PERCEIVED PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT, LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SOCIAL SELF-CONCEPT OF TERTIARY INSTITUTION STUDENTS IN OSUN STATE HOPE NJIDEKA NKACHUKWU EDP 16/17/H/1497 B.A. Education (English), Ife A THESIS WRITTEN IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS AND COUNSELLING, FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE COLLEGE, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE, NIGERIA, IN PATIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING) 2022 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To God Almighty be all glory, honour and adoration. He is the Alpha and Omega, the starter and finisher of all things, for bestowing this golden opportunity upon my life. I sincerely appreciate and thank Him for everything and for His unfailing love upon me throughout the period of my programme. I equally give thanks to our Blessed Virgin Mary, my mother and queen for her assistance to me during the course of my programme. I am very appreciative of my dedicated and wonderful supervisor, Dr. M. A. Omoyemiju, for his support, suggestions, directions and encouragement most especially, for his patience with me throughout the period of writing this work. I pray that the Almighty God will bless him and his family and grant all his heart desires. My sincere appreciation goes to the Acting Head of Department, Dr. W. O. Adeniyi, for his fatherly concern and advice. I appreciate all academic staff in the Department of Educational Foundations and Counseling who devoted themselves to being the instruments of learning to me during the period of this study; Prof. K. A. Alao, Prof. S. V. Kobiowu, Prof. A. A. Adediwura, Prof. B. T. Popoola, Prof. E. R. I. Afolabi, Prof. O. O. Ojo, Prof. B. A. Omoteso, Prof. B. A. Faleye, Prof. O. A. Ojebiyi, Dr. A. A. Shobola, Dr. O. A. Anuodo, Dr. O. F. Adebowale, Dr. S. A. Oluwatosin, Dr. A. G. Akintomide, Dr. S. A. Ehindero, Dr. Adeyemo, Dr. T. A. Ajeigbe, Dr. O. O. Olatomide, Dr. F. T. Fatoki and Dr. R. M. Quaye. I sincerely thank them all. Also, my thanks go to the non-academic staff of the Department. May God perfect all your children’s endeavours. I thank in a special way my advisers and friends, Rev. Fr. Cyril Nnamdi Unachukwu CCE, Rev. Fr. J. C. Ugochukwu, Fr. Thaddeus Ajayi, Prof. J. O. Ajayi, Dr. E. O. Awopetu, Dr. Taiwo Soneye, Sir Shola S. Osungbemi and Catechist Philip Adegunju. May the Almighty God perfect every of their heart desires. vi My unreserved gratitude goes to my mother, Mrs. Catherine Nkachukwu and all my siblings. They are all jewels of inestimable value to me for all their support, understanding and prayers throughout this study. Finally, my sincere gratitude also goes to my Superior General, Rev. Mother Mary Angeleen Umezuruike of Daughters’ of Mary Mother of Mercy Congregation and my beloved Aunty and Superior Rev. Sr. Ogochi Ekwebelam. They are living saints to be imitated. I cannot tell my life story without them. To all the sisters of Ikire- Apomu community and all the priests and religious of Ibadan Archdiocese, the parents, staff and pupils of St. Rita’s Nursery and Primary School, Ikoyi, Osun State. I thank them all for their amazing supports. I love them all and may God continue to guide their steps in the ways of righteousness. I also appreciate the participants, the students of the selected tertiary institutions and my entire colleague of Guidance and Counselling Master’s Degree set. May God crown all their effort with success in Jesus name. Amen. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Front Page i Anti-plagiarism declaration ii Authorisation to Copy iii Certification iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vii List of Tables x List of Figures xi List of Appendices xii Abstract xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 8 1.3 Purpose of the Study 10 1.4 Research Question 11 1.5 Research Hypothesis 11 1.6 Significance of the Study 11 1.7 Scope of the Study 12 1.8 Operational Definition of Terms 13 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Conceptual Review 2.1.1 Social Self-Concept 16 2.1.2 Parental Involvement 23 2.1.3 Locus of Control 30 2.2 Theoretical Review 2.2.1 Carl Rogers’Self Concept-Theory 35 viii 2.2.2 Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization 40 2.2.3 Locus of Control (Rother’s Theory of Personality) 46 2.2.4 Attribution Theory 48 2.3 Empirical Review 2.3.1 Studies on Social Self-Concept 51 2.3.2 Parental Involvement and Social Self-Concept among the students 53 2.3.3 Locus of Control and Social Self-Concept among the students 56 2.3.4 Socio-Demographic Variables and Social Self-Concept of the students 57 2.4 Appraisal of the Literature CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design 62 3.2 Population of the Study 62 3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 63 3.4 Research Instruments 65 3.5 Validation of Research Instruments 67 3.6 Procedure for Data Collection 68 3.7 Techniques for Data Analysis 68 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Results 4.1.1 Research Question One 69 4.2 Research Hypotheses Testing 72 4.2.1 Hypothesis One 72 4.2.2 Hypothesis Two 73 4.2.3 Hypothesis Three 74 4.3 Discussion of Findings 78 ix CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Summary 82 5.2 Findings 83 5.3 Conclusion 84 5.4 Recommendations 84 5.5 Contribution to Knowledge 84 5.6 Suggestions for Further Studies 85 REFERENCES 86 APENDICES 103 x LIST OF TABLES Table Title Page 3.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents 64 3.2 Reliability Analysis Results showing Reliability Coefficient of Research Instruments 67 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of Participants Score on Social Self- Concept 69 4.2 Descriptive Statistics showing the Level of Social Self- Concept of Tertiary Institution Students’ in Osun State 70 4.3 Descriptive Statistics showing the Level of Social Self-Concept of Tertiary Institution Students’ in Osun State 71 4.4 Correlations Coefficient showing Relationship between Perceived Parental Involvement and Social Self-Concept of Tertiary Institution Students in Osun State 73 4.5 Descriptive Statistics of Students’ Locus of Control 73 4.6 Point Bi-serial Correlation showing Relationship between Students’ Locus of Control and Social Self- Concept 74 4.7 Correlation Coefficient of Demographic Variables with Social Self-Concept of the Students 75 4.8 Model Summary of the Stepwise Multiple Regression of the Demographic Variables on the Students ‘Social Self-Concept’ 76 4.9 Coefficient Table showing the Relationship between Social Self-Concept and Demographic Variables of Students 77 xi LIST OF FIGURES Title Page Rogers Real Self and Ideal Self-Theory 36 Diagrammatical Representation of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs 41 xii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Title Page I Questionnaire Parental Involvement, Locus of Control and Social Self- Concept of Tertiary Institution Students 103 II Social Self- Concept Scale 110 III Parental Involvement Scale 112 IV Locus of Control Scale 114 xiii ABSTRACT This study determined the level of social self-concept of tertiary institution students in Osun State. It also examined the relationship between perceived parental involvement and social self-concept of students. The study also investigated the relationship between locus of control and social self-concept of the students and examined the contribution of demographic variables such as age, sex, and tertiary institution type on students’ social self-concept. These were with a view to providing empirical information on status of tertiary institution students’ social self-concept and factors that could be responsible for it. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population for the study comprised the students in the tertiary institution in Osun State. A total sample of 1440 students were selected in stages. First, stratified sampling technique was used to select six tertiary institutions (two Universities, two Polytechnics and two Colleges of Education) using institution ownership as a stratum (public and private). Second, from each institution, three faculties/schools were common to all institutions were selected using purposive sampling technique making a total of 18 faculties/schools selected for the study. Eighty students were disproportionately selected from each Faculty/School using convenience sampling technique. The study adapted an instrument “Questionnaire on Perceived Parental Involvement and Social Self-Concept (QPILCSSC)” to elicit data from the respondents. Data collected were analysed using percentages and frequency counts, Pearson product moment correlation analysis, point bi -serial correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Specifically, research question one was answered using percentages and frequency counts, while hypotheses one, two and three were tested using Pearson product moment correlation, point biserial correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis respectively. The results showed that 921 (69.6%) of tertiary institution students in Osun state exhibited high level of social self-concept while 381 (28.8%) and 22 (1.7%) of the students exhibited moderate and low levels of social self-concepts respectively. The results also showed xiv that there was a statistically significant relationship between perceived parental involvement and social self-concept of tertiary institution students in Osun State (r = 0.526, p-value = 0.000). Furthermore, the results showed that the relationship between locus of control and social self-concept of students was significant (r = 0.437; p = 0.000). Finally, the results showed that there was significant influence of students’ demographic variables such as age institutional type (𝛽 = 8.069, t = 9.540, p = 0.000); age (𝛽 = 0.673, t = 3.551, p = 0.000); and sex (𝛽 = -0.879, t = -0.612, p = 0.541) on students’ social self-concept. The study concluded that social self-concept of tertiary institution students in Osun State was high and that perceived parental involvement, locus of control, institution type and age were potent factors that could positively predict social self-concept of students. 