CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Children well-being as well as their subsequent success is dependent on academic achievement (Saxton 2000). Education is linked with the opportunities that provide better living standards and well-being of individuals, so it plays an important and central role in human capital development (Battle and Lewis 2002). Research shows that academic achievement of the adolescents is associated with psychopathology (McDermott et al. 2005), delinquency (Wiesner and Silbereisen 2003), educational and occupational attainment (Marjoribanks 2005) and substance abuse (Engel et al. 1987). In educational psychology, searching the practical and theoretical importance of factors affecting the academic performance of adolescents has been the topic of interest of researchers (Le et al. 2005). By addressing such factors, behaviors of students in higher level of education can be identified and by addressing the factors could help the college and university students to overcome the academic risks (Le et al. 2005).

        Turner 2008) and academic self-efficacy of students (Chandler 2006; Turner et al. 2009) to gauge the academic performance of college and university students. There is abundant literature in Western world on parenting style and academic performance (Roberts and Treasure 2001; Saxton 2000; Fulton and Turner 2008; Chandler 2006; Turner et al. 2009); however, in case of Asia, there are limited studies on direct relationship of parenting style and academic performance. In case of Pakistan, Riaz et al. (2010), Jabeen et al. (2013) and Irfan (2011) studied different parenting styles as predictor of emotional among graduates; cultural capital linkage with academic achievement; and psychological well-being, respectively.

Although in parenting literature, studies analyzing the association between different parenting behaviors, styles and academic outcomes have got leading role (Baumrind 1971; Darling and Steinberg 1993), but it is evident from these studies that inconsistency is found between the relationship of parenting styles and academic performance due to socioeconomic status, ethnic and diverse cultures of parents (Steinberg et al. 1992). So, there is a need to further explore the nature of parenting styles and its impact on the academic tasks, skills and outcomes of the adolescents. Chemers et al. (2001) found that self-efficacy is an important predictor of academic performance. Rivers et al. (2012) proposed that along with certain cognitive and noncognitive factors, individual factors like self-efficacy also have influence on the effective outcomes of the academic performance.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Education is the process of developing or training an individual to cope with the challenges of living. According to Ouerinde (2002), the introduction of this system of education led to the type of education that is planned and provided for classroom situation by trained teachers. The education system is paramount for every country, and Nigeria is no exception. An efficient educational system can help boost the development of every country. However, the Nigerian educational system over the years has not been spared its fair share of criticism for churning out graduates who do not fit into the job market.

        Secondly the behavior of children especially those in the secondary school are worrisome; this raise concern as to why there is variation in personality of students and their academic performance. Lastly there have been series of studies on parenting style and academic performance but not even a single study has been able to explain more on the effect of parenting style on personality and academic performance of secondary school students; hence a need for the study.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of the research work is to determine the effect of parenting style on personality and academic performance of secondary school students in Logo local government area. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. to determine the relationship between parenting style and personality of secondary school students in Logo local government area
2. to identify the types of parenting styles and how they influence secondary school students personality and academic performance
3. to investigate the factors affecting parenting style, personality and academic performance of secondary school students in Logo local government area
4. to recommend ways to improve personality and academic performance of secondary school students in Logo local government area

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions for the study are:

1. What is the relationship between parenting style and personality of secondary school students in Logo local government area?
2. What are the types of parenting styles and how they influence secondary school students’ personality and academic performance?
3. What are the factors affecting parenting style, personality and academic performance of secondary school students in Logo local government area?
4. What are the ways to improve personality and academic performance of secondary school students in Logo local government area?

1.5 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

H0: there is no significant relationship between parenting style and personality of secondary school students in Logo local government area

H1: there is significant relationship between parenting style and personality of secondary school students in Logo local government area

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study on the effect of parenting style on personality and academic performance of secondary school students will be of immense benefit to the entire secondary schools in Logo local government area of Benue State. The study will explore parenting style and how they influence personality and academic performance. The study will act as a guide to parents and school management how to improve the personality and academic performance of students. The study will also serve as a repository of information to other researchers and students that desire to carry out similar research on the above topic. Finally the study will contribute to the body of the existing literature on the effect of parenting style on personality and academic performance of secondary school students.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study covers on the effect of parenting style on personality and academic performance of secondary school students in Logo local government area, Benue State

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

PARENTING STYLE: a parenting style is a psychological construct which represent standard strategies that parents use in rearing their child. The quality of parenting can be more essential than the quantity of time spent with the child

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Academic performance or academic achievement is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement.