INFLUENCE OF HOME BACKGROUND ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN FCT ABUJA

This study assessed the influence of home background on academic achievement of secondary schools students in FCT Abuja. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of 30,977 SSS2 students in public secondary schools in six Area Councils of FCT. Through simple random sampling technique, 379 students were selected for the study. Instrument for data collection was questionnaire developed by the researcher to elicit information from the respondents. The instrument was validated and a validity index of 0.90 was obtained. Through pilot testing, a reliability coefficient of 0.76 was established. Means and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions, while independent-sample t-tests were conducted to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that parents’ level of education significantly influences students' academic achievement in FCT Abuja. Additionally, parents’ occupation, income level, and family type were also found to have significant effects on students’ academic performance. It was recommended that with parental education level having a significant influence on the academic achievement of secondary school students, the government should at least provide free education to citizens and make adult education more pronounced among other recommendations.