RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY STRUCTURE AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN OWERRI EDUCATION ZONE I OF IMO STATE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The major source for the provision of basic needs usually comes from the family. Children/students require basic necessities which provision is based on the family. The structure of the family is one of the major variables that can influence the provision of basic needs to the students. When the basic needs of the students are not met due to family structure, this can lead to poor school attendance and lack of concentration in class which will result to poor performance. This study therefore, sought to investigate the influence of family structure on students’ academic achievement. A total of 360 senior secondary I students from Owerri education zone I of Imo state of Nigeria were used for the study. Researcher – made questionnaire was used to assess the students’ family structure while students’ school performances were used to determine their academic achievement. The data obtained were analyzed using chisquare test. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Contingency coefficient C was used to interpret correlation coefficient between the variables. The result revealed that there is significant relationship between family structure and students’ academic achievement.