FAMILY SIZE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS

ABSTRACT

Family plays a critical role in academic learning and achievement for pupils at all levels of study. Pupils who perform well in school are better able to make a transition to adulthood, achieve career and economic success and make a positive contribution to society. There is a paucity of research on the relationship between family size and pupils academic performance. As a result, the study investigates the influence of family size characteristics on the academic performance of pupils in public primary schools. To carry out this study, four research questions were raised. The population of the study was three hundred teachers in public primary school in Oredo Local Government Area. The sample for the study was (20%) of the total population who use selected using stratified sampling method which gave a sample of (60) teachers. The instrument used for the collection of data was questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was ascertained using test – retest method. Thereafter, the Pearson’s product moment coefficient (Pearson r) was determine in its level of reliability. A correlation coefficient of 0.70 was obtained and it showed the instrument was reliable. The major finding of this study revealed that family size to a large extent affects the academic performance of pupils in public primary schools.

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made: Parents should be actively involved in their children’s education, parents should give birth to the number of children they can take care of, government and philanthropist can contribute financially to help cater for the needs of the less privileged children in public primary schools.