Effect of Poverty on the Academic Performance of Students in Some Selected Secondary Schools

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THE EFFECT OF POVERTY ON THE ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN SOME SELECTED

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

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ABSTRACT

This research work was designed to find out the effect of

poverty on the academic performance of students in some

selected secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of

Edo State. This research work consist of five chapter. Chapter

one was on the background of the study. However, the

significance of the study was highlighted in addition to the

problem encountered by the researcher in the course of

investigation. Chapter two was on the review of related

literature while chapter three was on methodology, area

considered under this section are population, sampling,

validation and reliability of questionnaire, administration of

questionnaire and method of data analysis. Chapter four was

devoted to data analysis, where the researcher adopted the

frequency method and percentage to analyze the data collected

by means of questionnaire on the final note was chapter five

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which was devoted to the summary and conclusion and

recommendations.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Education is a process through which individual acquires

skills, competencies, and attitude. It is the right of every child to

be educated, be it traditional or western. Thus, education is

been regarded as culture to man, people and the nation of the

world at large. This explains why man has to educate himself

and his offspring in the society. Poverty is one of the factors

militating against man from carrying out his educational

activities perfectly. Because of the various perception and

complexities of the term poverty, a universally agreed definition

cannot be arrived at. But then poverty according to the oxford

advanced learners dictionary (2000) defined poverty as the

state of being poor. Oguw Mike (2005) sees poverty as a way of

life characterized by low calorie intake, inaccessibility of

adequate health facilities low quality education system, low life

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expectancy, unemployment and under-employment. Leroy and

Symes (2001) consider poverty as a major anti-risk factors

relating the concept poverty to Nigeria, it will therefore be

considered in a broader way which implies that it has be viewed

in various perspectives which include one national state and

home background. At the national level, a nation can be

considered poor when her economic standard is very low and

this automatically makes the nation underdeveloped. The

economy of a country that does not reached certain stage of

development in terms of infrastructure and other development

indices. As regard poverty in the family level, we are referring

to the home background. Even before the indigenous education

or western type of education, the home has always been the

agency through which man learns various aspect of life to

enable him live a meaningful life in his environment. The home

which is also known as traditional way of educating the young

ones is still regarded as the first school of a child before he

enters the larger society.

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The role of the home cannot be over emphasized because

the general assumptions that states of poverty in the family or

home goes to a long way to determine the extent of youth or

students educational development. Education is seen by many

as the route to alleviate poverty. There is no doubt that

meaningful; education is the most potent instrument for

alleviating and eventually abolishing poverty. In considering the

effect of poverty on academic performance of students to be

precise, the home background is the most important

phenomenon that needs to be seriously considered in order to

enhance the effective study of the relationship between poverty

and students academic performance. In view of this, some

factors that needed to be considered in the home or family

background are parents academic qualification, socio-economic

class and facilities available in home or home environment as

well as parent status.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

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Evidence shows that in Nigeria, the number of those in

poverty has continued to increase every year. By 1999, when

the government came into power, it was estimated that more

than 70% of Nigeria lived in poverty. In recent years, it has

been a controversy through in the mind of people that if the

poor status of any society or nation, even family can really have

an impact on the students educational performance. In view of

this, the study intends to investigate the positive and negative

impact of poverty on the student’s education in Nigeria. This is

because the diversity of the world poverty by different scholars

who have used it in their course of study and how it has

affected the learning and performance of the students in their

educational development. Goldstem (1976) admitted this

concept when he said that the fact that much of youth

educational development takes places in a circle or home, the

child begins to attend school in psychological tourism, an

attempt would be made to determine the influence of parent’s

socio-economic performance and the poverty impact on

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students education. There is a group which contents the poor

have right to be assisted on the bases of group solidarity.

Oijkstra (1984) we know that in Africa, the system of the

extended family addresses the issues of poverty in the

community.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of

poverty on the student’s academic performance in Nigeria

emphasizing on some selected secondary schools in Egor Local

Government Area of Edo State. The study is to find out whether

students of nation can really be affected with any economic

standard of the nation. The study also tries to find out the

extend of which any community standard of living can affect

the students education in that community. Some teachers are

surprise when it comes to evaluate performance of some

students such teachers might find a particular students in class

performing extremely poor despite all kinds of skills employed

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in carrying out an effective teaching and learning process which

extremely well.

This study will also provide possible suggestion, in

enhancing or improving the student’s academic performance by

bringing out strategies to alleviate poverty. For instance by

introducing the Britain welfare legislative system by providing

accommodation, transportation, feeding, sickness benefiting,

clothing etc those families living below the poverty level.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is important when looked at from the concept of

poverty and the three various factors, the national level, the

community level and the home level or family background

which influence student’s educational needs. It is hoped that

the study definitely identified some of the essential factors

existing in the various level as they influence students in their

performance. The study will give solution on how to improve

students’ academic performance. The level of literacy can also

influence the level of performance in economic enterprise. This

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is why Africa tradition insists on lifelong education as a process

of acquiring various types of literacy, cultural, political, religious

etc for meaningful and effective living.

The study will also focus on the need for government to

incorporate parents in planning, for student. This is because the

parents know best the environment under which students at

home will learn and other variable which affect their

performance. The study also enables us to know that poverty

has become serious problem in Nigeria. Despite her oil wealth,

Nigeria becomes one of the poorest nation in the world. This life

span as short and there are social, political and economic

difficulties. Begging has become a vocation to many who now

live on the street. The crime rate is alarming, as violence, fraud

and armed robbery increase. One way of solving the problem of

poverty is to introduce measures ameliorate an equitable

distribution of resource.

Henner Hilder Brand (1994) believes that the process of

alleviating might be beyond the acquisition of literacy and the

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introduction of income general efforts. He seems to be

suggesting that the cure of poverty would be the conclusion of

people in decision and policies. The living conditions of the poor

also signify lacks of participatory opportunities in the

economics, cultural, political and social areas. The living

conditions of the fight against poverty should consequently

focus on eliminating the deficits mentioned in order to be

effective in the long-run.

RESEARCH QUESTION

For the proper examination of this study, the following

have been formulated to serve as a guide in the conduct of the

investigation.

1. What is the impact of environmental factors on the

academic performance of students?

2. To what extent does the economic status of any nation

affects its students academic performance?

3. Does the economic status of the parent have an impact on

the academic performance?

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4. Does the educational background of your parent have any

impact on your academic performance?

5. Does lack of equipment like textbooks affect the academic

performance?

SCOPE/DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to some selected secondary schools in

Egor Local Government Area of Edo State.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

A study of this type requires a wide coverage area but it is

subjected to certain constraint, which includes;

1. Insufficient funds which hindered getting enough

information from many other schools.

2. The period of time is limited.

3. This research is restricted to some selected secondary

schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State only.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

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Poverty: It is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean

water, nutrition, health care, education, shelter, transportation

etc poverty is said to exist when people or individual lack the

means of satisfying basic needs.

Family: family is a social group which consists of father,

mother and children in this work, we can classify family to be a

man, his wife, or wives, and children.

Academic performance/Achievement: This is how students

can perform in academic. It also refers to as the score or grades

obtained by students in examination in their various school. it

could be high academic performance which means pass or low

academic performance which means failure.

Home Environment: This refers to the surrounding in which

the students live. In this study it means the adequate facility

which the home has provided for students. It could be radio,

sleeping space, television and reading room whether conducive

for learning or not.

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Poverty Alleviation: This is the act of reducing poverty. In this

course of study, it refers to when the problem of poverty is

resolved.

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Effect of Poverty on the Academic Performance of Students in Some Selected Secondary Schools