FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PRINCIPLES OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNT IN SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN OBINGWA L.G.A OF ABIA STATE

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Problem Academic attainment is an important parameter in measuring success in students observations and report have shown that success or high academic achievement has become a herculean task to accomplish by students in recent times (Ushie et al., 2015). In Nigeria at large secondary schools, irrespective of ownership are expected to function in compliance with the achievement of the national education objectives. This end, students are expected to perform brilliantly in the final examination as this determines the quality of output of secondary schools. This is one of the parameters used to measure the effectiveness of a school system. The better the performance of the students more effective the system is assumed to be (Philias and Wanjobi 2016). The senior secondary school curriculum is based on the National Policy on Education with the quality of instruction oriented towards inculcating certain values. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014) started the broad goal of the secondary school education is to prepare individuals for useful living within the society and higher education. To achieve this objective, secondary school education in Nigeria has six years duration given in two stages three years of junior secondary school followed by three years of senior secondary school. The Curriculum designed for senior secondary school is comprehensive and broad based, aimed at broadening student's knowledge and outlook. Subjects offered in senior school are in three group's core subject's vocational and non-vocational subjects. One of the vocational subjects is principles of accounts. Principles of accounts is one of the vocational elective that students are expected to offer from the list of elective subjects in group B to give a maximum eight or nine subject. Apart from the Core subjects, the students are expected to offer a minimum of one and maximum of three from the list of elective subjects in group B and C to give a maximum eight or nine subjects (Yusuf 2016) According to WAEC (2015), principles of accounts is the most popular subject that students offer among the vocational elective students. Other subjects in this category include Agriculture, commerce, computer education, clothing and textiles, food and nutrition, home management, technical drawing, fine art, music. According to Asaolu (2015), book keeping and accounting is the process of recording, classifying, selecting, measuring, interpreting, summarizing and reporting financial data of an organization to the user's fur objective assessment and decision making. Accounting data are processed into accounting information through the use of accounting principles and conventions. The accounting principles are known as 'generally accepted accounting principles. They are the basic fundamentals which guide accountants in recording, appreciating and assessing accounting information as well as the preparation and interpretation of financial statements. The accounting information system is proven, time honored and its format is universally understood by their counterparts in other parts of the world because the information system is based on principles that are widely accepted and globally used (Yusuf, 2016). According to Osonwa, Adejobi, Iyam and Osonwa (2018), academic performance (most especially of senior secondary school students) has been largely associated with many factors. Most students in senior secondary schools in Nigeria are daily confronted under serious emotional trains occasioned by long walk to school, poor school environment, and being by unmotivated teachers. Couple with this, is an uncooperative-to-study attitude of parents who more often toil to provide for the needs of the family. These would definitely not augur well for academic success. Academic performance is undoubtedly a research after the heart of educators, teachers, psychologists, policy makers, parents and guardians, social workers, etc. (Osonwa, Adejobi, Iyam, 2018). In their attempts to investigate what determines academic outcomes of learners, they have come with more questions than answer. In recent, prior literature has shown that learning outcomes (academic achievement and academic performance) have been determined by such variables as; Family, schools, society and motivation factors (Aremu and Jokan, 2016; Aremu and Oluwole, 2015; Aremu 2015). In spite of the seeming exhaustiveness of literature on the determinant of academic performance of learners, these seem to be more area of Interest to be investigated. This becomes obvious in view of the continuous attention of government and policy makers and planners. It has been observed that the falling academics standard and the influencing factors include the economic status of the parent. Owing to the present economic situation in the country, many poor parents are forced by circumstance to saddle the young ones with chores like hawking wares, cleaning the house and doing other menial jobs around the house before going to school and after school hours. Domestic chores like these no doubt help to train the children and make them realize that they can and should contribute their own quota to the general upset of the family. However, when parents and guardians burden their children with work excessively, leaving little or no study time for the children, their school work is bound to suffer (Akanle, 2015). Danesty and Otediran (2016) lamented that street hawking among young school students have psychologically imposed other problems like sex networking behavior, juvenile delinquent behavior, which takes much of the student school time that necessitated the poor academic performance and drop out syndrome noticed among young school students. Nevertheless, they also lamented that the material needs of the young students have prompted their poor performance in public examination, such as Junior secondary school certificate (JSSC West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO).Emmanuel and Hammed (2018) on their part reiterated that in the teaching learning process, both the teacher and the learners must be active. The learner learns through some activities while the teacher does all he considers necessary to make learning possible for any society to be equipped with the basic knowledge and skills that will enable it to better appreciate the nature of economic problems, and how to make rational economic decisions such a society must depend on the accumulated knowledge of economics, which the citizens possess. For many years, educators and researcher have debated over which variables influence student achievement. A growing body of evidence suggests that schools can make a great difference in terms of student achievement, and a substantial portion of that difference is attributable to teachers (Darling-Hammond 2015). School sector (public and private) and class size are two important structural components of schools which the economic status of parent would determine the one they could afford. Private schools tend to have both better funding and smaller class sizes than public schools. The additional funding of private schools leads to better academic performance and more access to resources such as computer which have shown to enhance academic achievement (Crossnoe, Johnson, Elder, 2016; and Eamon, 2017. Smaller class sizes create more inmates setting and therefore can increase teacher student bonding which has also been shown to have a positive effects on students’ success. Student from low economic background who attend poorly funded schools do not perform as well as students from higher economic classes (Crossnoe et al, 2015, Eamon, 2016). This trend is posing huge problems to parents, government, political parties and stakeholders in education. A common practice in the education system is the way knowledge being taught. Students often have the expectation that their role in the knowledge transmission process is to sit passively in class and waiting for their lectures to impact the knowledge to them. Such attitude, however, led the students to come to class unprepared, reluctant to do reasoning and