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study It has been long that self-concept is considered an essential component needed by every individual, especially students of tertiary institutions for self-actualization. This implies that, self-concept has a decisive influence on the interpretation of various experiences people have which explains motives for their actions and their elaboration of information. Therefore, self-concept motivates, directs and determines human behaviour to a large extent. Self-concept simply indicates the whole assumption of someone on himself or herself. Feeling that one knows oneself could help in facilitating the employment of the self to make sense and make choices in life which in the part of the students could be seen as an important encouraging and self-regulatory tool in their academic life. Therefore, self- concept refers to the awareness of oneself. This is a feeling that one is different from the other (Adoga, 2020). In tertiary institutions, to be precise, most students have different ways of thinking about their abilities in different aspects of life, such as academics, athletics and social interactions. Some of them see themselves as being up to the task in the three mentioned area while others see themselves as not being capable in other areas. Nevertheless, it should be noted that, as they try to improve their cognitive skills and increase their experiences, their self- concepts are most likely to also improve. It could be explained further that self-concept reflects how students in tertiary institutions evaluate themselves in domains, such as school environment in which they consider academic success very important. The magnitude of self-concept of people or students may vary across factors like age, gender, culture, discipline and even religion. Self- concept could be categorized as high, moderate or low depending on the individual factors that motivate it. A particular student may demonstrate a high concept in some areas, but 2 demonstrates low self-concept in other areas of discipline. A student whose self-concept is high and whose focus has been how s/he will become successful in academics, may eventually find him/herself magnifying the importance of academic success, which could make him or her excel. On the other hand, a student who demonstrates low self-concept and centers around being a failure may eventually fail. The category of self-concept could be two: academic and non-academic self-concept. On one hand, the perceptions and knowledge of individuals about themselves in situation that concerns academic achievement can be regarded as academic self-concept (Ugwuanyi, Nnolum, Nwachukwu & Inweregbuh, 2019). On the other hand, the non-academic self-concept deals with the person’s view in activities that are non-academic in nature that have to do with physical abilities and their relationships with parents, friends and community members generally (Catherine, 2013). The non- academic self-concept can be further divided into five aspects, which are: family, moral, personal, physical and social self-concept (Klapp, 2017). Social self-concept is described as the distinct perception that has to do with self, such as interactive attractiveness which involves the views of a person on socially related issues (Carlson, 2009). It implies having consciousness of one’s traits in relating with other people around. Thus, maintaining satisfactory social relations implicitly implies abiding by certain social norms that are established in a conventional way to enable peaceful coexistence between individuals living in the same society. A comprehensive proposal regarding the internal structure of social self-concept is said to include the following three dimensions: social acceptance (referring to one’s perception of being well-received and well-liked by others), social competence (understood as one's perception of one’s ability to function in social situations) and social responsibility (which refers to one’s perception of one's contribution to the proper function of society) (Fernández-Zabala & Rodríguez-Fernández & Arantzazu, 2015). 3 Social self-concept could be positive or negative; high or low. A student in tertiary institution with a positive social self-concept always has the feeling that s/he is capable and valuable within the scope of social interaction and social group. It could be explained further that, student’s success or failure in tertiary institutions may be dependent on how well the student is able to cope in social situations such as relationship with peers, peer acceptance, and group membership. Students with high social self-concept have tendency to show interest in other persons, understand them and easily get along with them. They also have the tendency to have the feeling of being cared for, keep the feelings they have for others, and are more likely to be active in the social activities inside and outside the institutions. In contrary, students with low social self-concept see themselves as being indifferent to others and find it difficult to effectively interact with other people. Attention may not be paid to others and may not be active in social activities within the social group. One of the implications of the above is that students who are deficient in social self- concept are most likely to face some challenges that have to do with social and academic related problems in school if preventive measures are not put in place to help them. Students who have experienced failures or other challenges in school, may lose self-confidence and trust in social situations and may isolate themselves from the people they perceive as the root of their failures or challenges. This may degenerate to negative feeling and belief about self which at the extreme can cumulate to self-condemnation that can lead to suicide attempt or even death. Some students may fail or have challenges due to their attitudes of not relating well with people. For instance, there was a scenario of two undergraduate students in Obafemi Awolowo University that missed an examination due to their low level of social concept. They seemed not to have good rapport with their colleagues who could have informed them about the shift of the examination time-table backward. They were therefore 4 not informed and by implication, they missed that particular examination, which unfortunately led to an extra year for them. Social self-concept of the students in tertiary institutions could be linked with some factors which can either hinder or improve social self-concept. These factors are psychologically and socially related variables; they include parental control, personality traits, social control, peer influence, psychological well-being, perceived parental involvement and locus of control. This study therefore focuses on two of these factors which are; perceived parental involvement and locus of control. Parental Involvement could be described as parental attitudes, behaviours, styles, and activities which take place inside or outside the school setting and at the same time which give support to the children’s academic or behavioural success in school (Abdul-Adil & Farmer, 2006). Perception of the involvement means how the parents think or understand their involvement and how the children perceive the level of parental involvement. The rate at which parents relate with their children, judge and appreciate them could impact positively or negatively on the building of their children’s self-concept. Low social self-concept of students in tertiary institutions might be due to poor rate of involvement of parents in their social and academic life. Parental involvement in children’s social self-concept could predict self-regulation, competence and achievement at school. It is of a great importance to know that, tertiary school students have inborn psychological needs to be self-independent in that they desire to be at the origin of their behaviours. They also desire to closely relate with their environment with a level of efficiency (competence) and equally aim at being accepted by others that are significant to them (relatedness). Thus, if all these needs are satisfied, their adaptive patterns of cognitions, behaviours and emotions could be predicted. By being perceived as involved, satisfaction of students’ psychological needs in the school context could be promoted by parents especially in tertiary institutions in Osun State. Satisfaction of 5 these will therefore enhance students’ persistence in better performance in every other aspect in school. In literature, many factors are known to be linked with problems associated with students’ social self-concept. These among others include the students’ explanatory variables such as family factors, religion and academic achievement. For instance, Omeh (2010) is of the opinion that family factors are very essential variables which play significant roles in the family setting of the children that have the tendency to either encourage or discourage a child's social self-concept and academic pursuit. Slake (2009) posits that the negative effect occasioned by family size of the children on their self-concept and educational attainment is persistent after the features of socio-economic background of the family is statically controlled. Concerning the influence of academic achievement of students on their social self-concept, Grygiel, Modzelewski and Pisarek (2016), opine that prior academic achievement influences later social self-concept while Agu, Nwankwo, Obi, Aboh and Anike (2013) indicate that religion tends to contribute a lot in the development of social self-concept of students. Again, regarding the relationship between personality traits and social self- concept, it has been reported that extroversion, introversion and self-concept are positively correlated (Chan & Joseph, 2000). However, factors like parental involvement, which is an important information, will be useful for the counsellors and caregivers in providing professional help to students especially those with low social self-concept in search of literature. Parental involvement has the likelihood of having significant impacts on their children’s socialization mode. Parents’ involvement in their children’s educational pursuits and every other aspect of their life plays a major role in children’s total functioning not leaving out their academic success. They played the dynamic roles of providing financial, emotional, motivational supports and facilitating the sources to enhance their children’s 6 social self-concept which could in turn enhances the children’s academic outcomes. This could be done by being involved in supporting their children’s extracurricular activities. Parents getting to know the peers or friends of their children, paying a visit to their children in school at a regular interval, monitoring the progress of their children in school and helping to build their children’s skills in interpersonal relationships are categorized as parts of their involvement. With these and more of these kinds of parental involvement, better understanding could be attained about the different personalities that comprise the school, thus enabling parents to engage in healthy discussion of peer relationships with their children. On one hand, some parents exhibit authoritarian method of parenting such that when they give instructions to their children, they do not expect their children to talk; but just to execute the instructions given. The implication of this type of parenting style is that the children may become introverts and prefer living in isolation among their peers. On the other hand, some parents may exhibit democratic parenting which is a child- centered approach that holds high expectations of maturity; thus enabling the children to have more tendency to be socially competent, responsible, and demonstrate high social self- concept. Another method of parenting that parents could exhibit is permissive method. Permissive parents tend to give little or no boundaries and rules to their children and as a result, they may have difficulties with social self-concept and demonstrate egocentric tendencies that can compromise proper development of peer relationship. There is also an uninvolving method of parenting. The parents in this category fear that setting limits on their children’s behaviour might send the wrong message; and seem to neglect the duty of controlling their children. By implication, the children may have low social self-concept and think that almost “anything goes”, associating with wrong people. In all, parental involvement could be beneficial to the children in many ways. It could lead to an increased school attendance, a higher social self-concept of their abilities, better behaviour and a more 7 positive attitude towards school, reducing the rate at which students are being suspended from school. Also, the rate at which students drop out of school and the amount of responsibility children take for their own actions could be reduced thus leading to children’s getting higher grades in tests and examinations; and improved problem solving skills. Locus of control is another factor which is also very important for the explanation of students’ social self-concept. The relationship between social self-concept and locus of control is equally of great importance, which is considered in this study. Locus of control can be described as an individual's personal