Does Family Structure Impact Education Achievement and Self-Esteem in Students? Research Proposal Example

Abstract

This is a research proposal that will seek to provide and reveal the connection between family structures, education achievement and self-esteem. The introduction will provide an initial insight into the meaning of terms and the purpose behind the revelation. The research will contain a hypothesis with which the study is drawn. It will also contain the methodology with which the research will be conducted. A conclusion will provide a synopsis of the findings and also a summary of whether family structures are important or not.

Introduction

This paper studies different factors that relate to the family structure and school participants. The main factors that will be studied will include family structure, education achievement and self-esteem.Family structure is the firstfactor; self-esteem and educational achievement are the other factors on the other end. Academic achievement is a student’s level of educational success[1]. Achievements are obtained and summarized using academic performances in the main subjects being done by the students.Self-esteem is a student’s domain and global judgments of adequacy regarding one’s self-worth[2].Students in their colleges usually have a problem with their self-esteem because of their class and social status that students assign themselves. Research has shown that low self-esteem results from a number of factors that include the structure of family and the environment that surrounds the individual.

Family structure is a group whose members have certain obligations for each other and them all share common residences. Family structure can be in form of a nuclear family[3].Individuals in committed relationships adopt the other alternatives to the nuclear family and those considered as family.The nuclear family is composedof a father, mother and children. Single-parent family consists of either a mother or father and children. The other types include additional members not part of the nuclear family. The family structure make-ups form the basis for the study.

Problem statement

The research will be about the impact of family structure on self-esteem and education achievement. There are different family make-ups such as nuclear, extended, single parent, blended and traditional families.They all have an impact on a child’s self-esteem and the educational achievements. The research seeks to provide a clarification and revelation of the importance of family structures. This is because most poor performances have been linked to the family structures and backgrounds of the students. It is,therefore, necessary to clarify the importance so that parents are made aware of the effects that the factors could have on their children.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is to bridge the gap between family structure, educational achievement and self-esteem. Family should understand the importance of education and self-esteem especially for students. Students from stable and good family backgrounds usually perform well and have a boosted self-esteem. Family provides a good beginning, confidence and a basis to a better life. Parent’s behavior, student environment, and economic stability are some of the factors that contribute to the level of performanceand self-esteem for the children.

Significance of the study

• To reveal the importance of family structures
• To evaluate the importance of family structure on education achievement and self-esteem
• To create awareness especially to parents on the importance of good backgrounds on the lives of their children

Hypothesis

H1: Family structures affect the level of education achievement and self-esteem. Students linked to nuclear and extended families have shown to perform well compared to those from single-parent family structures

H2: Students from blended family structures are likely to perform poorly of fairly above average and their self-esteem may be low

Literature review

Research has shown that familial backgrounds do not have a direct effect on children adjustment but rather an indirect effect. Family structure is a key factor that determines educational achievement outcomes,as well as, depression and self-esteem. The presence and availability of an intact family structure for students can be associated with academic resilience[4]. Students with structural and emotional family stability have shown to have greater educational achievement, higher self-esteem and low depression.

Family environment is viewed to comprise a sub environment for self-esteem and a sub environment for achievement motivation.The sub environment for achievement motivation has three components, parental support and approval, degree of parental generation of standards of expectations and excellence and role relations in activities[5]. Self-esteem has three components too, which include parental encouraged opportunities, maternal and paternal acceptance and parent evaluations of the child’s competence. Further researches have shown that family units are producers of knowledge.

If a child is exposed to more information at their younger age, they are more likely to perform better and have high levels of self-esteem in the future. The activities could include varieties as reading, television watching, cooking, shopping, games and community involvement[6]. The home processes have been proven to foster the development of the student’s ability and capability to cope effectively with social and educational situations outside the home that require cooperation, initiative and effort. Parental behaviors are also associated with high achievements. Parents from poor, single parent and blended family structuresoften display unsuitable behavior before their children. This could have a long-term effect on the children.

Self-esteem is mostly a problem with the students in the age bracket of those students in colleges as most struggle to be accepted into social groups. Self-esteem is usually linked to the presence of mothers for girls and fathers for boys. Self-esteem influences motivation in students and thus,influencesachievement[7].Fractured families have seen the growth of social isolation.This in turn, has a negative outcome on the student’s sense of self-esteem and hence impact on their school achievement[8].Family structure means both composition and size of the household. Research has also shown that poor families too are large and hence have fewer resources,which results in lower educational attainment[9].