discussion and failure on providing two-way communication. Consequently, such attitude has led the students to become more assisted learners rather than self-directed learners, which impair their ability in the survival of the competitive world. To overcome such imitation, there have been calls by practitioners and universities for changes in the learning approach from teacher-centeredness to student-centeredness. One of the approaches suggested to improving students' performance is the cooperative learning approach (Zain et al 2016). Intuitively one expects the performance of a student to be a function of some number of factors (parameters) relating to the background and intelligence of said students. It is however obvious that it will be quite difficult finding an analytical (or a mathematical) model that may acceptably model this performance/factors relationship. However, one practical approach for predicting the performance of a student may be by "extrapolating from historical data of past student's background and their associated performances. Indeed, family background is the foundation for children's development, as such family background in terms of family type, size, socio-economic status and educational background play important role in children's educational attainment and social integration (Osunloye, 2016, Ushie et al, 2018). 1.2 Statement of the Problem In Nigeria, public discussions frequently focus on educational standards. The public's unhappiness becomes more prominent following the annual release of the West African senior school Certificate Examination results. Student's outcomes in such match the government and parental investment (Akinsolu, 2021) All stakeholders are Concerned about why the system is turning out graduates with poor results. To them, it is questionable whether or not teachers in the secondary schools, the most important factor in the effectiveness of schools and in the quality of a child's education are competent to teach effectively. In Nigeria, most families are poor and cannot adequately afford 3-square meals not to talk of meeting the educational needs of their children. This indeed has serious implication on the learning and performance of less privilege students in school, as such; students from such families are forced to miss classes, unable to do their assignments and most seriously are driven from school due to non-payment of school fees. All these, have significant effects on the development of the child (Udida, Ukwayi; and Ogodo, 2018). It has been observed that students’ performance at their final examination in this subject has been negatively skewed consecutively for the past few years. It is also evident from the report of the West African Examination Council (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) that student's performance in financial accounting is low. Solomon (2018) submitted that the effect of poor performance on the individual and the society makes it necessary to not only identify factors of poor performance but how to remediate them, because educational failure is an economic failure. The National policy of education states, "No education system can rise above the quality of teachers in the system". There is a need to focus on schools and teachers' adequacy and competency in respect to their pedagogical practices and strategies and mastery of the curriculum and subject content (Rodgers, 2017). 1.3 Scope of the Study The scope of this study is limited to factors influencing the performance of students in financial accounting in senior secondary school Certificate Examination in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. 1.4 Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to examine the factor influencing the performance of students in financial accounting in senior secondary school Certificate Examination of Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. Specifically the study seeks to: 1. determine if students study habit and attitude towards learning of financial accounting influences their performance in senior secondary school certificate examination. 2. evaluate effects of learning environment on teaching and performance of students in financial accounting in Obingwa secondary schools 3. assess the influence of economic status of parents on the academic performance of students in financial accounting in Obingwa secondary schools. 4. investigate the dearth of facilities and instructional materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting in Obingwa secondary schools. 1.5 Significance of the Study The findings of this study may be of benefits to students, teachers, Ministry of Education, Curriculum planners and future researchers, iinterested students or researchers who may want to carry out similar study will find this work very worthwhile. Students will also have relevant manipulative skill and become a saleable member of the society. It would also build the confidence in them as they contribute their quota in the society thereby making good living from the acquired skills. The students who have acquired such skills would be self-reliant and useful to themselves, industrial sector and society at large. The study also will help students become more strategic learners who can take significant responsibility for their learning.This study will also be helpful to the curriculum developers to review the accounting syllabus in the future. The outcome of this study would be beneficial to the ministry of education, being the Policy maker in planning and decision-making. It would help in policy formulation, Implementation, evaluation and reformation. The study will reveal to the government the appropriate strategies needed for improving teaching and learning of financial accounting subject in our school system, with the aim of helping to adopt them by providing grant in aid to secondary schools. To the financial accounting teachers; the study will reveal appropriate teaching strategies that could improve the teachers effectiveness in teaching of financial accounting, It is hoped that the teachers will employ them, thereby improving teaching and learning process. 1.6 Research Questions The following research questions guided the study. 1. How do students study habit and attitude towards learning of accounting influences their performance in senior secondary school certificate? 2. How does learning environment have any effect on teaching in Obingwa secondary schools? 3. What influence does economic status of parents have on financial accounting in Obingwa secondary school? 4. What are the influence of facilities and instructional materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting in Obingwa secondary schools? CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter on review of literatures will be discussed under the following subheadings. Conceptual framework, Theoretical framework Empirical studies and summary. 2.1 Conceptual Framework 2.1.1 Meaning and Definition of Accounting Accounting according to Udoh (2016) is required to attain the goal of integrating an individual into a sound and effective citizenship and also to achieve other stated objectives for molding of the individual for the society. Financial Accounting as defined by Osuala (2015) is a specialized area of instruction that deals directly with business and facts, business understanding, economic understanding, business attitudes and appreciations necessary to understand and adjust to the economic and social institution called "Business." Accounting is also a means of social communication in which changes and improvements are continually being made in order to communicate business information more efficiently (Adetayo, 2020). In line with this definition, Udoh (2016), outline the objectives of Accounting as: 1. Equipping individual trainees with technical and vocational skills needed for commercial and economic development. 2. Giving individual trainees that self-confidence in business problem solving. 3. Giving an introduction to professional studies in accounting and other business course. 