Impact of Socio-Economic Status of Parents and Family Location on Truant Behaviour of Secondary School Students in the North-West Senatorial District of Benue State

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of socio-economic status of parents and family location on truant behaviour of secondary school students in the North-West Senatorial District of Benue State. The survey design was used to carry out the study using a sample of 400 respondents selected from different schools within the senatorial district. Student Truant Behaviour Questionnaire (STBQ) was used as instrument for data collection. Chi-square statistics was used to test the two hypotheses at .05 level of significance. It was found that family location and socio-economic status of parents has significant impact on truant behaviour of secondary school students (P>.05 df2 x² Cal. 5.97, x² tab. 3.841; P>.05 df2 x² Cal. 14.20 x² tab. 5.99 respectively). The researchers recommended that parents from whatever location and socio-economic status should have enough time to check their children’s attendance at school from time to time and that school counsellors should render necessary counselling services to truant students in their various schools in order to improve on their school attendance. It is also recommended that school counselors should engage teachers in seminars on effective behavior modification strategies and techniques so as to instill discipline in the students.

Keywords: social-economic status, parents, students, truant behaviour, secondary school.