In connection to the family structure, familial relationships also have an impact on the student’s self-esteem and achievement. Family cohesiveness and the degree of parent-child conflict and the effects have a controlling influence on achievement and self-esteem[10]. The measure and degree of parent-child conflict is the strongest determinant of depression and low self-esteem as well as negative educational achievement.There are correlations between the factors mentioned in study.

There is usually a positive connection between self-esteem and academic accomplishment. Students with high self-esteem tend to have high academic achievements. It is also true that students with low self-esteem tend to perform poorly[11]. Self-esteem can be increased through high academic achievement. Self-esteem determines the level of achievement, but is not the only aspect. The level of parent educational achievement,as well as, the geneticscan be also being the determining factor between academic achievement and self-esteem.

Methods

Subjects

Subjects involved some college students, who were persuaded by individuals to participate in the research. Among the chosen students, a few of them were non-cooperative while the rest were willing to make the research a success by giving honest answers. The total number of subjects to be used was 60. There were 30 female and 30 male. Their agesranged from 20 to 28 where each is from a different background.Permission was sought from the school administration to ensure that we do not intrude.

Materials

A survey that rates self-esteem levels was used. The survey consisted of 10 questions about self-esteem related issues and 5 questions regarding educational level of achievement.Copies of questions,pens and notebooks to be used when conducting interviews, were made in readiness for the interviews.

Dependent and independent variables

In this research, the independent variable is the family structure while the dependent variables will be the child’s self-esteem and educational achievement. The researcher manipulates independent variable while the dependent variable is the measured response. It is important for the researcher to specify the variables in order to attain the preferred outcome.

Procedure

The procedure was simple. Questionnaire and interviews will be used as they have more advantages than disadvantages.Interviews are a form of informationcollectionby use of face-to-face method.It involves a verbal interchange between two or more individuals with a purpose of obtaining the targeted information[12].Interviews are flexible, specific and provide freedom in terms of wording and explanations provided to the respondent.Questionnaire is a list of written questions, which requires the respondents to record answers. Questionnaires are less expensive and easy to interpret especially if the questions are comprehensible and simple to understand. The questionnaire consisted of such choices as always, often, sometimes and never.

Conclusion

Most studies have shown that unequal achievement and unbalanced levels of self-esteem are statistically linked to family backgrounds of the students. Children from more stable backgrounds tend toperform well than those from poor and unstable homes. The main reason being limited and restricted resources and increased conflicts and instability for children from poor backgrounds. Parenting styles and family structures are, as a result, the most significantaspects that determinethe level of academic accomplishment and self-esteem.It is,therefore, in order to conclude that student’s academic accomplishment,in addition to;their self-esteem is greatly determined by the family structures and backgrounds.

References

Clark, R. 1984. Family life and school achievement: Why poor black children succeed or fail. Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press.

Fleisch, B. 2008. Primary education in crisis: Why South African schoolchildren underachieve in reading andmathematics.  Juta and Company Ltd

Kumar, R. 2010. Research Methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. London: Sage.

Krist-Ashman, K & Hull, G. 2011. Understanding Generalist Practice: Understanding Generalist Practice. NewYork: Cengage Learning

Pastorino, E & Doyle-Portillo, S. 2011. What is Psychology?. New York: Cengage Learning.

Rust, J. 2008. Biculturalism, Cultural Identity, Self-esteem, and Academic Achievement of African-American HighSchool Students. New York: ProQuest.

Vargas-Reighley, R. 2005. Bi-Cultural Competence and Academic Resilience among Immigrants. LFB ScholarlyPublishing LLC.

Wang, M & Taylor, R. 2000. Resilience Across Contexts: Family, work, culture and community. New York:Routledge.

[1] Rust, J. 2008. Biculturalism, Cultural Identity, Self-esteem, and Academic Achievement of African-American High School Students. New York: ProQuest.

[2]Ibid

[3]Krist-Ashman, K & Hull, G. 2011. Understanding Generalist Practice: Understanding Generalist Practice. New York: Cengage Learning

[4]Vargas-Reighley, R. 2005. Bi-Cultural Competence and Academic Resilience among Immigrants. LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC.

[5]Clark, R. 1984. Family life and school achievement: Why poor black children succeed or fail. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[6] Ibid

[7]Fleisch, B. 2008. Primary education in crisis: Why South African schoolchildren underachieve in reading and mathematics.  Juta and Company Ltd

[8] Ibid

[9]Wang, M & Taylor, R. 2000. Resilience Across Contexts: Family, work, culture and community. New York: Routledge.

[10] Ibid

[11]Pastorino, E & Doyle-Portillo, S. 2011. What is Psychology?. New York: Cengage Learning.

[12]Kumar, R. 2010. Research Methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. London: Sage.