4. Enabling the trainees to have intelligent understanding of the increasing complexity of business world. On his part Yusuf (2019) contributed that books of accounts prepared by accountants in one part of the world are easily understood by their counterparts in other parts of the world because the information system is based on principles that are widely accepted and globally used. According to the national examination council (NECO 2020), the general objectives of studying book keeping and accounts at senior secondary school are as follows: 1. To enable senior secondary school students appreciate the basic rules, functions and principles of accenting. 2. To lay proper foundation for further study of accountancy and allied courses at higher level and 3. To enable the students understand basic accounting principles, practice and their applications to modern business activities. The curriculum content has been developed into ten units, ranging from principles to account of companies and non-profit making organization and items such as contracts. New topics such as the history of book keeping and accounting in Nigeria, careers available in this field and public service accounting have been introduced. It is recommended that: Units 1-4 be taught in first year of senior secondary school. Units 5-9 the second year of senior secondary school. Units 10-11 the final year of senior secondary school. 2.1.2 Factors Influencing Students Performance. Students' academic achievement and educational attainment have been studied within different frameworks. Many of them have a focus on parents' education occupation or home background (like; family income, language of the home, activities of the family and work methods), While other studies looked at it from the teachers' variables (such as teachers age, experience, education, gender etc), school variables (such as environment, structures, buildings, location, etc), students' variables (such as attitude, self- concept, self-esteem, study habit, interest, etc) or parents support (such as achievement motivation of wards, parental attitudes towards education, the aspiration of parents etc) (Akinsaya, Ajayi and Salomi, 2021). According to Eweniyi (2019), different factors are capable of influencing the academic performance of a child. Such factors may be child's internal state (intelligence state of health, motivation, anxiety etc) and their environment, adequacy of educational infrastructure like textbooks and well-equipped laboratories).Investigation of these factors has produced several findings by researchers. For examples, Clemens and Emeka (1984) have attributed the cause of poor academic performance to a combination of personal and institutional factors. Personal factors relate to the individual's intelligence, knowledge and ability. While institutional factors are family or parental influences, societal influences, institutional influences and school related factors, teachers’ related report, student/lecturer accommodation and, living conditions. In the same vein, of poor academic other has examined the cause’s performance among secondary school students. Some of the factors identified are intellectual ability, poor study habit, achievement motivation, lack of vocational goals, low self-concept, low socioeconomic status of the family, poor family structure and anxiety (Udida, Ukwayi, Ogodo and Francis, 2018). The consequences of these Include: indiscipline in schools and low level of educational standard. 2.1.3 Parental Economic Status and its Influence on Students Academic Performance Poor academic performance according to Aremu and Sokan (2016) is a performance that is adjudged by the examine/testee and some other significant as falling below an expected standard. Poor academic performance has been observed in school subjects especially Mathematics and English language among secondary school students (Adesemowo, 2015). Aremu (2015) stresses that academic failure is not only frustrating to the students and the parents, its effect are equally grave on the society in terms of dearth of manpower in all spheres of the economy and politics. Education of secondary school level is supposed to be the bedrock and the foundations towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment as well as an instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological scientific and cultural development in the country. The National Policy on Education (2016) stipulated that secondary education is an instrument for national development that fosters the worth and development of the individual for further education and development, general development of the society and equality of educational opportunities to all Nigerian children, irrespective of any real or marginal disabilities. In most African countries and western world, economic status of a family is usually linked with the family's income, parents educational level, parents occupation and social status among the skills and kin and even at the global level. Ford and Harris (1997) followed this logic while examining parental influences on African American student’s school environment by focusing on specific socio demo-graphic factors inducing parents’ level of education, marital status, and family income. It is generally believed that children from high and middle economic status parents are better exposed to a learning environment at home because of provision and availability of extra learning facilities. The use of data about family possessions may be thought to be connected to economic status, student who used a computer both at home and at school achieved a significantly higher science score than those who only used a computer at school (Thomson and Flemir 2016). Children from low socioeconomic status parent do not have the facilities; hence, have access to extra learning opportunity to get to the top of their educational ladder may not be very easy. Drummond and Stipek (2016) while discussing the "low-income parents" beliefs about their role in children's academic learning mentioned that a few of these parents indicated that their responsibilities were limited in meeting children's basic and social emotional needs, such as providing clothing emotional support and emotions or respond appropriately to others from watching cartoons, they need warm, person-to-person interactions. The failure to form positive relationships with peers inflicts (Szewczyk Consequences Socio-emotional long term Sokolowski; Bost and Wainwright 2015). Many individuals who might have done this nation proud in different fields have been forced into uninspired careers due to unavailability of finance resources. Such individuals are forced out to school and made to engage in hawking, selling packaged drinking water and the likes so as to save money for their school expenses. Most of the time they cannot afford instructional materials, and are always at the mercy of examiners during examination period. The persistence of this in life of an individual student may spell doom for his academic success. Tracy and Walter (1998) corroborate this when they submit that individuals at the lowest economic level are often the least well-served by the school system. Other factors according to Dantesy (2016), complementing environmental and socio-economic factors to produce high academic achievement and performance include good teaching, counseling, good administration, good seating arrangement and good building. Dilapidating buildings, lacking mental stimulating faculties that are characterized with low or no seating arrangement will also be destructive. Dantesy (2015) however lamented that the innovative environment do stimulate head start learning and mental perception, not only that, it has also been proved that students that come from simulative environment with laboratory equipment or those that are taught with rich instructional aids, pictures, and allowed to demonstrate using their functional peripheral nerves like eyes, hands, and sense of taste performed better than those trained under theoretical and canopy of abstraction. Thus, teaching and learning should be done under organized, planned, and fortified environment with learning instructional aids to stimulate student's sense of conception, perception and concentration to facilitate systematic understanding and acquisition of knowledge in them. In sum, a combination of a healthy family background, living in a good environment plus the child being educated in a conclusive environment with fortified learning or instructional aids or motivational incentives will prompt academic performance and lack of it will retard academic performance Osonwa, Adejobi, Iyam, and Osonwa (2018). Educational Asiklria (2015) noted that family background and socio-economic status influence the academic performance of students; that these two are lumped together because they are related and one may rightly say that they are married and hence should not be discovered. He opines that socio-class or status could be defined more objectively by using such indices as occupation, income and education. Wealth is strongly correlated with education and occupation and when socio-economic status is measured these other factors are usually included. Schulz (2015) contended that socio-economic status (SES) is an important explanatory factor in many different disciplines like health, child development and educational research. Research has shown that socio-economic status is associated with health, cognitive and. Socio-emotional outcomes. In general educational outcome have been shown to be influenced by family background in many different and complex ways. For example, the socio-economic status of families has been consistently found to be an important variable in explaining, variance in student achievement. Socio-economic background may affect learning outcomes in numerous ways. From the outset, parents with higher socioeconomic status are able to provide their children with the (often necessary) financial support and home resources for individual learning. They are also more likely to provide a more simulative home environment to promote cognitive development. At the level of educational providers, students from high SES families are also more likely to attend better schools in particular in countries with differentiated (or "tracked" educational systems, strong segregation in the school system according to advantages of private over public schooling. Chen (2019) studied the effects of family background, ability and student achievement, but the roles of father's education and mother's education differ across child gender and levels of ability. For examples, father's education has achievements for both boys and girls, while mother's education only matters for girls. The effect of fathers’ education matters for lower ability children, while mother's education matters for higher ability children. OECD/UNESCO (2018) alleged that family characteristics are a major source of disparity in student's educational outcomes. More family financial resources, which are associated with parent's occupation and educational attainment, often imply increased learning opportunities both at home and in school. Better-educated parents can contribute to their children's learning through their day-to-day interactions with their children and involving themselves in their children's school work. Parents with higher occupational status and educational attainment may also have higher aspirations and expectations for their children's occupation and education, which in turn can influence their commitment to learning. Students whose parents have better jobs and higher levels of educational attainment and who are exposed to more educational and cultural resources at home tend and have higher levels of literacy performance. Educational systems face the challenging task of compensating students from less advantaged backgrounds, for the deficit in economic, social and cultural capital they experience at home. Expanding student's knowledge of occupational choices and increasing their occupational aspirations may help them to become more motivated learners. The relationship between family SES and academic achievement is referred to in the literature as a socio- economic gradient because it is gradual and increases across the range of SES or as a s Socio-economic gap because it implies a gap in academic achievement between students of high and low SES families, Scholars have shown that a socio-economic gap in the early school years has lasting consequences. Particularly, as low SES children get older their situation tends to Worsen. Because of their relatively poor skills, they are prone to have school early and are less likely to be assigned to the college preparatory track. In the longer term, they are less likely to enter the labour market successfully or pursue post-secondary education (Udida, Ukwayi, Ogodo and Francis, 2021). The mother's education level has an effect on student's academic achievement. In many studies, mother's education had a more significant effect on children's scores than income. Through multiple studies the mother s educational level was a predictor of school completion for all middle adolescents participating in the studies (Halpern-Felscher et al, 1997). Peters and Mullis (1997) found that parental education had a significant effect on academic achievement. The mother's education level had a 20% higher affect than the father's education level on the academic outcomes of adolescents (Peters and Mullis, 1997). 2.1.4 Study Habit and its Influence on Students Academic Performance According to Pelemo (1994) study habit is the degree to which a learner indentifies with learning activities such as attending to class, doing homework, reading, taking test or examinations, devoting time for private studies, associating adequately with the teacher and peer groups. Hamuyiwa (1998) citing Bakare (1970) identified the factors of study habit as commitment to homework and assignment, time allocation to study, reading and note taking, study period procedures, concentration, written work relationship with examination and teacher consultation. This implies that study habit can be conceived as the degree of commitment to all learning activities. Study habit, according to Olatoye (2017), is the total of all the behavior patterns (ideational, verbal, psychomotor, emotional and neurphysiological) that determined the purpose and enforced practice that the individual adopts in order to learn and achieve competence. Study habit has been found to correlate highly with academic achievement (Ifamuyina, 1998). Study habit according to Isangedighi (1997) is behaviors that are easily manifested without conscious exertion on the part of the learner. These behaviors are normally manifested in learner's responses to class-work or assignments, study procedure, reading and note taking, concentration, time scheduled for study, consultation with teachers and tactic used in examination (Umoriyang, 2019). According to Adetayo (2021), the study habit adopted by students can either be poor and ineffective or well planned and effective. Study habit according to Yoloye (2019) involves both physical and psychological components and preparations. For examples, students must be convinced that by studying a particular subject, he will perform well in his it, and sub-sequently, make up his mind whether he will study such subject. It follows therefore, that if a an individual has a negative attitude towards a subject, the individual will have low level of confidence to study and achieve better in the subject. In order to study therefore, the individual needs to have a strong will and determination that he will succeed in it because a positive attitude towards a subject will build the required confidence for success in the individual. 