belief that the events that take place in his or her life are either as a result of personal control and effort, or forces which are external such as fate and luck (Okwaraji, Nduanya, Obiechina, Onyebueke & Okorie, 2018). Thus, academic locus of control refers to the ability of a person to have dominion and authority over his or her academic thoughts and experiences. Other planned events that align with his or her beliefs and ideas could also be considered. Basically, locus of control among students, especially in tertiary institutions could be further seen as the ability to control happenings around and command intending actions in other to positively boost their academic performance. Akin, (2011) states that the structure of locus of control shows a distribution on dimensions of internal forces and external locus of control which can be outside forces like change or other people affecting individuals’ pattern of thought and behaviour. This means that, locus of control could be internal and external. Further explanation of this could be that academic locus of control which is internal can be connected with the ability of a student to demonstrate potentials and talents in the school, with the beliefs and philosophies which he or she has gathered over a period of time on one hand. Thus, students that have internal locus control seem to have the belief that they are in control or instrumental to obtaining rewards from their environment. Therefore, they express a positive representation of social self-concepts. On the other hand, students who 8 believe that events or outputs are controlled by external forces such as change, the difficulty of the school task or the behaviour of other individuals seem to possess external locus of control. Students with the external locus of control have the tendency to believe that any reward or effect of any of their actions is not entirely their responsibilities. Instead, they perceive rewards and happenings around them are out of their control and are influenced by luck, fate, chance, or other forces not within their control and therefore tend to express self- concepts that is negative. Therefore, it could be noted that, the more the students have dominion over the circumstances in their everyday life, the more they exhibit positive self-concept and vice versa. Sequel to this, it could be deduced that, if students perceive themselves as academically efficient they are likely to judge themselves more positively and vice versa. In addition, the more they have control of their everyday life circumstances, the more the likelihood of perceiving themselves as efficient in academic context. Going by the above, this study desires to investigate the level of social self-concept among students of tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. Also, understanding the factors behind this behaviour would enable the counselors and lecturers to better understand and provide strategies in boosting their social self-concept level. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Social self-concept of students is very important for the enhancement of self- actualization, group membership, excellent academic performance and total well-being. Students who demonstrate poor relationship with peers, experience peer rejection and disregard group membership in tertiary institutions may experience failures in their academic works and may miss examinations if care is not taken. There have been instances of students who missed examinations due to living an isolated life or having disregard to group membership. One of these instances happened when an examination was shifted back to an 9 earlier time, but the students were not aware because they were not relating well with others. Unfortunately, nobody called to inform them about the change of the examination time table, and that led to the re-run of the course, even to the extent of an extra year for them in the university. Also, low social self-concept could result into low self-actualization, poor academic performance and ultimately suicidal attempt. It could also lead to poor relationship skill, having few friends, isolation, turning down compliments, exhibiting excessive amounts of anger, jealousy, teasing others, appearing conceited and being reluctant in trying new things. It may even go worse to using drugs, displaying antisocial behaviours and going into depression. As far as social self-concept has become part of human development, it is believed that it starts from the family (Aye et al, 2019). This means that, parenting involvement is very crucial and important at this stage. Gaining admission into college, polytechnic or university could be quite challenging for students and can create a significant level of stress, maladjustment and emotional problems if their parents are not involved. Meanwhile, parental involvement can then play a significant role in helping the students to adapt to any of these schools’ challenges successfully by minimizing the negative effects of the transition. This will also go a long way in boosting their social self-concept in schools thus enhancing their achievement in academics and success in later life. Also, the relationship of locus of control with social self-concept cannot be overlooked. Having external locus of control could reduce one’s capacity to control a situation and may lead to low level or negative social self-concept with the effect of stress and may likely result to having academic and health breakdown. The level of social self-concept among the tertiary institution students in Osun State in Nigeria is yet to be adequately ascertained since most of the available studies are on self- concept of students in academics while the little ones on social self-concept are carried out in foreign countries. 10 Regarding the level at which parental involvement and locus of control contribute to the social self-concept, several studies reported inconsistent results: some authors found the relationship between parental involvement and social self- concept (Heaton, 2016; Harris & Orth, 2019; Orth, 2018). Moreover, Arun, Ravikumar, Makhija, Barreto and Vishwanatha, (2015). On the contrary, other investigation found no association parental involvement and social self- concept (Fan, Williams & Corkin, 2011). Also, Okwaraji, Nduanya, Obiechina, Onyebueke and Okorie (2018) found out a relationship between locus of control and social self-concept, while Sagone and Caroli (2015) found no relationship between them. Given the growing phenomenon of social self-concept and the inconsistencies in the findings on the factors responsible for the behaviour in both local and foreign literature, it is therefore the focus of this study to examine the contributions of parental involvement and locus of control to social self-concept among Nigerian students and how related they are. Thus, there is the need to know the level of this behaviour among Nigerian students especially in tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. More so, several factors such as personality traits and abilities have been linked with students’ social self-concept. However, to the best knowledge of the researcher, there is little empirical information on the level at which parental involvement and locus of control contribute to the social self-concept of the students, hence this study. 1.3 Purpose of the Study The major purpose of this study was to probe the social self-concept of tertiary institution students in Osun State. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to: a. determine the level of social self-concept of tertiary institution students in Osun State; b. examine the relationship between perceived parental involvement and social self- concept of students; 11 c. investigate the relationship between locus of control and social self-concept of students; d. examine the influence of demographic variables such as age, sex and tertiary institution type on students’ social self-concept. 1.4 Research Question A research question was raised in order to achieve the objectives of the study. (i) What is the level of social self-concept of tertiary institution students in Osun State? 1.5 Research Hypotheses The following research hypotheses were postulated in order to further achieve the objectives of the study. (i) There is no significant relationship between perceived parental involvement and social self-concept of students of tertiary institution students in Osun State. (ii) There is no significant relationship between locus of control and social self -concept of the students. (iii) There is no significant influence of students’ demographic variables such as age, sex and tertiary institution type on students’ social self-concept. 1.6 Significance of the Study The findings of the study would make available useful information on students’ social self- concept. Understanding this becomes necessary as it enables the students to know themselves and create a better way to properly in build a positive self-concept and interpersonal relationship skills. The study would equally provide information on certain factors relating to social self-concept such as perceived parental involvement and locus of control and also would reveal the contributions of perceived parental involvement and locus of control regarding the social self-concept of the students. 12 The information therefore would enable the counsellors and psychologists to understand these factors better and how they relate with social self-concept. It would also be beneficial to school counsellors, policy makers, school administrators, parents, and persons who work directly with students such as administrators and lecturers. The health educators, school/university counselors, policy makers, school administrators, parents, and persons who work directly with students such as administrators and lecturers could develop practices that would enhance the level of the students’ social concept. Moreover, this study will provide adequate information to tertiary institution managements to assist in designing parental involvement activities that will benefit both the parents and the students. It would also add to research on parental involvement by addressing participation levels for parents who have children in tertiary institutions. Its contributions would also help policy makers formulate policies regarding parental involvement activities. The study would also be of great significance as it would be helpful in identifying the students’ orientation of locus of control, be it internal or external control. It would be helpful in the improvement of quality education, knowing full well how locus of control relates to academic success of the students. The study could be considered useful as it would increase students’ capacity to control a situation and would provide reassurance supports to a positive and high level of social self-concept. Finally, the study would be of great help to students with low social self-concept as it will serve as a training pathway in order to reduce academic postponement and drop out at all levels of academic pursuits. 