INFLUENCE OF HOME ENVIRONMENT AND SCHOOL RESOURCES UTILIZATION ON SOCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OF LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of home environment and school resources utilization on social skill development of lower primary school children. The study adopted survey design where three research questions guided the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 50 participants. Three validated instruments were used to collect data with the coefficient of 0.80, 0.79 and 0.83 respectively. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between home environment and children social skill development. This implies that home environment has influence on social skill development of lower primary school children. r(48)=. .561 P< 0.01. Further results revealed that school resources utilization have significant and positive effect on social skill development of lower primary school children. r =. =.529 P< 0.01. Also the result (48) revealed that there exist linear relationships between three predictors (parent level of education, children's peer group and stable home) on social skill development of lower primary school pupils. Parent level of education (β =.556 t (50)=2.779 P>0.05), children peer group (β =.210t(50)=1.558P>0.05), stable home (β =.792 t(50) = 3.831 P<0.05), stable home and parent level of education made significant contribution in the model where stable home was the most potent predictor. Based on the findings, it was concluded that home environment and school resources utilization contribution to social skill development of lower primary school children is vital and noteworthy. It is therefore recommended that the home environment of the children need to be conducive for their social skill development.

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