2.1.5 Family Structure and students’ Academic Performance Family background is the foundation for children's development, as such family background in terms of family structure, size; socio-economic status and educational background play important role in students educational attainment and socio integration (Osunloye, 2016) However, reviewed literature indicated that there is an awareness of the importance of the home environment or family on siblings or children academic performance. The home has a great influence on the child's psychological emotional, social and economic state. According to family Deficit Model, single parent families have a negative impact on the child in that it is bad for the child's upbringing and cognitive development (Ushie, Emeka, Onoga, Owolabi, 2018). Indeed, children from Single-parent families are at greater risk than children in two parent families, even when they have the same academic abilities; Thiessen (2021) posited that children from single-parent families are three times more likely to drop out or high school than children from two parent families. Likewise, Amato and Keith (2019) and Lauer and Laver (2019) found that children in single-parent families may be at greater risk than children of two-parent families. Because they are the primary and frequently sole source of financial support for the family, single-parents have less time to help children with homework, are less likely to use consistent discipline, and have less parental control, and all of these conditions may lead to lower academic achievement (Astone and Mclanahan, 2019, Mulkey et al, 2019). In the view of Ajila and Olutola (2020), the state of the home affects the individual since the parents are the first Socializing agents in an individual's life. This is because the family background and context of a child affect his reaction to life situations and his level of performance. Family structure in terms of single and two parent families has been noted in the literature to have a significant influence on student's performance and mental development (Teniblaje, 2019, Eweniyi, 2020) this is because providing a supportive learning environment at home requires parents time as much as financial resources. According to Salami and Alawode (2015), the existence of single-parents in Nigeria is formerly unknown and where they existed they are ignored as exceptional cases. However, nowadays, they are fast growing family patterns both inside and outside Nigeria. Although there are no available statistics of single-parent families in Nigeria (Salami and Alawode, 2015) practiced experience and newspaper reports show that there is an increase of single parents in Nigeria. In the Western countries, there is growing increase in the percentage of adults and children living in single. parents households (Nwachukwu, 2016). Single-parent families have on average lower income than two-parent families and are thus more constrained in ensuring adequate financial resources to meet their children's learning needs. In addition, since single parents must cope with the double responsibility of work and child-rearing, it may be more challenging for them to provide and maintain a supportive learning environment for their children (OECD/UNESCO, 2018). Such families according to children's Defence Fund (2018) are faced with the challenges of diminished financial resources, assumptions of new roles and responsibilities, establishment of new patterns in intra-familial interaction and reorganization of routines and schedules (Agulanna, 2017 these conditions are not conducive for effective parenting. This is because when the single parent is overburdened by responsibilities and by their own emotional reaction to their situation, they often become irritable, impatient and insensitive to their children's needs which may affect children performance in school (Nzewunwah, 1995). According to Fedeiye (1985) in two parent homes, both parents have roles to play in child education. The father is to provide the necessary tools for the educational advancement, while the mother is supposed to supplement the father's efforts in this regard. When the father id absence and the mother is not privileged enough to cater for all the basic needs as well as supervised the academic performance of the child, the child will be backward or withdrawn. In similar view, Ortese (1998) noted that when the mother is absent and the father is not privileged enough. A single parent faces double responsibilities requiring time, attention and money of the parent. A child from homes where the father and the mother are present will be well taken care of and socialized in the best way possible. This is due to the fact that the process of socialization depends on both parents playing complimentary roles in bringing up the Such a child is likely to suffer deprivation and denial of child. Some rights and opportunities which may have tremendous influence on their performance in real life situations. 2.1.6 Teachers Qualification and Students Performance in Nigeria Schools a teacher or school teacher is a person who provides education for pupils (children) and students (adults). The role of teacher r is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a or other place of formal education. In many school countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional qualifications or credentials from a university or college. These professional qualifications include the study of pedagogy, the science of teaching. May Teachers, like other professional, may have to continue their after they qualify, a process known as continuing education professional development. Teachers may use a lesson plan to facilitate student learning, providing a course of study which is called the curriculum. A teacher's role may vary among cultures. Teachers may provide instruction in literacy and numeracy craftsmanship or vocational training, the arts, religion, civics, community roles, or life skills. A teacher who facilitates education for an individual may also be described as a personal tutor or largely historically, a governess. In some countries, formal education can take place through home schooling. Informal learning may be teacher occupying a transient or ongoing role, such as a family member, or by anyone with knowledge or skills in a family the wider community setting. According to Federal Ministry of Education (2017), as a profession now has all the features of teaching as professionalism associated with other noble professions. Part these features are Coded and standardized instruments or documents called professional standards that clearly and precisely define what the professional must know and put into practice and the core values, ideas and conduct that the professional m must exhibit. Professional standards therefore refers to a n minimum set of knowledge, skills, values, conduct, rights, privileges and obligations expected attitude, of a professional, 2.1.7 Instructional Material and Students Performance in Nigerian Schools There is strong evidence that the choice of instructional materials has large effects, on student learning-effects that rival in size those that are associated with differences in teacher effectiveness (Blurt, 2017). But whereas improving teacher quality through changes in the preparation and professional development of teachers and the human resources policies surrounding their employment is challenging, expensive, and time consuming, making better choices among available instructional materials should be relatively easy, inexpensive and quick. Student learning occurs primarily through interactions with people (teachers and peers) and instructional materials (textbooks, workbooks, instructional software, web-based content, homework, projects, quizzes and tests). The contexts within which interactions occur are surely important. The effectiveness of teachers, the behavior of peers, and the instructional materials with which students have the opportunity to interact are affected by layers of influences that range from circumstances in the home, to leadership in the school, to the interactional macro-economy and everything in between. But students do not engage in instructional interactions with the governance mechanism for their or with state standard or with a school district's evaluation system for teachers or with collective bargaining or with the leadership qualities of their school principal they learn by engaging cognitive processes that are triggered and shaped by interactions with people and instructional materials. Blurt (2017) observed that instructional materials are highly important for teaching, especially for inexperienced teachers. Teachers rely on instructional materials in every aspect of teaching. They need materials for background information on the subject they are teaching. Young teachers usually have not built up their expertise whenever they enter into the field. Teachers often use instructional materials for lesson planning. These materials are also by teachers to assess the knowledge of their needed by students. Teachers often assess students by assigning tasks, creating projects, and administering exams. Instructional materials are essential for all of these activities. Teachers are often expected to create their own lesson plans. This can be difficult, especially if the teacher has limited background knowledge on the subject. Teachers are expected to have a wide variety of expertise in many different fields. Often, they need instructional aides to supplement their knowledge. Instructional materials can help provide background knowledge on the subject the teacher is planning for, and offer suggestions for usually dependent on them to do their job properly. Assessing students correctly can Sometimes be a challenge. There is some controversy about the effectiveness of exams in assessing the ability of students. Instructional materials can offer some insight methods of creating exams. These materials can also help teachers create assignments and project ideas for students. Teachers are required to use several different methods for assessing their students in order to provide the most accurate assessments. Instructional materials often provide innovative and creative ways to assess students' performance. It is hard to imagine any teacher who is capable of teaching effectively without the complement of instructional materials. In addition to this, any teacher who is deprived of instructional materials most likely experiences stress and anxiety on a daily basis. 