Impact of Agents of Socialization on the Academic Performance of Social Studies Students in Junior Secondary Schools in Jigawa State
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To examine the role of family as an agent of socialization on the academic performance of Social Studies Students in some Junior Secondary Schools in Jigawa state
- To identify the impact of the school as an agent of socialization on the academic performance of Social Studies Students in some Junior Secondary Schools in Jigawa state.
- To ascertain the contribution of mass media as an agent of socialization on the academic performance of Social Studies Students in Junior Secondary School in Jigawa state.
- To examine whether differences exist between the socialization process of male and female students of Junior Secondary School in Jigawa state and the status of their academic performance.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Agent of Socialization
Socialization agents are a combination of social groups and social institutions that provide the first experiences of socialization. Families, early education, peer groups, the workplace, religion, government, and media all communicate expectations and reinforce norms. People first learn to use the tangible objects of material culture in these settings, as well as being introduced to the beliefs and values of society. Socialization helps people learn to function successfully in their social worlds. How does the process of socialization occur? How do we learn to use the objects of our society’s material culture? How do we come to adopt the beliefs, values, and norms that represent its nonmaterial culture? This learning takes place through interaction with various agents of socialization, like peer groups and families, plus both formal and informal social institutions.
Social agents are;
Family
Should parents get the credit when their children turn out to be good kids and even go on to accomplish great things in life? Should they get the blame if their children turn out to be bad? No parent deserves all the credit or blame for their children’s successes and failures in life, but the evidence indicates that our parents do affect us profoundly. In many ways, we even end up resembling our parents in more than just appearance. The reason we turn out much like our parents, for better or worse, is that our families are such an important part of our socialization process. When we are born, our primary caregivers are almost always one or both of our parents. For several years we have more contact with them than with any other adults. Because this contact occurs in our most formative years, our parents’ interaction with us and the messages they teach us can have a profound impact throughout our lives, as indicated by the stories of Sarah Patton Boyle and Lillian Smith presented earlier.
The ways in which our parents socialize us depend on many factors, two of the most important of which are our parents’ social class and our own biological sex. Melvin Kohn (1965, 1977)Kohn, M. (1965). Social class and parent-child relationships: An interpretation. American Journal of Sociology, 68, 471–480; Kohn, M. (1977). Class and conformity. Homewood, IL: Dorsey. found that working-class and middle-class parents tend to socialize their children very differently.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain impact of agents of socialization on the academic performance of social studies students in junior secondary school. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of agents of socialization on the academic performance of social studies students in junior secondary school
Summary
This study was on impact of agents of socialization on the academic performance of social studies students in junior secondary school in Jigawa state. Four objectives were raised which included; To examine the role of family as an agent of socialization on the academic performance of Social Studies Students in some Junior Secondary Schools in Jigawa state, to identify the impact of the school as an agent of socialization on the academic performance of Social Studies Students in some Junior Secondary Schools in Jigawa state, to ascertain the contribution of mass media as an agent of socialization on the academic performance of Social Studies Students in Junior Secondary School in Jigawa state and to examine whether differences exist between the socialization process of male and female students of Junior Secondary School in Jigawa state and the status of their academic performance. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from selected secondary schools in Jigawa state. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
The home environment affects children’s behaviour. The children growing up in households where parental love is missing, drug abuse is prevalent and there is domestic violence develop social and behaviour problems. The school environment affects social development of children. The schools were found to be admitting learners without a background check. The teachers did not analyse the child’s parental background before administering punishment for indiscipline. The school rules played a key role in management of children’s behaviour in school since they maintained socially acceptable norms within the school. However the school rules did not dictate the form of punishment for non-compliance. The learners in secondary school were not affected by their peers and learners in peer groups did not exhibit same behaviour patterns since the peer effect was only common during play time. The learners also swiftly changed peer groups depending on the play activity that they were involved in. The pupils are exposed to mass media at home and similarly children spend considerable time on television, radio and video games. The children’s’ language and these dance moves were deeply consistent with what the children watched on mass media. The language at times is vulgar and abusive and some dancing styles obscene.
Recommendation
Parents should reduce the amount of time children access the mass media. There should be control on television watching and indulgence in video games. However, parents should also control the mass media content their children are exposed to. Parents should ensure educational content precedes other mass media content.
School should carry out background checks on learners in order to establish behavioural issues that are likely to arise from a particular set of learners. This would assist in discipline management in schools. The teachers should also consider prior behavioural and discipline issues in order to determine how to address the current pupils’ indiscipline.
References
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- Battistich, V. Schaps, E. Watson, M. Solomon, D. & Lewis, C. (2000). Effects of the child development thesis on students’ drug use and other problem behaviours. Journal of Primary Prevention, 21(1), 75–99.
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