1.7 Scope of the Study This focus of this was on social self-concept among students of tertiary institutions in Osun State. This implies that Social self-concept was the focus of this study because mixing and 13 relating with different kinds of people is very important in building one’s self concept which could in turn have impact on the students’ academic performance. The study also focused on two out of many psychosocial factors that could be responsible for social self-concept. These are: perceived parental involvement and locus of control. The study was limited to tertiary institutions students in Osun State, Nigeria because it was believed that gaining admission into tertiary institutions demand more than secondary and primary schools. Also, gaining admission into tertiary institutions demands for higher responsibilities in their academics while relating with different types of people. Social self- concept is not only peculiar to tertiary institutions students in Osun State, Nigeria but this study was limited in scope to the students in two universities, two polytechnics and two colleges of education from Osun State, Nigeria. The study cut across the departments and faculties of the selected tertiary institutions. Also, the study was limited to Osun State, Southwest of Nigeria. The reason for selecting this state was to afford the researcher the convenience to go round the sampled institutions as she resides in the state. It focused on how the tertiary institution students’ perceived parental involvement related with their social self-concept and how their interaction is related with their behaviour. It also centered on the relationship between the two orientations of locus of control and the students’ social self-concept. There are other factors that may be considered as relating to social self-concept. 1.8 Operational Definition of Terms Social self-concept: It refers to the views, thoughts, judgments, feelings of Osun state university students to the existing social tendencies on themselves. Social self-concept could be positive or negative; low or high level. 14 Parental Involvement: This refers to levels at which parents of Osun state university students pay attention to their children in all they do. Locus of Control: This is a belief that all the experiences got are caused either by external or internal factors which are attributes of successes or failures of Osun state university students. 15 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Review of related literature was carried out under the following sub- headings: 2.1 Conceptual Review 2.1.1 Social Self-Concept 2.1.2 Parental Involvement 2.1.3 Locus of Control 2.2 Theoretical Review 2.2.1 Carl Rogers’ Self Concept-Theory 2.2.2 Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization 2.2.3 Locus of Control (Rother’s Theory of Personality) 2.3 Empirical Review 2.3.1 Studies on Social Self-Concept 2.3.2 Parental Involvement and Social Self-Concept among the students 2.3.3 Locus of Control and Social Self-Concept among the students 2.3.4 Demographic Variables and Social Self-Concept of the students 2.4 Appraisal of Literature 16 2.1 Conceptual Review 2.1.1 Social Self-Concept Mental and conceptual understanding of things exhibited by individuals is regarded as self- concept. It also refers to the totality of thoughts and perceptions that somebody has about himself/herself (Kiritsis, 2015). According to Adoga (2020), self-concept is the awareness of oneself. This is a feeling one has that makes him/her different from the others. This is a conscious development of self around the feelings of personal identity, image and the experience of what happens to the self. This is particularly a feeling and thinking that one’s specific needs, ambitions and aspirations are unequal to him or her and not the same to the other person’s. Self-concept attempts to answer the questions “who am I”? “what do I want”? Self- concept is the central evaluative concept of oneself, particularly the way one thinks of one’s perception. According to Obindao, (2010), self-concept is the way somebody feels about himself or herself. It is believed to be the major determining factor of behaviour, goals, and achievement. Self-concept is different from self-consciousness. Self- consciousness has to do with awareness or pre-occupation with oneself while self-concept happens to be the instrument of one’s symbolic behaviour about the way one thinks, reasons, understands and judges to a large extent. It is therefore seen as the most important instrument of one’s thoughts and expressions. For instance, the mental and social development of the child is very much controlled by the adequacy or in-adequacy of his/her concept about things, persons, events and phenomena around him/her. His/her concept brings economy to his or her thought pattern, reasoning and problem solving behaviours and this helps him or her acquire desired knowledge and skill with relative ease (Jai Mala, 2005). Olumide, (2013) states that the way one perceives oneself influences one’s behaviour greatly. Thus, people who perceive themselves as being capable are likely to find ways to 17 demonstrate their effectiveness in doing things in the right way. This explains why Thorne in Tor-Anyiin (2015) observes that self-concept operates as the functional core of being, which is the feeling that in spite of we, the self bears the consequences different from the others even in the same group (Adoga, 2020). According to Taylor, Davis-Kean and Malanchuk (2007), self-concept is believed to be the cognitive representation an individual possesses of him or herself which plays a vital role in the integration of one’s personality. Self-concept can equally be identified as self- identity or self-construction. Self-perspection is a multi-dimensional construct that has to do with the way an individual perceives oneself in relation to a number of features like academics, gender roles, sexuality, racial identity and many others. According to Baumeister (1999), self-concept is how one thinks about or evaluates himself or herself. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. Also, according to Huitt (2004), self-concept is an internal sense of self. This includes and not restricted to self-definition in the various social roles one enacts. It also includes assessment of one’s own status in relationship to a single trait or many human dimensions which use societal or personal norms as standard. Thus, self- concept is likened to the way a person thinks about his or her abilities in a variety of aspects of life which include: academics, athletics and social interactions. A teen has a relatively rich self-view more than when in the earlier stage in childhood. As the teen improves his/her cognitive skills and increases experiences, the self-concept continues to grow up to tertiary education. It is noteworthy that an individual can make targeted self-evaluation in different domains. This has made some researchers to identify the following eight domains that constitute an adolescent’s self-concept (Hadley, Hair & Moore, 2008); these are: scholastic and athletic competence; physical appearance; peer acceptance; close friendships and romantic relationships; job competence as well as conduct/morality competence. Self-concept 18 of an adolescent is dynamic while the causality is also complex. This simply means that problems and difficulties can make self-concept to become low and this condition can also cause problems (Hadley, Hair & Moore, 2008). For example, it has been found by researchers that levels of self-worth in each of the above domains are linked with behaviours and accomplishments which are germane to success in those particular areas of development. As an adolescent, the belief is that having a high academic self-concept is a prerequisite for gaining positive academic performance (Hadley, Hair & Moore, 2008). Again, when an adolescent possesses a high physical self-concept it is equally expected that s/he has the ability for increased physical activity (Marsh, Papaioannou & Theodorakis, 2006). Moreover, (Fayombo, 2001), claims that self-concept is the image an individual has of himself/herself which is a combination of the beliefs he or she has about himself or herself; these include his or her physical, academics, psychological, social, emotional characteristics, aspirations and achievements. In the same vein, self-concept can be described as the level at which an individual believes s/he is able, significant, successful, and worthy. It entails all the beliefs the individual has in him/herself which make him/her to have self-judgment of his/her own abilities, influence and popularity. More importantly, Klapp (2016) states that self-concept has a multifaceted structure which involves academic and non-academic self-concept. Academic self-concept on one hand is broadly conceptualized as the manner at which a student views his/her academic ability when this is compared with others in the same category (Cooley, 2000; Manning, 2006). Non-academic self-concept on the other hand, has to do with the student’s perception of him/herself in the non-academic activities (Suntonrapot, Auyporn & Thaweewat, 2009). While non-academic self-concept can be divided into social, family, personal, moral and physical self-concept, academic self-concept is exhibited in specific school subjects that really have remarkable influence on subsequent choice of life career. Again, motivation, 19 effort and persistence are other variables which in turn lead to improvement in academic achievement and self-concept (Klapp, 2016). He further states that success and failure recorded by students in school may also be dependent on how well they manage social situations such as peer acceptance, relationship with peers and group membership. It is further established that pro-social behaviour, antisocial behaviour, and emotional distress of students could be the aspects that could explain the significant link between group membership and achievement. Non-academic structure of self-concept was also categorized into five (Nashori, 2000). The five categories are: physical self-concept, personal self-concept, social self- concept, moral self-concept, and family self-concept (Nashori, 2000): a. Physical self-concept: this concept explains adolescent’s physical appearance. The adolescent demonstrates a positive physical self-concept when s/he looks positively at his/her appearance. His/her health, skin, good looks and body size count in this concept while the individual who has a negative self-concept demonstrates such when s/he looks at those aspects negatively. b. Personal self-concept: this concept explains the views, thoughts, and feelings the adolescent has about himself or herself. These could be positive or negative. Someone is said to have a positive self-concept when s/he looks at himself or herself as a happy, optimistic, and able to control him/herself and has series of abilities. Conversely, an individual is considered to possess a negative self-concept when s/he looks at himself or herself as being unhappy, pessimistic, and someone who cannot control himself/herself. c. Social self-concept: this concept has to do with the adolescent’s views, thoughts, judgments and feelings about the existing social tendencies concerning him/herself. It relates to the adolescent’s ability to really link up with the world outside him/herself. His/her 20 feelings, capability and values within the scope of social interaction are also identified among the factors of social self-concept. If someone discovers that s/he is interested in others, understands others and finds it easy to relate with other people the person can be said to have a positive social self-concept. At the same time, if s/he feels cared for, keeps the feelings of others and is active in the social activities s/he has positive social self-concept. In contrary, someone who has a negative social self-concept sees himself or herself as a person who is indifferent to others and finds it difficult to relate with other people. Again, s/he does not pay attention to others and is not playing active roles in social activities. d. Moral self-concept: this concept establishes the fact that a person manifests his/her views, thoughts, feelings, and judgments about the adolescents’ morality. This particularly coordinates the values and principles that have meaningful understanding of values of ethics and which give direction to one’s life. Someone is said to have a positive self-concept of moral ethics when s/he clings to the values of moral ethics. Also, one is said to have negative self-concept when someone deviates from the standard of moral value that should be followed. e. The family self-concept: this concept expresses the adolescent’s views, thoughts and judgments of his/her family. It has to do with the presence of somebody in the family. Someone is said to have a positive family self-concept when the person sees him/herself belonging to a family where he is loved, happy and he is proud of the family. Also, the person will have positive family self-concept when he gets a lot of help and encouragement from his/her family. In contrary, a person who sees him/herself as someone who is not comfortable and happy with the situation of the family, who tends to hate his/her own family and never has a natural feeling for his own family will be described as someone who has a negative family self-concept (Widianti, 2007). 