INFLUENCE OF FAMILY STABILITY ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS IN OTA, NIGERIA

Success in academic endeavor has been associated with family background of learners in diverse studies. It has even been hypothesized that academic success and failure commence from learners' home. No wonder then that some scholars have advocated that remedies to poor academic performance and or academic failure of students should begin from home. As a matter of fact, quite a number of studies have shown how pronounced or less pronounced family structure could be on academic performance. Lamentably, most of these studies originated from developed countries utilizing foreign participants as usual. In an attempt to fill the gap of inadequate data on the influence of family stability in developing countries this study investigated the influence of family stability on the academic performance of senior secondary school students. A total of 377 respondents with age ranging from 11 to 18 years and mean age of 15 years were selected for the study from two senior secondary schools in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The cross-sectional study employed the descriptive survey method. Questionnaire on Family Stability (QFS) was employed for data collection. Results analysis via correlation coefficient, t-test, and multiple regression indicate no significant relationship between family stability and academic performance (r = .014, p>0.05); no significant difference between the academic performance of respondents with stable and unstable families (t = 1.005, df = 375, p>0.05); and no significant contribution of family stability on academic performance (r(2) = .006; F-(1,F-375) = 2.189; p > 0.005). From the findings it is imperative that parents and care givers should be enlightened on the importance of maintaining a stable family and structure because it has an overwhelming influence on the life of children especially as regards social adjustment and competence, assertiveness and students' academic performance.