Parental Socio-Economic Status and Higher Academic Aspiration of Senior Secondary School Students in Cross River State Nigeria

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the influence of parental socio-economic status (SES) on higher academic aspiration among senior secondary school students in Cross River State of Nigeria with emphasis on Ogoja Education Zone. To do this, three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The research questions were based on three variables of parental educational status, occupation and material wealth. The research instrument was a 17 item researcher-made “Parental Socio-economic status and higher academic aspiration of senior secondary school students questionnaire”. It was built on a four-point modified Likert scale. Samples comprised of 600 senior secondary three (SS3) students at the rate of 30 per school from the five local government areas in the education zone. Data were analyzed using simple percentages. The result of research question one which sought to determine the influence of parental educational status on their children’s higher educational aspirations shows that 72.16% of the respondents affirmed that parental educational status has significantly high influence on their wards educational aspiration. Research Question two was on the influence of Parental occupation on their children’s academic aspiration. It had a positive response of 37.99% which shows negative influence. The finding on Research Question three shows that 62% of the respondents were positive about the influence of parental material wealth on their academic aspiration. Based on the above findings conclusion and recommendations were drawn.