2.1.8 Learning Environment, School Facilities and Students Performance in Nigeria Schools. A rich and stimulating learning environment during the early years and beyond is essential to the development of economics as a subject. Ellis and Tomlison (1980) recommended Some basis skills to be taught to learners so that they can write essays proficiently. Such skills include spellings, punctuation, linguistic skills and convention of style. Reyner et al (2001"57), ascertained that "many good teachers are adaptive rather than rigid in their approach to teaching children and only loosely base their instruction on a given method. There are odds against the Nigerian students in economics, Trifonovitch (1981) indicated that a student is automatically when he already has placed at a disadvantage a language of his own and he is asked to learn a subject using another language such as English. Majority of secondary school students in Nigeria already have various mother tongues before they are admitted into school. Nigeria is reputed to have over 250 languages. The all important question is how can Nigeria students master a subject such as economics with its basic English terms and components when they learn it as Lz? the importance of economic in the Nigerian society and especially as the teaching of economics cannot be over-emphasized. Schools are established for the purpose of teaching and learning. It is also more important that the teachers and learners are properly accommodated to facilitate the teaching and learning that go on there. This is the essence of the school plant and facilities (Alimi 2017) Therefore school facilities are the Space interpretation and physical in Ondo of expression of the school Curriculum. In Nigeria at large and state in particular, secondary schools, irrespective of Ownership are expected to function in compliance with the achievement of the national education objectives. To this end, students are expected to perform brilliantly in the final examination as this determines the quality of output of secondary schools. This is one of the parameters used to measure the effectiveness of a school system. The better the performance of the students, the more effective the system is assumed to be (Philians and Klanjobi, 2016). In another related study, Cynthia and Mega (2018) confirmed a strong and positive relationship between equality of school facilities and student achievement in English and mathematics. In Nigeria, it is the general opinion of people that terms of the private schools are better in availability of human and physical facilities and consequently student's performance than public school. This situation has made many parents to enroll their children in private secondary school. Experience has also shown that most students who secured admission into tertiary institution such as colleges of education, polytechnics and universities are from private secondary schools. The consequence of mass failure in public examination is the inability of learners to proceed to higher educational institution. As a result of this poor performance, stakeholders in education are curious to know the casual factors associated with the problem. Causes of the poor academic, performance could include ownership of the school and inadequate facilities. Facilities are of everything used directly or indirectly for the benefit of education. Facilities Could also be explained as the entire school plant such as blocks of classrooms, staffrooms, laboratories, workshops, libraries, laboratory equipment, consumables, audio, visual aids, electricity, water, chairs, tables, stationeries, playground, and storage. Spaces and others which school has . It has always been realized that facilities are very important in the development and improvement of education in Nigeria. A school without facilities, either private or public, may not be able to achieve the stated goals and objectives of the system. When facilities are available and skillfully utilized, they influence learning and making it more meaningful. Facilities in education are very vital because they aid teaching and learning (Alimi, Elinola, and Alabi, 2017). 2.1.9 Motivation and Student's Performance in Nigeria Schools Gardner (2001) explains that. in a classroom context, this term subsumes attitude towards the teacher classmates, coursework, activities associated with the course, and all other facets of the situation in which the economics is learned. Integrativeness and attitudes towards the learning situation together contribute to overall motivation to learn as a subject. In this conceptualization of the economics term, a motivated individual makes effort to learn the subject (i.e. does their homework participates in class etc) wants to learn the subject, and will enjoy learning the subject. Studies of various age groups in a variety of content areas support the idea that intrinsically motivated students perform better in the classroom. Evidence suggests that these students, as well' as students who receive autonomy-Support from teachers to enhance their intrinsic motivation, perceive themselves to be more competent and have more interest in and enjoyment of material. Instructor autonomy-support also predicts academic performance (Black and Deci, 2020). Autonomy support have refers to instructors who understand and empathize with students' perspectives and students to make choices and initiate activities students with high perceived competence receive better grade in some subjects. Those who are more intrinsically motivated are more involved and persistent, participate more, and are curious about school activities. Whereas more extrinsically motivated students report feeling angrier, anxious, and bored at school and therefore tend to avoid school activities. Again, more autonomous/intrinsically motivated students receive better grades than their extrinsically motivated peers. 2.2 Theoretical Framework Theory without a fact becomes fantasy, uncontrolled imagination, and a reverie. Based on this requirement, theory is presented. Murray’s Theory of motivation; In 1938, Murray proposed a theory of motivation classified as a need theory. He asserted that every need has a concomitant feeling or emotion, and any unsatisfied need would induce an individual to work persistently until the need is satisfied. The need state in an individual may be weak or intense, momentary or enduring, though unobservable, but would normally lead to an event or covert behaviour that is intended to satisfy the individual, there by changing the circumstances that initiated it. One of his categories of human needs is: 1. Psychogenic Needs: there are of two categories (needs related to someone’s task and need related to the inter-personal relationship. Psychogenic needs of students  Needs related to student’s tasks: the needs that affect students work and Need that affects students level of performance.  Needs related to student’s inter-personal relationship: needs that keep people apart and need that hold people together. Educational implication of this Need In the first instance teachers should recognize that for learning to take place at all, the psychogenic need have to be satisfied. They should show awareness of the need to achieve and encourage students to do so by providing a variety of learning experiences, the content, materials, methods of teaching and assignment should also be diversified. 