21 However, the thrust of this study is the students’ social self-concept in the tertiary institutions. According to Fernández-Zabala, Rodríguez-Fernández, and Goñi (2016), attention has been on students’ academic self-concept for many years. A model of personal self-concept was tested just in recent time in a study by Goñi, Madariaga, Axpe, and Goñi, (2011). This distinguishes among self-perceptions of self-fulfillment, autonomy, emotional adjustment and honesty. During the study carried out on social self-concept, two opposing approaches manifested. They aimed at giving explanation about people’s perceptions of themselves as social beings. This is done either in accordance with different relational contexts or that which is hinged on people’s assessment of certain competences (such as social skills, pro-social behaviour, aggressiveness and assertiveness, etc.) that are put to action during an individual’s social life (Infante et al., 2002). Considering the latter approach, two types came to bare which are associated with social self-concept which could either be social acceptance or social competence. Thus, social self-concept is sometimes understood as an individuals’ perception of their social acceptance by their peers as well as their leadership status and popularity (García, 2001). In the same vein, it can be explained in terms of social competence with regard to social relations, social skills and one’s sociability (García & Musitu 2001). Therefore, it implies that, self- conception tends to link the self to the social system, which could be seen as social self- concept. Social self-concept has likelihood of exerting influence on the happiness and well- being of an individual tertiary institution students. Social self-concept has been found to have a significant relationship with life satisfaction and happiness especially the one which involves having close friends and healthy interpersonal relationships (Zhang, 2016). Thus, the reason why social responsibility is included in social self-concept is because the feeling of being accepted by others and the feeling of oneself to be socially competent do not manifest one’s perception of one’s social development globally. 22 It was reported by Tabone (2011) that self-concept is a type of self-appraisal which is made through relating with one's environment and the control others have on one. This then brought about what is called social self-concept, as it is used in this study. It is the perception of self which is inferred from one’s attitudes, feelings, knowledge, abilities, appearance, and social acceptance. Also, it is the belief of Green (2006) that positive self-concept would be a very important goal for educational programmes for promotion. He further posits that it was linked to positive outcome which includes achievement and effort of higher education students. Zeleke (2004) made a comparison of two types of self-concept for learning among disabled students. These types are: social (general) and academic. While social self-concept is found to include a more global understanding of the child in terms of popularity, appearance, etc., academic self-concept relates to the way the student sees himself or herself as a learner. It is the researcher’s findings that social self-concept was less seen as a factor to success in academics than academic self-concept. The development of self-concept is classified into: (a) positive self-concept (b) negative self-concept (Calhoun, 1986 as cited in Amina, 2016). i. Positive self-concept: this shows self-acceptance. It is when all those who have positive self-concept know themselves keenly. They have feelings, stability and wholeness. It is believed to be stable and at the same time varied. Those who have positive self-concept have an evaluation of themselves to be positive and being able to accept what, who and how they are. ii. Negative self-concept: this is divided into two categories, namely: (a.) individual’s views of him/herself. This is totally disorganized and does not have feelings, stability and wholeness. The person really does not know who he is. He does not also know both his strengths and weaknesses. Again, he does not appreciate his life. (b.) the view of individual 23 about him/herself which is too stable and orderly. This come into existence because the individual has had education in a very hard way; this therefore has created a self-image that does not allow any form deviation from the set laws because it is the proper way of life to him/her. Signs of Negative Self-Concept among Students According to Children’s Hospital, 2007, several signs may indicate that some students in tertiary institutions have what is called negative self-concept. It may manifest in their way of doing things like performing and behaving poorly in school, having few friends, putting down oneself and others, rejecting compliments, being excessively jealous, teasing others, showing excessive amounts of anger, appearing conceited and hesitating to try new things, among many things. Going by the above, it is worthy of note that students who have high and positive social self-concept use to interact with other students in school in order to exchange valuable information, maintain high and positive self-concept and academic performance. Therefore, this has influence on the development of self-concept and academic performance. In the same vein, students’ exposure to academic, social, and extra-curricular activities within the campus has greater contribution to the development of self-concept and academic performance of students (Bala, 2014). 2.1.2 Parental Involvement Parental involvement can be said to be any form of interaction existing between parents and children either at home or in the school in order to ensure that the academic performance of the children is going in a right direction (Jaiswal & Choudhuri, 2017). It has equally been defined by Feurstein (2000) that parental involvement is a set of activities having to do with a wide range of behaviours where school activities are being discussed with children. 24 Moreover, Holloway, Yamamoto, Suzuki and Mindnich (2008) also define parental involvement as an activity which begins from home when children’s home works are being attended to. Also, it could be when parents attend to various school-based activities like attending school events and interacting with teachers of their children. Epstein and Sheldon (2006) opine that parental engagement has capability of boosting students’ self-esteem and increase their motivation. However, even with numerous research works in support of parents involving in their children’s school activities throughout elementary and secondary schools, the moment they gain admission into tertiary institutions, parental involvement becomes less consistent (Jeynes, 2007). It has been established that parental involvement usually affords children many benefits which enhance their learning and achievement (Soucy & Larose, 2000). According to Aye et al (2019), parental involvement becomes very necessary for the upbringing of the child. Jeynes (2008) also examines the importance of parents involving in their children’s training in relation to self-concept and academic achievement of the child. He found out that there was a positive impact of parental involvement on a child’s academic achievement across all levels of children. Jeynes (2008) equally reveals that children who have proper parenting tend to outstandingly perform both in developing positive self-concept and achieving high level of success in their academic activities. Baumrid (1966) identifies three styles of parenting which most families adopt. These are: authoritarian, authoritative and permissive styles. He is of the opinion that the authoritarian parenting style makes the children to be submissive to their parent's demands and orders. This style presents parents to be strict, directive, and emotionally detached. In contrast, permissive parenting style presents a type of parent who gives less parental restrictions or limits on the child. The implication of this is that children are given opportunity to regulate their own activities. The last parenting style is like authoritarian parenting with the exception of giving clear and firm direction to 25 children. The idea of parenting styles as a child rearing method which is used to categorize and measure the worth and form of relationship that exists between parents and children really started with the research of Baumrid (1966). In this research, she was able to identify the three parenting styles and brought out the difference between the two similar parenting styles. She claimed that the difference lies in moderating discipline with warmth, reason, and flexibility. Borkowski, Ramey and Bristol-Power (2002) in their research identify four parenting styles: permissive, authoritative, negligent, and authoritarian. Authoritative parenting is a style of parenting that demonstrates appropriate level of parental involvement. This type of parenting shows a lot of support and monitor to the children but allows autonomy to run in the family. Parents are clear about their expectations and are found to be consistent in enforcing rules. Households that are being governed by this type of style are deemed to be the warmest, most encouraging in terms of children’s academic, emotional, and social development. When children first gain admission into tertiary institutions, they may be aware of their intellectual and social abilities and how well they can perform in their various academic and social activities. The moment a child discovers that he/she can go about his/her goals through concerted efforts and good interpersonal relationship, showing high social self- concept, there will be increase in the amount of effort put forward. In other words, the more a child puts in efforts regarding his or her social self-concept and academic pursuit, the tendency is there for him/her to attain higher grades. Therefore, it is ascertained that when parents are more involved in educational activities of their children and are affectionate to them by participating in their school events and being democratic in all aspects of their children’s activities students tend to perform very well academically (Choudhuri, 2017). 