help government to execute programs and actions that will improve the socio-economic status of parents. These programs include adult education, vocational skills development, encouraging the development of small and medium scale enterprises, provision of loans and increasing the minimum wage to a globally acceptable standard.
The findings of this study will also be of great benefit to future researchers and scholars in education especially in the area of personality and social development. Most previous researchers have studied the effects of socio-economic status of parents on the academic performance of students without considering the personality and social development of the students, that is, there have been more research work on the effect of socio-economic status on academic performance than on personality and social development. Personality and social development of students is equally as important as the academic performance of the students.
1.7 Scope of the study
This study focused on the analysis of the influence of parental socioeconomic status on students’ personality and social development. The study was limited to Senior Secondary School 1 Students of both public and private secondary schools in Eti-osa Local government. The variables that make up parental socioeconomic status that were investigated include income, education and occupation.
Other variables that affect personality and social development were not studied. Students from high, middle and low socioeconomic status were used as a source of data for this study. Geographically, the study was limited to schools in Eti-osa local government which comprises Ajah, Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi axis. Findings may not be generalized to other regions. Specifically, the study sought to find out the effects of social and economic factors that affected personality and development of students in Eti-osa Local government. The study took a period of two months.
1.8 Assumptions of the Study
In this study the following assumptions were made:
The respondents were to be cooperative and willing to give honest and factual responses. It was assumed that variations in personality and social development of students were due to different social economic backgrounds of the parents.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
Delay in returning of the questionnaire from students was one of the limitations that this study faced. Another limitation that this study faced was is loss of questionnaires by students since they were required to take the questionnaire to have some sections filled by their parents.
Secondly, accessibility to some schools in the division was a challenge due to poor terrain and means of transport available.
1.10 Delimitations of the Study
To overcome the problem of delayed submission of questionnaires, the researcher had to personally administer and collected the questionnaire from the respondents to minimize loss. This was quite time consuming.
Secondly to overcome the challenge of poor terrain, the researcher used a motorbike to reach inaccessible schools.
1.11 Operational Definition of Key Terms
In this study various terms were be used. Their operational definitions are given in this section. The terms include the following:
Socioeconomic status (SES) –This refers to the economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education and occupation.
In this study the following categories of SES were identified and defined as follows:
Low socio-economic status: refers to parents who earn less than 60000 naira per month, have a primary school or secondary school leaving certificate and engage in blue collar or unskilled jobs.
Middle socio-economic status: refers to parents who earn between 70000 naira and 400000 naira per month, have a National Diploma Certificate or Teachers’ training certificate and engage in semi-skilled or skilled jobs.
High socio-economic status: refers to parents who earn between over 500000 naira per month, have at least a Bachelors degree and engage strictly in skilled or white collar jobs.
Family background: Refers to the historical environment that student are brought up in. It It is generally the history of a given group of persons whereby those individuals who have been poor all through tend to inherit the same attitude.
Personality Development: An individual's personality is the sum total of the person's qualities, characteristics, attitudes and quirks, psychological traits, beliefs and motives which make up his identity. Personality development therefore means an improvement in all spheres of the individual's life.
Social Development: Social development refers to the process by which a person learns to interact with others around them. Social development most often refers to how a student develops friendships and other relationships, as well how a student handles conflict with peers. Social development involves learning the values, knowledge and skills that enable students to relate to others effectively and to contribute in positive ways to family, school and the community.
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