2.3 Empirical Studies Name of author(s): Fod and Harris, 1997, Steinbera, 1992, Apple and Zenk, 1996, Casanova, Garcia-Linares, Torre and Carpio 2015 Li-grining 2019, Birch and Gussow 1979, Bandele 2018, Adesola 2015, Alimi (2017). Akinfolarin 2018, Ayodele (2020) and Vandiver (2011), Alimi, Ehinola, Alabi 2017, Ushie, Onongha, Owolabi and Emeka (2022), Osonwa, Adejobi, Iyam, and Osonwa (2018). This study sought to find out “Factors influencing the performance of students in principles of financial accounting in senior secondary school certificate examination in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Population of the study comprised 5,389 accounting students. Simple random sampling was used to select 845 accounting students as sample for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire validated by three experts with a reliability coefficient of 0.81. Data collected were analyzed using mean for the research questions and z-test for testing the null hypotheses. Findings revealed that institutional and socio-economic factors affect students’ academic performance. Osonwa, Adejobi, Iyam, and Osonwa (2018) examined if economic status of parents, a determinant on academic performance secondary schools students in Ibadan. Using questionnaire distributed to 512 students their finding revealed that there is a significant relationship between the economic status and academic achievements of students, those from lower income houses score significantly lower children from than higher income household. The explanation for the poor academic achievement of students from low economics status homes is that the parent has 80 much work and family responsibilities that require time, attention, and with the and money which he/she cannot meet Consequences of paying less attention to the education of his/her children. The result is poor academic achievement on the part of the children from such homes. Environmental factors are also contributors to children that live in poverty being four times more likely to have learning disabilities than non poverty students it is a Combination of these environmental factors as well as family influence that contributes to student's academic success. If student has not don't fit, however, eaten for days and has clothes that he/she be expected to maintain focus in a classroom? Student’s coming from poverty are not provided the same tools as the wealthy; they are entering schools already blind those not living in similar conditions. Considerable numbers of researches repeatedly have shown that low socio-economic status is linked to a range of indicators of child and adolescent wellbeing, including student's academic achievement.. Poverty contributes towards educational failure, simply because poor are all "culturally disadvantaged," but because their children are all health and nutritional status is inadequate to allow for the maximum mental development and for the realization of their educational potential. 2.4 Summary of literature reviewed The summary of this chapter focused on three broad headings conceptual background, theoretical framework and empirical studies. Under the conceptual background the study looked at meaning and definition of accounting, factors influencing students performance, parental economic status and it's influence on student academic performance. Study habits and its influence in students academic performance, family structure and students academic performance, teacher's qualifications and students academic performance, instructional materials and students academic performance, learning environment, school facilities and students academic performance. CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter deals with the methods and procedures for carrying out this study. It is organized under the following sub - headings; research design, areas of the study, population of the study, sample and sampling techniques, instrumentation, development of the instrument, validation of the instrument, reliability of the instrument, administration of the instrument and methods of data analyzed. 3.1 Research Design The design of this study is a survey on factors influencing the performance of students in financial accounting in selected secondary schools in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia state. 3.2 Research Area The area of the study is Obingwa Local Government Area in Abia state. Obingwa is a commercial town, where the people in the area are predominately farmers, civil servants traders etc. Its inhabitants are made up of indigenes and non-indigenes. Obingwa Community consists of the Rural Areas. Where we also have, The National Institute for Nigerian Languages University (NINLAN) at Obikabia. The rural areas include: Opobo Road Ogbor-Hill, Ahiaba, Abala-Nkwonwelechi, Ayaba-Ubi, Iheorji, Obikabia, Ohuru-Amaige, Ohuru-Amangwo, Ohuru-Umuekensu, Osaokea, Osusu-Umukpegh, Umuagu, Umuariama, Umuelendu, Umueme, Umuibe, Umukalika, Umunwankwo, Umuohia, Umuojima, Umuokea, Umuonyengwa, Mgboko-Amiri, Azaima, Mgboko-Amaku, Mgboko-Okpulu, Mgboko-Umuezi, Mgboko-Umuoba, Obete, Ofokobe, Umuikeaba, Umukpi, Umuobasi, Umuocha, Umuomaghi, Umuotu. For convenience and quick information required, the researcher limited herself at the schools within Ahiaba, and Mgboko-Amiri area of the community. 3.3 Population of Study The population of this study is 550, 47 teachers and 503 students extracted from SS3 secondary school classes namely: Eziama High School , Osokwa community secondary School, Ovom Girls Secondary School, NINLAN Secondary School, Osusu Community Secondary School, Umuode Secondary School, Alaoma Secondary School. 3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique Sample for the study will be 200, senior secondary school students’ in Obingwa Local government Area of Abia State. Simple random sample, technique was used to select the sample. 3.5 Instrumentation 3.5.1 Development of the Instrument The instrument used by the researchers in collecting of data for the study was a researchers-made questionnaire. Questionnaires are the inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents often they are the only feasible ways to reach a number of reviews large enough to o allow statistically analysis of the result. It was also made up of two parts, A and B. Part A has only two items which sought information on the bio-data of the respondents. Part B on the other hand has twenty (20) items which elicited information on subject however were of two types, one for the teachers and the other for the students. The instrument was designed on the four points Likert-type scale of strongly agree (SA) agree (A) disagree (D) and strongly disagree (SD) which weighed 4,3,2, and 1 points respectively. 3.5.2 Validation of the Instrument The information used to carry out this research work was the questionnaires. This was thoroughly examined and validated by experts. Measurement and evaluation. The collection and suggestions were incorporated before the final drafting of the instrument. 3.5.3 Reliability of the Instrument The developed questionnaires were administered to 20 financial accounting teachers and 30 students in secondary school in Obingwa who were part of the study sample. The data collected there analyzed to ensure that the instrument was adequate for the study. 3.6 Administration of the instrument The researcher constructed questionnaire which raised question items on the performance of students in accounting in secondary school in Obingwa L.G.A. The response format is a modified type, which consists of a 4- point rating scale of, strongly agree, Agree, Disagree and strongly disagree. The researcher ensured that all the questionnaire administered were returned. 3.7 Method of Data Analysis For proper understanding of this study, data collected will be analyzed using simple tables and percentages. The reason for using simple table and percentage is for simplicity, clarity and easy understanding of the research. Data collected from the questionnaire will be analyzed to corroborate with the response from the questionnaire. CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA This chapter presents the data analysis and the study objectives, questions were raised according to the research questions of the study. Out of two hundred (200) questionnaire administered, one hundred and ninety (190) were completed and returned, while ten (10) were returned incomplete, Thus, 190 will serve as the sample size for the analysis. The outcome of the accept result will be based on the responses. "STRONGLY" and "AGREE" which shows positive responses, while the "DISAGREE" and "STRONGLY DISAGREE" are the negative responses. 