26 Parents’ involvement in their children’s activities and particularly in their academic pursuits is advantageous. Findings have discovered students become more responsible and committed to their academics when parents are more involved. They have the tendency to limit the rate at which they take risky behaviours like pursuing challenges. They feel satisfied with the tasks they have been able to accomplish (Gonzalez-Deltas, 2005). It is equally very beneficial and positive when a child has the experience of being raised in a family that gives encouragement for a good education by making them know how important education is. Again, when children are being praised for what they do right and when high expectations are given, children tend to do better (Marjoribanks, 2005). It is of high benefits to children if parents help them with schoolwork and social life. Parenting at times places stress on feelings of social self-concept of the child in being skillful in aspects of life. So, if parents involve themselves in their children’s educational, moral and emotional well-being this can increase their social self-concept and the same time, help in better academic performance. The implication is that children also seek support from parents whenever they are confronted with some academic and social related problems at school. Therefore, parents who are responsible, educated and sensible always encourage their children and give them proper guidance in issues relating to school. This invariably facilitates meaningful communication and a stronger connection between them (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). Parental Involvement Methods This has to do with a series of patterns of behaviours and practices which include parents’ desires for their children’s success and how the aspirations are shared with children. It also has to do with meaningful communication between parents and teachers, as well as communication between parents and children. Participation at school functions and home, rules that promote academic success are still part of parental involvement (Fan & Chen, 27 2001). Epstein and Associates have been credited with making a template of parental involvement which is generally used in schools in order to guide the development and success of parental involvement activities. This framework, according to Epstein, (2010) is of six broad categories: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with community. Within Epstein’s (2010) framework, the parenting category is explained as the one whose focus is on establishing conducive home environments that will support students and help all family members to understand child and adolescent development. The communicating category centers on ensuring effective forms of two-way communication system about school programmes and the progress of the child. The volunteering category is when parental support is gained in such a manner that there will be willingness to support the schools and students’ activities. The learning at home category aims at making the families develop ideas regarding helping their children with their homework and other curriculum related activities whenever they are at home. The decision making category concerns itself with parents being involved in decision making in schools by airing their voice or acting as a representative. The collaborating with community category ensures that resources are obtained from the community to support students’ learning opportunities. Meanwhile, each of the six categories of parental involvement contains activities which can also be divided into either a formal or informal domain (Taliaferro et al., 2009). Formal Methods While formal parental involvement traditionally comprises school-based activities that are noted by parents’ physical presence at school events, informal parental involvement is more of home-based participation; this type of behaviours are reported by school personnel rather than being observed. Most researchers’ definitions of parental involvement talk about it being 28 a combination of both formal and informal activities (Abdul-Adil & Farmer, 2006; Deslandes & Cloutier, 2002; USDOE, 2004; Yoder and Lopez, 2013). In the same vein, formal methods of parental involvement are observed in a school- based setting. This is because schools provide formal opportunities for parents to be involved in the educational processes of their children. At the elementary school level, it has been discovered that parents involved in activities that encourage interaction with teachers whereas at the secondary level, there is a shift of parental participation from assistance to attendance (Hill & Tyson, 2009). It is therefore very crucial that even in tertiary institutions parents should be allowed to be involved in programmes that are school-based. This is because it will help the students to have better improvement in their relationship with their lecturers which in turn will boost their academic achievement. Informal Methods Informal methods usually are experiences gathered at home. They are related to parental styles, expectations, and values. They have numerous opportunities which children can enjoy. These include activities that provide academic socialization, achievement assistance, autonomy support, emotional responsibility and structure (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Karbach, Gottschling, Spengler, Hegewald, & Spinath, 2013). These methods of parental involvement are always particular to individual styles of the family. Despite the fact that there are many aspects of informal parental involvement there is one broad concept within that takes care of a wide variety of parental behaviours. This is academic socialization that combines parental styles, their expectations, and values. Parents’ Perceptions of Parental Involvement Perception of parents tends to influence their level of involvement. When a child gains admission into school, parents are interested in becoming an integral part of the child’s 29 education. So, they have good intentions to participate in his/her activities both at school and at home (Bracke & Corts, 2012; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Although good intentions are being encouraged by formal programmes throughout the school year, there are still influences that can either hinder or bolster parental involvement. These influences could be attitudes and beliefs, subjective norms, and other factors like parental control, motivation, invitation, and power (Bracke & Corts, 2012; Hoover, Dempsey & Sandler, 2007; Huang & Mason, 2008; Robbins & Searby, 2013). Therefore, any combination of the above influences can affect a parent’s perception and their rate of involvement. Attitudes and beliefs: These can lead parents to embrace both positive and negative perceptions as all parents believe it is important they are involved in their children’s education (Bracke & Corts, 2012). However, it has been found out that some factors like the socio-economic and education levels of parents can seriously affect their attitude and beliefs about their children’s education (Jeynes, 2007; Lam & Ducreux, 2013). Additionally, some parents may think that education is the exclusive responsibility of the school and as such decide not to be involved. While some parents may feel they are not qualified to help their children, some parents feel empowered the moment they are given the opportunity to be involved. They use it as an opportunity to make a significant difference in the life of their child(ren) (Bracke & Corts, 2012). Subjective norms: This states that parents may be influenced by related personal experiences. Bracke and Corts (2012) discover that experiences of parents that are gathered at childhood and adulthood play a part in determining their participation. Other factors: This is in addition to attitudes, beliefs, and subjective norms. This is because parents are also influenced by many other factors. One of these is perceived controls. These controls include and not limited to: parents’ income, their work schedules, childcare, 30 transportation system that may affect their being available. It must be noted that all factors have the power to promote or inhibit involvement of parents (Bracke & Corts, 2012; Yoder & Lopez, 2013). Although according to Bracke and Corts, (2012), there is no exact correlation between the behavioural intentions and actions of parents, motivation is a major factor that influences their involvement (Young et al., 2013). Meanwhile, the invitation to parents to be involved in their children’s activities in school can come from either the school or the child him/herself. Robbins and Searby (2013) discover that perception of parents could also be a factor in their decision to be involved. If they perceive the invitation to be authentic, they may like to participate in their activities. However, if parents feel unsatisfied, it may not occur (Flessa, 2008). Also, the type of activity to participate in has the power to influence parental perceptions and eventual participation. In a study by Herrell (2011) on parental involvement, it was found that perceptions of parents vary occasioned by the type of activity offered. Among Epstein’s six types of parental involvement, communication was discovered to have the highest effectiveness while parenting style had the least amount of effectiveness. This is not consistent with the previous findings that parenting style has greatest effect on children’s achievement and behaviour. 2.1.3 Locus of Control Locus of control has been variously defined by many scholars. It is a system of belief which has to do with causes of a person’s experiences and factors that affect his/her success or failure (Aladenusi, 2015; Barzegar, 2011). It is an individual’s belief in respect to the causes of his or her experiences and the factors that cause individual’s success or failure (Tella, Tella & Adeniyi, 2011) It is also seen as a predictor of many behaviours exhibited by people (Olaoye & Olaoye, 2018; Dilmaç, Hamarta & Arslan, 2009). In addition, it is also the predictor of academic and social behaviours (Chiang, Fang, Kaplan & Eric, 2019; Deniz, Traş & Aydoğan, 2009). Bostic (2010) as well gives its definition as effects on life events. In 31 the same vein, Ibeawuchi and Iruloh (2017) stated that locus of control refers to an individual’s perception about the underlying main cause of events in his/her life. It has to do with belief about whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on one does (internal control orientation) or an event outside our personal control (external control orientation). state that locus of control relates to an expectation that a behaviour will have the desired effect and that this expectation is a significant indicator of what the person has been able to do. In other words, locus of control is related to reinforcements. It is the belief of some people that there is a relationship between their own behaviour and reinforcements while others hold the belief that reinforcements are controlled by an external power. Meanwhile, there are some people who believe that there is a relationship between their behaviours and reinforcements; they are said to have internal locus of control whereas, there are those who do not have such belief who are said to have external locus of control (Shubina, 2017). So, people with external locus of control think that reinforcements are a function of their fate, luck, or powerful others (Chiang, Fang, Kaplan & Eric, 2019; Rotter, 1954). They believe that they have no control over the environment. These set of people are found to be inactive, have low self-esteem and do not trust in others (Shubina, 2017). They also feel generally incompetent, passive, skeptical, and dogmatic; and because of these manifestations, they have the tendency to have anxiety, stress, and depression at higher levels (Rinn & Boazman, 2014; Baydoğan & Dağ, 2008). At the same time, they have problems with self-perception and view themselves negatively in all areas (Rinn & Boazman, 2014; Yağışan, Sünbül & Yücalan, 2007). People with internal locus of control take responsibility for the consequences of their actions and at the same time, think that they have control over reinforcements (Rotter, 1954). They are found to be always successful, effective, aggressively enterprising, trusting in people, and independent (Sagone & Caroli, 2014; Loosemore & Lam 2004). In addition, they 32 are seen to be more successful in academics. They are also