INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUSON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OFSECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENUGU NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGUSTATE

Abstract The study was carried out to determine the influence of parental socio- economic status on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. Four specific purposes and four corresponding research questions were raised to guide the study. The instrument used to obtain data was a structured questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using mean. The population of the study comprises of 13,349 students in 17 secondary schools in the area. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents. The findings showed that educated parents always demand for progress reports of their children to know the children’s academic and social progress and parents’ concern about students’ grades and performances motivated students’ academic achievement. Based on this, it is strongly recommended that government should ensure the provision of educational facilities for students and parents should be informed that they can improve the education of their children through encouragement, provision of educational facilities and participation.