Abstract:
Home factors entails the objects, materials, parents, siblings, peers and social
life that exists in the home in which the students find himself/herself. All the variables
in the home that affect a child’s existence, behaviour and performance constitute the
home environmental factors, while student achievement refers to the extent to which a
learner has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Individual differences
in academic performance are strongly correlated with differences in personality and
intelligence. The study examined the effects of home factors and students’ classroom
participation on the academic performance of senior secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria.
Consequently, four research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the
study, the study was limited to Education District I, of Lagos, Nigeria. The study adopted
the descriptive survey research design, using a self-constructed questionnaire to collect
data from secondary school teachers and students. The validity of the instrument was
done by experts in sociology of education and measurement and evaluation, while the
researchers administered the instrument to 30 students not involved in the main sample
for pilot testing. The reliability correlation coefficient index obtained was 0.78. The data
collected were analysed using simple percentage, t-test, Chi-square and Pearson Product
Moment Correlation Coefficient method of statistical analysis. These statistics were used
to demonstrate whether the variables are correlated or related. The findings of the study
revealed that students’ home factors affect their academic performance; teachers and the
students have different perceptions of the relevance of home factors; and that a significant
relationship exists between home factors and students’ classroom participation. The study
therefore concluded and recommended that education should be mounted for parents in our
formal and non-formal education programmes in order to educate parents on their roles as
parents in the education of their wards.
