THE INFLUENCE OF POVERTY ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ECONOMICS AND MATHEMATICS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1.  Background to the Study

          Poverty is human condition characterized by hunger and malnutrition, poor health, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, lack of participation in education, lack of marketable skills, insecurity and vulnerability. These hardships have subsequent resulted in high scale of poverty.

          To look at the majority of the people show wide spread miserly because their standard of living has deteriorated due to low income and hunger, only few people have opportunity to acquire education, health care services. These hardships have led to child abandonment, reducting in life expectancy of most adult and increase in crime.

          There have been theories in support of poverty, these theories explains the main reason why few people are rich and why some or majority of the masses are poor, such theories include the social Darwinian theory of poverty. The theory which emerged within sociology and explain in term of the behaviours and attitudes of the poor themselves.

          The poorer are poor because they did not work hard, they squandered money on ambition, no inner call to work, were fatalistic and suffered from an in educability. The theory also emphasis that the intelligence quotient of the poor is low that is they have low mental capacity and biologically destined to be poor.

          The influence of poverty on academic performance of secondary school student in economic depends on the specific syndrome of poverty that grows in some situation, which requires an economic setting of cash economy, a high rate of unemployment and under employment, the low wages and people with low skill in the absence of voluntary or state support and stable family, the low income population intends to develop the culture of poverty against the dominant ideology of accumulation of the middle class.  

          The situational theory of poverty holds that the poor behave differently because they do adopt the middle class lifestyles. Young people have few opportunities to go to college and so they drop out because of poverty.

          However, poverty can also influence academic performance among the students in a serious ways for instance a student, who is not nourished well will find it in capable and parent will unable to five students sound education due to their poverty which contribute to make student drop from the school then number of illiteracy in the society increase. This simply means that poverty contributes to the level of performance of students in school especially in the secondary are bound to be different or various from one stage to another due to intelligent quotient or any factor which can affect the students either emotionally, physically and academically.

          The various problems initiating against the influence of poverty on academic performance of students will be analyzed in subsequently discussion.

1.2.  Statement of the Problems

          This study concerned itself with the influence of poverty on academic performance of secondary school students in economic.

          Hence, the researcher intends to look at which the poverty affect academic performance of secondary school students.

1.3.  Objective of the Study

          Basically, the main purpose of this study is to investigate into the influence of poverty on academic performance of secondary school students in economics. The specific purposes are:

(i)           To examine the causes of poverty among secondary school students.

(ii)          To examine the extent to which the students’ academic performance can be affected by the poverty of their parents.

(iii)        To proffer solution to be problems.

1.4.  Research Questions

The following research question would be investigation.

(i)           Does family educated background have effect on the academic performance of the student?

(ii)          Is there significant relationship between family socio-economic status and academic performance?

(iii)        Does poverty affect students’ academic performance at secondary school level?

(iv)        Does poverty has any effect on acquisition of educational materials.

1.5.  Significance of the Study

          The study focus attention on the effect of influence of poverty on academic performance of secondary school in economic at Senior Secondary School level.

          However, this will throw light on the factors, which could improve the learning of economic at senior secondary school and make it more relevant.

          The head for improved economic education to primarily concerning for developing country like Nigeria, the study is concerned with an examination of how poverty affect academic performance in economics students in senior secondary school.

          Lastly, economic helped in the product of such needed man power in Nigeria for instance to develop rapidly economic.

1.6.  Scope of the Study

          For the purpose of this research attention will be placed on the influence of poverty on academic performance of secondary school students in economics in Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo State.

          This study is also concern with some selected secondary school in Atiba Local Government area of Oyo State who were believed to have had a good knowledge of economics.

1.7.  Definition of Items

(i)           Family Background: this means the gaps in between family or richest of poverty student in secondary school.

(ii)          Poverty: This study is the condition of life. So degraded by malnutrition illiteracy and diseases in such a way as to deny its victims of human necessities.