CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

In today’s competitive and global world, education is an important means for the socially, technologically, and scientifically disadvantaged nations to meet the standard of living and globally positioned. Since education has an important role to play in development of the nation and individuals, it is pertinent to thoroughly scrutinize how it impacts them both in teaching and learning especially basic science.

Social class is the system of stratification typical of modern industrials societies.  One of the characteristics of social class is that its basis is primarily economic i.e. it depends upon one's income, level of education and the type of occupation held. Although people have long dreamed of an egalitarian society where all members are equal, such a society has never existed. All human societies from the simplest to the most complex have some form of social inequality. Particularly, power and prestige are unequally distributed between individuals and social groups and in many societies, there are also marked differences in the level of wealth, qualification and profession; hence the concept of social class. From the above, it is crystal clear that social class is a peculiar feature of every human society. For instance in America and Britain, three main classes- the upper, the middle and the working classes have been identified.

The development of Basic Science and Technology as a subject area occurred in Nigeria in the late 1960s, and its teaching and learning have since been entrenched in schools. A child they say is the father of a man. The education which the child receives today will shape his understanding and vision of life and this in turn will enable him to play a significant role in the making of himself and in the development of his fatherland. The child learns to perform and improve on the quality of the activities and lifestyle of his forebears, thus, pushing forward the frontiers of the cultural disposition of the people.

The parents‟ contribution to their students‟ academic achievement maybe influenced by their level of social and economic status (SES) and educational background. The socioeconomic status of parents to some extents determines the success or otherwise of their children in their academic endeavors. More so, the type and quantity of textbooks which a parent may be able to buy for the child during the school year is also a function of the level of SES, the child performance in the school during the child schooling age or years, it also determines the type of school which the child attends, especially in this time where the public schools are not serviceable. Parents compete in accessing private schools whether at the primary; secondary or tertiary levels were the cost of training is high basically because they can afford it. The economic and social status of parents also may determine a child chance of gaining entry into the federal government colleges which government adequately provides for, even the best private international and demonstration secondary schools are dominated by children from higher socioeconomic status families because they can afford them (Uguji,1998). One major reason pupils/students in primary/secondary schools performed poorly is attributed to the child’s family background.

According to Jaynes (2002) Earmon (2005) Hochschild (2003), has been shown that students of low income earners have low test score and are more likely to drop out of school. The consequence of the above is that students of parents whose income are low usually have poor academic achievement in terms of their test scores. The position of the former is corroborated by Majoribanks (1996) who found a similar trend that low socioeconomic status negatively affects academic achievement of students because low SES prevents access to vital resources and may create additional stress at home as well as disrupting the child’s health.

The status of the family has been identified as a determinant of the type of education children receives. It plays a key role in the development of the child’s learning capabilities, intellectual and emotional stability, good nutrition, and health which are necessary ingredients for the child’s learning. These are greatly influenced by the type of family a child hails from (Okujagu, 2003).

Socio economic status is most commonly determined by the parents‟ educational level (it can be one of the parents, that is, either (father or mother), occupational status, and income level (Jeynes, 2009, McMillian & Western, 2011). It has also been found ( Eamon, 2005) that socioeconomic status of the child’s parents determines to a great extent the success or achievement of the child academics. It has been shown that low socioeconomic status negatively affects academic achievement of the child in the school because when the resources are not provided to the students at the right time the students will be prevented access to vital resources, the situation may creates additional mental, emotional and financial stress at home and results to the choice of school the child attends will become clog. Socioeconomic background remains one of the major sources of educational inequality in the present again educational success at whatever level depends very strongly on this pivot (Eamon, 2005, Jaynes, 2002; Graetz, 2009).

Education is also an important determinant of the class position that an individual comes to occupy, and much mobility study examines the relationships between class origin and educational attainment, on the one hand, and, educational attainment and class destination on the other (Breen, 2005; see also Ferjan and Jereb, 2005). Different styles of upbringing have their effect on children's motivation and capacity to learn, and on their adaptability to the requirements of the school. Middle-class parents have been found to expect more of their children, who internalize those expectations – expecting more of themselves, they care more about achievement at school. Moreover, in the middle-class style of upbringing, the children’s motivation generally has been better prepared to make good use of school, because their relations with their parents’ motivation have pre-pared them for relations with their teachers, and the activities their parents encourage will have resembled those of the school (Phelps Brown, 1979). Children from smaller families achieve higher test scores, and they do better at school. In a sample of grammar school pupils from manual workers' families, Jackson and Marsden (1962) found that these families averaged fewer than two children, about half the average for manual workers' families as a whole.

