Influence of Family Background on the Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the influence of family background on the academic performance of secondary school students in Nigeria. The study was carried out in the three senatorial districts of Kwara State. Three hundred respondents participated in this research. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data while t- test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the three generated null hypothesis at 0.05 alpha level of significance. The findings showed that there were no significant differences in the influence of family background on academic performance of secondary school students based on gender and age while a significant difference was noted based on family type. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the government should establish guidance counselling programmes in every secondary school in Nigeria. Also parents should endeavor to create an enabling home environment for their children so as to encourage good academic performance.

Keywords: Family Background, Academic Performance, Parents, Students