The socioeconomic status of women and academic attainment of their children: a study at Srodae, Betom and Adweso in the New Juaben Municipality

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2015-03-03
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Abstract
The past four decades have witnessed a significant rise in women’s social and economic well-being, particularly among women with children in the home. This shift has sparked considerable academic debate regarding the consequences mothers’ socioeconomic background has on the development of their children, especially their academic attainment. Surprisingly, this area of study has received little attention in the Ghanaian context. The general objective of the study was to examine the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) of women (occupation, marital status, economic status of women and women’s education) on the academic attainments of their children. The study also sought to determine which of the four identified SES significantly predicted academic attainment of children. To achieve these objectives, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using structured interview guide on a probability sample of 275 respondents identified through the multi-stage sampling technique. Respondents consisted of women who were 41+ years and had a child. The data was analyzed using direct logistic regression and chi-square test of independence. The results of the bivariate analysis showed that, occupation of women, education of women, marital status of women and economic status of women were all significantly related to the academic attainment of their children, at α = 0.05. The direct logistic regression analysis also revealed that none of the four SES variables measured proved to be a statistically significant determinant of children’s academic attainment. However, women who were professionals were three (3) times (OR = 3.49) more likely than non-professionals to have children with high level of academic attainment. Mothers who were educated were three (3) times (OR=3.29) more likely to have children with high academic attainment than mothers who were not educated. Women who were married were also two (2) times (OR= 2.16) more likely than unmarried women to have children with high level of education. The economic status of women on the contrary had a negative effect on the likelihood that children will attain high education. Findings of the study suggest that, women SES affect the academic attainment of their children. The researcher recommends that, women groups in Ghana such as Ghanaian Women's Social Leadership Program (GWSLP), Ghana International Women’s Club (GIWC) should all add their voice to emphasizing women education and for that matter, female education in their programmes taking a cue from this study.
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A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts,
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