superior to others in competitive contexts and more socially active (Darshani, 2014; Anderson, Hattie & Hamilton, 2005). Moreover, it was argued that they usually have a positive self-perception (Ibeawuchi & Iruloh (2017). They also feel they are healthier, have better coping skills and have larger internal motivation (Sagone & Caroli, 2014). Not far from the mentioned, it is a process at which a person gets a desired result for actions that have been carried out in a planned order. More so, individuals who have internal locus of control use to attribute causality to selves. This is because they use to have confident in their ability to influence their environment. Conversely, individuals that have external locus of control usually believe that outcomes are externally motivated (Sagoni & Caroli, 2014). Locus of control believes that causes of person’s experiences and factors affecting person’s success or failure (Barzegar, 2011). Locus of control structure is a depiction of dimensions of internal (influenced by inside forces) and external locus of control (influenced by outside forces such as chance or other people) (Akin, 2011). A person who has internal locus of control has the belief that his/her success or failure is caused by his/her efforts and abilities but if s/he has external locus of control, s/he has the mindset that his or her success or failure is contingent on fate or luck (Sarıçam & Duran, 2012). In the same vein, academic locus of control has similar structure as locus of control (Sarıçam & Duran, 2012) and it is manifested in the control of beliefs in relation to achievement and academic contexts (Daum & Wiebe, 2003). Therefore, academic locus of control is described as the way a student takes responsibility for personal achievements and failures in school (Cetinkalp, 2010). Similarly, individuals who have internal locus of control are proud of their achievements and at the same time feel ashamed of their failures while those who have external academic locus of control tend to experience little emotional change regarding their achievements or failures ((Olaoye & Olaoye,(2018) ; 33 Mearns, (2006). The research carried out by Judge (2001) and Johnson (2015) on the locus of control gives suggestions that those who generally believe that they can control their own environments are more likely to be conscious of actions and pieces of information that will enable them to be successful. Also, studies have shown that learning approach goals and learning avoidance goals were positive predictors of internal locus of control (Çetinkalp, 2010), and internal locus of control had a direct and positive relationship with the educational achievement of students (Ghasemzadeh & Saadat, 2011). In addition, Akin (2010), found that while external academic locus of control correlated positively with learning avoidance, performance- approach/avoidance goals, internal academic locus of control correlated negatively with performance-approach/avoidance goal, and the internal academic locus of control was related positively to learning approach/avoidance goals. On the other hand, internal academic locus of control was predicted positively by social self-efficacy and internet addiction was explained negatively by internal academic locus of control and positively by external academic locus of control (Iskender & Akin, 2010). Tella, Tella and Adeniyi (2009) discover that the correlation that exists between locus of control and academic achievement is significant. Also, in Yates, (2009) it is depicted that high-achieving students have higher score in internal locus of control than their counterparts who are low achieving students. At the same time, the study of Bostic (2010) establishes the fact that the difference in academic achievement of students who have internal locus of control and students who have external locus of control is significant. Also, Yazdanpanah, Shragrad and Rahimi (2010) report that students who have high internal locus of control academically tend to achieve higher than the ones who have external locus of control. By implication, internally controlled individuals strive to form new interpersonal relationships and endeavour to solve their interpersonal problems with more active methods while 34 externally controlled individuals show no concern regarding establishing new interpersonal relationships; they use more passive strategies to solve personal relationship problems (Olaoye & Olaoye, 2018) 35 2.2 THEORETICAL REVIEW 2.2.1 Carl Rogers’ Self-Concept Theory Rogers contributed immensely to personality science via his self-theory. Process of psychotherapy was his main professional focus. He demonstrated much commitment to knowing how personality change can happen. His greatest concern was the process of change according to McLeod, (2007). Rogers’ personality theory basically centers on the notion of self. Self-concept is defined as the individual’s tendency to act in ways that he is actualized. This will lead to his/her differentiation and a group of experiences which are differentiated and symbolized in conscious awareness as self-experiences. His investigation on the concept of self is central to the client centered theory of therapy and personality. He usually makes use of the Q-technique (Stephenson, 1953) and Q-sort of self (Butler & Haigh, 1954). He is of the opinion that healthy persons are individuals who can add experiences into their self-structure (Cervone & Pervin, 2008). In part, the techniques explained the fact that individuals are opened to experiences. These could be a congruence between self and experience. In contrast, they are in a position not to have the awareness of significant sensory and emotional experiences. Rogers establishes his self-theory using the following terms: Real-self (self-image): This includes intrinsic influence of one’s body image. It has to do with the way someone sees himself or herself. This is crucial to good psychological health. In other words, one might see oneself either as beautiful or ugly; good or bad person. Self-image has direct effect on the way a person feels, thinks and acts in the world. Rogers (1954) explained that the ‘real self’ comes into being by the actualizing tendency and it follows organismic valuing which needs and receives both positive regard and self-regard. It is also described that one will become successful in life, if everything continues well for the person. It is the belief of Rogers that everybody owns a real self which is related to inner 36 personality. It is this self that genuinely presents people in their true nature though it may not be perfect (Grice, 2007). Ideal self: It briefly represents the efforts people put up to achieve their goals or ideals. This may not be applicable to childhood, teens and late twenties (McLeod, 2007). Rogers (1961) further suggested that there are some things which can be found beyond the reach of people that could be as a result of the gap that exists between the real self and the ideal self (Boeree, 2006). In the real sense, ideal self comes into existence based on influences outside of people. It holds values got from others which are a culmination of all those things that we think we should be and what we feel others think we should be. Holding the values of others is not done consciously rather, it is a process of osmosis and this made Rogers to highlight free choice as dominant in his theory of personality. It expresses the fact that individuals are responsible for what happened to them; that they should not attribute their actions to have come from outside forces (Derlega, Winstead, & Jones, 2005; Singer, 1984). Figure: Rogers Self Theory. Shaded area represents the congruency between real-self and ideal-self Fully-functioning person: This establishes the fact that if people can operate their valuing processes excellently, self-movement and growth toward fulfilling their potentials will be their experience. This depicts that those who can be self-actualized are called fully functioning persons (Rogers, 1961). Rogers claims that they will be moving toward becoming fully functioning persons who are well balanced, well-adjusted and interesting to know Real Self Actualizing tendency Positive Regard Self-Regard Ideal Self Striving Ambitious Self worth 37 (Mcleod, 2007). Rogers later extended and amplified his view of the fully functioning person to emerging person (1975). The conditions of worth and self-worth: this claims that an individual learns to differentiate between his or her self-experiences and others self-experiences as unequally worthy of positive regards (Nelson-Jones, 2000). This is therefore called a condition of worth; the condition which determines an individual’s assessment of positive self-regards. Rogers opines that conditions of worth are made by experiences of conditional regard. Furthermore, the condition of worth is capable of making it not easy for an individual to satisfy both the need for positive self-regard and the needs of the total organism at the same time (Anderson, 1998). Rogers (1959) also quips that a person who has high self-worth can cope with challenges faced in life. S/he can also bear failures and sadness at times and can interact freely with people. An individual with self-worth is likely to keep away from challenges in life. S/he does not accommodate troubles and distress most of the time. He highlighted parents’ experiences at the early childhood as very important in order to affect positively the feelings of self-worth. When the child interacts with outer environment his/her self-worth will be affected as the child grows older (McLeod, 2007). It has been discovered that self- worth is inborn. If one then follows a sub-optimal conceptual system, self-development and the definition of self would equally follow the same system (Myers et al., 1991). Similarly, self could be defined and measured based on external factors that are short lived. Going by this, identity is alienated from its inherent value (Myers, 1988). Self is conceptually seen as multidimensional while self-worth is inherent. Self can be seen within a holistic system which is designed to foster peace and harmony within and between individuals (Myers, 1988). 38 Sevig (1993) claims that people who have successfully attached feelings of self-worth associated to the part of self are more tolerant and accommodating. She further explains that self-worth is naturally inborn; therefore, irrelevant factors like race, gender, age, religion, physical ability do not have any relevance in worth determination. According to Frankl (1992), the meaning of one’s life may be modified, but the need for meaning is always constant. Baumeister (1991) emphasizes that the quest for meaning spans four basic needs. Self-worth is said to be one of them. This is invariably to foster the belief that one is a worthy person with desirable characteristics. The other three fundamental needs are given as: a sense of purpose in life, sense of self efficacy and lastly, value. Congruence: This is explained as with unconditional positive regard, self-concept carries no conditions of worth in itself. There is also congruence between the true self and experience while the person is psychologically healthy. Rogers (1959) further states that when somebody’s self-image and self-ideal are very close to each other, the congruence and sense of self-worth will be high. It is believed that incongruent behaviours are from incongruence itself (Rogers, 1961). Going by this, consistent behaviours which are at par with the self-concept are said to be truthfully symbolized while those which are inconsistent with conditions of worth can either be denied or distorted completely to awareness (Nooraini, 2014). Incongruent experience is an indication of a basic self-inconsistency. It is the assumption of Rogers (1956) that anxiety comes into existence as a result of discrepancy between experience and the perception of the self. Then, there is a tendency for a person to engage in defensive process. In view of this, defensive act occurs owing to the fact that a person’s experiences are being threatened. In fact, it has been argued by Rogers that defensive act is not against driving forces in the id rather it is against a loss of a consistent, integrated sense of the self (Cervone & Pervin, 2008). 