Analyzing extensive U.S. data, Duncan (1967) found that large families exerted a consistently depressing effect on educational attainment relative to the attainments of children from small families. It is understandable that where there are fewer children in the family, the parents have more resources with which to support the education of each child and more time in which to attend to the progress of each. But they will not do this simply because their children are few: they must also have the motivation to do it. Blau and Duncan (1967) found that with parents at a given socio-economic level, boys from small families where the eldest brother did not go beyond elementary school enjoyed no educational advantage over boys from large families. The inference that these were small families in which the parents were not concerned about advancing their children's education is borne out by the further finding that the educational advantage of coming from a small family increased with the level of education of the eldest brother. It seems that the size of the family and the scholastic achievement of the children are the joint products of the parents' concern for education.

Class differences also appear in the relations between the parents and the school, once chosen. Middle-class parents are more able to take up their children's problems with their teachers and bring pressure to bear for the changes they want to see for their children's sake. Class differences in parental concern may well be a cause of differences in the scholastic achievement of children of the same ability (Phelps Brown, 1979). It seems that differences in achievement depend more on difference between homes than between schools.

Bowles and Gintis (2001) found that parental economic status is passed on to children in part by means of unequal educational opportunity, but that the economic advantages of the offspring of higher social status families go considerably beyond the superior education they receive. The authors believe that the social class of the family of origin leads to the principal differences in educational levels. They claim that social class determines the duration of schooling. Those who originate in higher classes are usually more educated, and they gain higher qualifications and better-paid working positions 872 regardless of their abilities (Bowles and Gintis, 1976).

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The family being one major social institutions and an important agent of socialization plays a critical role in the child’s development especially the mental, cognitive and health of the child. It is in the family that good foundation for moral and spiritual development of the child is laid. The family inspires and educates the child about the norms and social values of the society.

However, the issue about social class difference and how it impact on teaching and learning has been a serious concern to all well meaning stakeholders in the education sector, probing into the major causes of the poor performances in the subject with differing opinions; some attributing it to the difficult nature of the subject, others have attributed it to poor and inadequate teaching and learning facilities and inadequate laboratories, while a vast majority have attributed it to social class. Since the development of any nation or people depends largely on the quality of education she has, it therefore means that any true development must begin with a proper teaching and learning process.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The main aim of the research is to examine social class and it implications to the teaching and learning of basic science. Other specific objectives include:

1. to determine the relationship between social class, teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

2. to examine the implications of social class on teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

3. to ascertain whether social class has influence on teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

4. to examine factors militating against effective teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

5. to proffer solution to the implications of social class on teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. what is the relationship between social class, teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis?

2. what are the implications of social class on teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis?

3. does social class have influence on teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis?

4. what are the factors militating against effective teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis?

5. what is the solution to the implications of social class on teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis?

1.5 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1. HO: there is no significant implications of social class to the teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

2. H1: there is significant implications of social class to the teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The findings of this study will be of great significant to education stakeholders in understandi9ng how social class influences the teaching and learning of basic science.

School management in makurdi metropolis will use the findings of this study to understand ways to tackle the issue and effect of social class as regards the teaching and learning of basic science in school.

Furthermore, the study will be beneficial to educational administrators and policy makers who would have a better insight with respect to educational inequalities that exist between children of low, middle, and high social class status. So as to provide materials and motivation for both children from rich homes and especially poor homes in their academic performance they will also be aware of the facilities and materials that will be of great importance to the students for improvement of performance in the school.

They will be able to draw implications for learning as teachers and provide a better approach for establishing the influence of social class and parental support on the academic achievement of students.

1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of this study will cover social class and it implications to the teaching and learning of basic science in Makurdi metropolis.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

1. 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).

2. 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

Social class: A social class is a set of concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered on models of social stratification which occurs in class society, in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes

Implications: a possible future effect or result. Something that is suggested without being said directly: something that is implied. The fact or state of being involved in or connected to something (such as a crime).

Teaching: Teaching is the process of attending to people's needs, experiences and feelings, and making specific interventions to help them learn particular things. They are grouping together teaching, learning, and assessment and adding in some other things around the sort of outcomes they want to see.

Learning: the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught.

Basic science: Basic science as an integrated science course is a subject that deals with the study of living things and non-living things. It also combines all other science subjects such as physics, biology, health science, agricultural science, geography, etc