4.1 Research Question 1 What influence does economic status of parents on the performance of students in financial accounting in Ob0ingwa academic secondary schools? In order to assess the influence of economic status of on the academic performance of students in parents accounting in Obingwa secondary schools, responses from table A of the questionnaire will be evaluated. Tabie 4.1: Frequency and Percentage Score of the Respondents Responses on the Influence of Parental Economic Status on the Academic Performance of Students in financial Accounting. Table 4.1 S/N SA % A % D % SD % 1 Students who have parents with higher educational background perform better 90 47.3% 53 27.89% 41 21.58% 6 3.16% 2 Students from poor background have complete textbooks 24 12.63% 39 20.53% 68 37.79% 59 31.05% 3 Parents who provide private teachers for their children are improving the skill and learning development of their children 81 42.63% 67 35.27% 25 12.15% 17 8.95% 4 Students who help parents in hawking and selling have more time to read their financial accounting books 15 7.89% 21 11.05% 74 38.95% 80 42.11% 5 Lack of pocket money for the student’s results in begging and loss of concentration during financial accounting lectures. 65 34.21% 57 30 29 15.27% 39 20.53% The table 4.1 shows the respondents on the influence of parental economic status of the academic performance of the students. 90 (47.34°6), 24 (12.639%), 81 (42.639%), 15(7.89%), 65 (34.21o) of the respondents strongly agree that parental economic status influences the academic performance of students in account. While 53 (27.89%), simply agreed parental economic status influences the academic performance of the students in accounts. However, 41 (21.58%), 68 (37.79%), 25 (13.15%, 74 (38.95%), 29 (15.26%) of the respondents disagreed on the influence of parental economic status on the performance of student in accounts. And 6 (31.169%), 59 (31.05%), 17 (8.95%), 80 (42.11%), 39 (20.53%). of the respondents strongly disagree on the influence of parental economic Status on the academic performance of he students in account. 4.2 Research Question 2 Does learning environment have only effect on teaching and performance of students in accounting in Uturu secondary schools? To evaluate the effect of learning environment on teaching and performance of students in financial accounting in Uturu secondary schools, responses from table B of the questionnaire will be evaluated. Table 4.2: Frequency and Percentage Score of the Respondents on the Influence of Learning Environment of Students in Accounting. Table 4.2 S/N SA % A % D % SD % 6 Overcrowded classroom affects level of absorption by the students during teaching of financial accounting 70 36.84% 40 21.05% 30 15.79% 50 26.32 7 Completes are readily available to aid teaching in the schools 65 34.21% 50 26.32% 27 14.21% 48 25.26% 8 The furniture in the school is comfortable for proper sitting of students 80 42.11% 55 28.95% 28 14.74% 27 14.21% 9 Poor light and ventilation are a common feature of the classroom 78 41.05% 62 32.65% 42 22.12% 8 4.21% 10 Noise from outside the classroom often leads to loss of concentration when teaching/learning is going on 80 42.11 60 31.58 30 15.79 20 10.52 11 Some of the building in my school are dilapidated and in dire need of repair 91 47.90 59 31.05 39 20.53. 31 16.32 The table 4.2 shows that responses on the influence of learning environment on teaching and performance of students in secondary schools. 70 (36.84%), 65 (34.21%), 80 (42.11%), 78 (41.05%), 80 (42.11%), 91 (49 (47.90%) of the respondents strongly agreed on the influence of learning environment on teaching and performance of students in financial accounting in Obingwa secondary schools while 40 (21.05%,) 50 (26.32%), 55 (28.95%), 62 (32.63%), 60 (31.58%) and 59 (31.05%) of the respondents simply agreed to this effect. On the other hand, 30 (15.79%), 27 (14.21%), 28 (14.74%), 42 (22.12%), 30 (15.79%), and 39 (20.53%) of the respondents disagreed on the teaching and performance of the students in secondary schools while 50 (26.32%), 48 (25.26%), 27 (14.21%), 8 (4.21%), 20 (10.52%), 31 (16.32%) of the respondents strongly disagreed to the raised questions. The result shows a high positive level of responses implying that learning environment affects teaching and performance of students in accounting. 4.3 Research Question 3 Are there enough facilities and instructional materials in teaching and learning of accounting in Obingwa secondary school? To investigate the dearth of facilitjes and instructional materials in teaching and leaning of accounting in Obingwa secondary school, responses from table C of the questionnaire will be evaluated. Table 4.3: Frequency and Percentages Score of the respondent’s responses on the availability of instructional materials and facilities on student's performance in financial accounting. Table 4.3 S/N SA % A % D % SD % 12 Check _book sample are used for teaching. 40 21.05% 41 21.85% 59 31.05% 50 26.32% 13 Ledger made available by the teachers 40 21.05% 30 15.79% 70 25.84% 50 36.32% 14 The school libraries are stock with adequate accounting textbook. 15 Auditing and audio visual material are available 49 25.79 25 13.16% 630 31.85% 56 29.47% 16 The class is overcrowded 70 36.84% 64 33.68 35 21 21 11.06 From the t table 4.3 above analysis shows that 49 (21.05%), 40 (21.05%), 60 (31.58%), 49 (4,78%) and (36.84%) of the respondent strongly agreed that there are enough facilities and instructional materials in teaching and learning of accounting in Obingwa secondary school while 41 (21.58%), ,30 (15.79%), 55 (28.94%), 25 (13.16%) and 64 (33.68%) of the respondents simply agreed to this effect. However, 59 (31.05%), 79 (36.84%), 47 (24.74%, 60 (31.58%) and (18.41%) of the respondents disagreed on availability of enough facilities and instructional material in teaching and learning of financial accounting in Obingwa secondary school while 50 (26.32%), 50 (26.32%6), 28 (14.74%), 56 (29.47%), 21 (11.06%) of the respondents strongly disagreed to this effect. The result therefore shows a higher negative response which implies that the facilities and instructional materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting in the school in inadequate and this could result in poor performance in financial accounting by the students. 4.4 Research Question 4 Do students study habit and attitude towards learning of financial accounting influences their performance in senior secondary school certificate? To determine if students' study habit and attitude towards learning of financial accounting influences their performance in senior secondary school certificate responses from table D of the questionnaire will be evaluated. Table 4. 4: Frequency and percentages score of the respondent's habit and responses on the influence of study attitude towards leaning of accounting on the performance of students in accounting in senior secondary school certificate performance. Table 4.4 S/N SD % A % D % SD % 17 Study financial accounting after school period 41 21.58% 45 23.68% 78 41.05% 26 13.68% 18 Likes financial accounting as a subject. 40 21.05% 24 12.68% 70 36.84% 56 29.45% 19 Visit the school library frequently 39 20.53% 26 13.68% 80 42.11% 45 23.6% The table 44 above shows that 41 (21.58%), 40 (21.05°o) 39 (20.53%), of the respondents strongly agreed to study after school period, having a like for financial accounting as a subject and visiting the school library frequently. While 45 (23.68%), agreed to this 24 (12.63%), 26 (13.68%) effect. On the other hand, 78 (41.05%), 70 (36.84%), 80 (42.11o) of the respondents disagreed to study financial accounting after school period, having alike for financial accounting as a subject and visiting the school library frequently performance while 26 (13.68%), 56 (29.48%), and 26 (13.68%) of the respondents strongly disagree in their responses. The result indicates a high negative response to the questions which implies that most of the students, attitude and habit could lead to poor performances in financial accounting subject.