39 Actualizing tendency: This states that understanding the personality is very much different from psychoanalysis and behaviourist psychologists. Personality is described as a process of the acquisition of an increasingly accurate self-concept and not a description of developmental stages and tasks. Rogers (1951) mainly focused this concept basically on his series of experiences he had with troubled individuals in therapy. Rogers suggests that there is a directional tendency in each of us to grow and to seek new experiences that are varied. It is stated by him that the one basic tendency and striving that organisms have is to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism. The actualizing tendency has two distinct aspects. These are: the psychological and the biological aspects. The psychological approach describes the development of potentials in man that make him/her view human beings as being worthwhile. The biological approach has to do with the desire to satisfy our basic needs like food, water, and air. In Rogers argues that people are all basically good and creative in nature; this is in consonance with Maslow’s work. He is of the belief that the actualizing tendency is both selective and constructive; which is termed a directional tendency. It is explained that people develop their innate goodness only if society is encouraging and supportive. In the same vein, it is explained that when a strong self-concept or external environment supports the valuing process, they become constructive. He believes that things must be in a state of congruence before self- actualization can be achieved for a person. This therefore indicates that self-actualization will happen when an individual’s ideal self (who we like to be) is in congruence with his self- image (actual behaviour). Rogers states that a fully functioning person is a person who is actualizing the self (McLeod, 2007). 40 2.2.2 Abraham Maslow’s theory of Self-actualization Studies on self-actualization started with Abraham Maslow (1943, 1970). He was born to uneducated Jewish Russian immigrants. Abraham Harold Maslow was encouraged to be academic by his parents. He regarded human beings to be studied as whole personalities who are quite different from that of animals or neurotics. Also, he strongly believed that people must consider self-fulfillment as their ultimate goal and strive towards achieving it, utilizing their inner potentials. Maslow (1943) proposed his hierarchy of needs theory which hierarchically enlisted basic human needs. This need theory is considered the most prominent motivational theory in psychology field. Five needs were originally enlisted. These are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Maslow, in furtherance of his theory, further expanded self-actualization. He classifies it into four needs. These are: cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization and self-transcendence. He therefore calls these latter needs “being needs” or B-needs and the former four needs “deficient needs” or D- needs. He equally claimed that individuals who are mentally healthy follow a path called growth motivation. This allows them to move up this hierarchy from D-needs to B-needs. As they follow this path, individuals feel more fulfilled and by so doing, their attention will shift from self-interest to selflessness and they tend to dedicate more time to causes outside of themselves and family. Maslow eventually regards the drive towards self-actualization as very beneficial to a society; this because it would lead to more solidarity, compassion, care, problem-solving and altruism which are qualities needed in people to move the society forward. 41 Below is Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of human needs (1970): Self-Actualization Needs (Realization of highest ambition). Diagrammatical representation of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs (1970). The theory is applicable to: Self-Actualization Needs (Realization of highest ambition), Self- esteem Needs (Respect and recognition), Love and Belongingness Needs (acceptance in a group) and Safety Needs (Security). According to Maslow (1970), there are lower and higher level needs. The lower level needs are said to include the physiological needs, safety needs, love and affection need and the self-esteem needs. He labelled this the deficiency needs. The needs are to be satisfied in an individual’s life before he or she can begin to try to satisfy the higher level needs, which he referred to as the being needs. Meanwhile, before self-esteem needs are satisfied, the physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs must be satisfied first. Self-Actualization Needs Self-Esteem Needs Love & Belongingness Needs Safety Needs Physiological Needs (food, drink, oxygen and sex) 42 The physiological needs: This is referred to as needs that are biological in nature. Thus, when they are in force, all other categories of needs become relatively unimportant. Such biological needs include: food, water, oxygen, sex and elimination of waste products in the body system. In general, it can be said that physiological needs comprise all needs which are directly necessary for the survival of organisms. Physiological Needs: These are very important to individuals including the students in tertiary institutions. These needs are: food, drink, oxygen, sex and so on. This is because the student needs balanced diet for normal growth and brain development. Equally at this stage of adolescence, students in tertiary institutions should enjoy good health and good sleep as their mental and physical endurance are quite limited. In the same vein, because sex is among the physiological needs, tertiary institution students may not be exempted from this need. This is a period parents have a role to play in the life of the adolescent. Parents need to talk to their children about sexuality issues and particularly, regarding activities they engage in which are not good for their health. Doing this by the parents will help in shaping their children’s perception about sexually risky behaviours thereby, helping in reducing behaviours that are capable of students at risk. The safety need: This need is felt by infants, adolescent, and adults alike. Everybody does not like panic as well as situations that are unmanageable, unfamiliar or chaotic. Students desire a predictable, stable, constant and relatively tranquil environment. In some homes many students are challenged by quarrelling, physical assault, separation or death. Maslow therefore pointed out that parental outburst of rage, threats of punishment, calling them different uncomplimentary names, speaking harshly to them and giving them punishment are some of the situations capable of eliciting danger or terror reaction on the students. Whenever students are free from unfamiliar situation or risks, they show the need for safety. This now stresses the fact that students prefer a peaceful environment to a 43 disturbed one. They do not want anything that is capable of hindering their enjoyment. They always want to be secured and protected by all means. Maslow further explains in his needs hierarchy that love and belongingness need is a desire or hunger for affectionate relations with people in general and for a place in the group. The strength of this feeling is observed strongly in a person who feels the absence of friends or people in general. When someone has the feelings of being lonely, incomplete, being unwanted by people, it is an indication of a deficiency in fulfilling that particular need. This theory is said to be applicable to secondary school students at their adolescent stage. This is because whoever experiences a sense of belongingness and love is expected to be able to mingle freely with his/her colleagues and carry along other students in some social and learning activities that can make them relax, feel accepted and respected. This feeling of acceptance will create a conducive environment for the cultivation of knowledge which enhance high academic achievement among the students. The self-esteem need: This need has to be satisfied if people desire to find joy in who they are. That is, if they are to be recognized as special and worthwhile individuals. Satisfaction of this need is associated with feelings of confidence, self-worth, strength and usefulness. However, if this need is not satisfied, people begin to feel inferior, negative and incompetent. The implication of this on a student is that he or she becomes aggressive, lacks self-acceptance, and often times feels inferior if he fails to fulfil that need. This is capable of causing poor accomplishment for him/her in school activities. It can be deduced from this theory that if students’ basic needs are not met, it is possible their academic pursuits and social relationships will be at the mercy of negative perception. This will invariably inhibit their good performance in school and in social relationships. 44 Self-actualization, as defined by Maslow, can be said to be the drive or urge to become what one is capable of becoming. This includes growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment which are unique for every individual. More so, Maslow specifies that attaining self-actualization is different for every individual. It depends largely on the experiences of the person and on his progress in actualizing his goals. Maslow lists fifteen notable characteristics of his self-actualizing person. They are as follows: (1) Efficient Perception of Reality- This ability means being able to see reality as it is and not being what they wish it to be and at the same being comfortable with the known reality. (2) Acceptance of Self, Others and Nature- Accepting and respecting oneself and others just as they are. (3) Spontaneity, Simplicity, Naturalness- This behaviour of one actualizing his goals depends mainly on the person’s inner life and feelings. (4) Problem Centering- They are committed sincerely to a problem which they regard as important and as their mission in life. (5) Detachment: Need for Privacy- They rely completely on their inner resources and potentials and remain unaffected by external circumstances. (6) Autonomy: Independence of Culture and Environment- People achieving their goals do not only depend on their physical and social environment but they believe in their own potentialities and inner resources for their development. (7) Continued Freshness of Appreciation- These people have a relentless capacity to appreciate and revel in ordinary, everyday experiences. 45 (8) Peak or Mystic Experiences- Moments or events of intense excitement of high tension which produce bouts of creativity or insight and which make their experiences memorable for self-actualizers. (9) Social Interest- A genuine interest in humanity and a concern for the shortcomings and failures inflicted by human beings on each other. They condemn the failures but at the same time, empathize with the people. (10) Interpersonal Relations- Those actualizing their goals tend to nurture deep and personal relationships with people having similar interests and goals. (11) Democratic Character Structure- It maintains the deepest respect for all people, even when they differ from them in many aspects; regardless of race, age, education or political beliefs. (12) Discrimination between Means and Ends- T