INFLUENCE OF EARLY AND NORMAL SCHOOLING ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN DELTA STATE

Abstract

Schooling in an informal setting prepares the individual academically to fit in and compete well in the larger society. It also prepares the individual to contribute his or her quota in national growth and development. All of these cannot be achieved in an underdeveloped stage of the child. Meanwhile, limited studies are available investigating the impact of early schooling on children academic achievement. This study therefore examined the influence of early and normal (late) schooling on academic achievement of secondary school students in two Educational zones of Delta State. The expost-facto research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 14,749 senior secondary school one (SSS 1) students in the two zones. The sample was made up of 600 students drawn from 15 Co-educational secondary schools. Three research questions were raised and three hypotheses were tested at 0.05% alpha level. The research questions were answered using the mean (x) and standard deviation (SD), while the hypotheses were tested using the T-test. Data was collected using students academic records. The findings of the study showed a significant different in academic achievement of students in favor of the normal (late) entrants. Based on the finding, the study recommended that: awareness campaign is needed to guide parents on the growth and development of their children in order to avoid academic abuse and violence of their children.