Non-Traditional Homes Impacting Academic Success Correlation between Non-Traditional Family Life and Ninth Grade Students’ Academic Success in Science

Purpose for the Study: The familial unit is a defining commonality that binds us together as humans. Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State".

Belonging to a family is a characteristic of being human Belonging to a family is a characteristic of being human. We all need to feel as if we belong to something larger than ourselves, even if we don’t fit in anywhere. For most people, they fit in with their family. Even though no two families are the same, all perform the same function. Family has many definitions and forms, but one’s “opinion of” may vary from one family to the next. The role of family in our lives has an enormous impact on how we develop as individuals. Our families are largely responsible for shaping us into what and whom we become.

Background to the Problem What part of a family shapes the students’ academic achievements? What are the advantages of having two parents instead of one? Students who are living with both of their parents seem to be an oddity in today’s world. According to a 2002 survey conducted by the US Census Bureau, about 69% of all children under the age of 18 live in “non-traditional” family settings.

A traditional family is defined as a biological, procreative and child-rearing structure that emphasizes the biological relationship among family members. A non-traditional family is defined as any deviation from the definition of a traditional family.

Children who live in a family environment without having both parents present suffer in all levels of education; therefore, in order to improve the educational achievements of students, parents need to remain married, thus supporting their children.

Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study is to determine: the effects of living in a non-traditional family setting on the academic success of Warwick High School freshman in a biology classroom setting. The driving motivation of this study is to find research to prove that students coming from non-traditional homes suffer academically in science.

Need for the Study In order to support and improve academic success of Warwick High School freshman, a study needs to take place on the academic success of children living in non-traditional families: single parent and foster families. The need for this research stems from the fact that more and more families are becoming non-traditional, and educators need to be aware of how to help these students succeed academically.

Data Collection Data was obtained using eSIS from three pre-IB biology classes, five honors classes, six general classes, and six recycle classes, giving the researcher a total of 388 student records. All of this information was gathered by using eSIS. The researched had to look under each individual student and obtain the data needed for the study.

The next aspect of the study was to examine the ratios of students in each class section and determine what family type they came from. The research then looked to see how each class sections grades were divided among the students from traditional and non-traditional families. The researcher also looked at the race of each student and if that played a role in the type of family they lived with and the type of class section they were placed with.

Results

Pre-IB Biology

Honors Biology

General Biology

Recycle Biology

Conclusion In summary, the impact of the non-traditional family life on the ninth grade students’ academic success in biology is an ongoing study. While researching the influences of family on student achievement in science there is a great deal of information on the subject; however, most of the results are inconclusive or the studies took place outside of the United States.

This study found that students who come from a traditional family are normally placed in higher level biology classes with better grades. Overall, students from traditional families do better in biology than those in the non-traditional homes.

The study also showed that the majority of students in this study were African Americans who live with only their mothers. Many of these students while achieving better than the other non-traditional home students were still placed in the lower level biology classes and many of these students ended up in the recycle classes.

Mainly, students coming from traditional homes are placed in the high level biology classes; whereas those students living in the non-traditional homes make up a very small percentage of the students in those higher level classes.

The End By: Sara Meier