Home Structure and Academic Performance of Students in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State: Implications for Counselling

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between home structure and academic performance of public secondary school students in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study utilized survey correlational design. The population of the study consisted of all public senior secondary school students in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State totaling five thousand, nine hundred and eighty three students. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 300 students. A self-constructed questionnaire titled “Home Structure and Academic Performance Questionnaire” (HSAPQ) was used to elicit responses from the respondents. The reliability of instrument was established using test- retest method and a coefficient of 0.72 was obtained. The data collected were analyzed using Point bi-serial and Pearson product moment correlation statistical models. The findings of the study revealed that there is a significant relationship among home structure, gender of parents, parental involvement and academic performance of students. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that parents (single or intact) should be enlightened on the importance of  the home structure on academic performance of their children, and the need to mobilize their resources in ensuring a high level of academic performance for their children/wards.