ABSTRACT
This
study examined the influence of parental Separation on Academic Achievement of
Secondary School Student in Lagos Educational District II. Descriptive research
design was used. The population for the study comprised all the secondary
school students in Lagos Educational District II. Stratified Random technique
was used to collect the sample. The instrument for the study was a self
construct questionnaire titled “Influence of parental separation on academic
Achievement of secondary school students in Educational District II
(IPSAASSED). The instrument has reliability co-efficient of 0.76 when tested
during the pilot study. The statistical tool used to test the hypotheses was
Pearson product Moment Correlation and t-test . Four hypotheses were tested,
three was rejected and one was accepted. The result showed that there was
significant relationship between parental socio-economic status and students’
academic performance. Also, there was a significant gender difference on
academic performance of male in intact family. Based on the above findings
recommendation were made that counsellors should provide the necessary assistance and psychological support for
students from single parent family so as to overcome emotional problems among
others.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Title page i
Certification ii
Acknowledgement iii
Table of contents iv
List of table viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER
ONE INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 9
Purpose of the Study 10
Research Question 11
Research Hypothesis 11
Significance of the Study 12
Operational Definition of Terms 12
CHAPTER
TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept of Separation and Divorce 14
Types of Separation and Divorce 15
Parental Involvement 19
Concept of Socio-Economics Status
(SES) 24
Parental Education 28
Parental Occupation 29
Nature of the Family 31
Appraisal of the Literature Review 35
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGIES
Introduction 37
Research Design 37
Area of Study 38
Population 38
Study Variable 38
Sample and Sampling Technique 38
Research Instrument 39
Administration of the Instrument 39
Scoring of the Instrument 40
Validity of the instrument 40
Pilot Study 40
Procedure for data Analysis 41
CHAPTER
FOUR DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction 42
Data Presentation 42
Hypothesis Testing 48
Discussion of the Findings 52
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
Summary 54
Conclusion 55
Recommendation 55
Suggestion for Further Studies 56
References
57
Appendix 61
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Age Distribution of Respondents
Table 2: Class Distribution of Respondents
Table 3: Respondents Gender
Table 4: Respondent Types of Family
Table 5: Single parent family and students academic
performance
Table 6: influence of parent socio-economic status
on students academic performance
Table 7: performance of students from intact family
Table 8: Students Gender nod Academic performance
Table 9: ‘r’ table showing relationship between
single family and students academic performance
Table 10: ‘r’ table showing relationship between
parental socio-economic status and students academic performance
Table 11: independent t-test between single parents
students and intact students academic performance
Table 12: independent t-test between students gender
difference and students academic performance.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The
need for the presence of parents in a child’s life cannot be over emphasized as
it goes a long way in ensuring the academic achievement of the student’s in
school. Parents presence tends to influence the performance of their children
or wards in school either positively or negatively. Separation of parents
and the resulting emotional instability in the home are likely to affect the
academic achievement of their children. Recent research has shown that
separation of parents occur when relationship between the parents had broken
down or because of migration of either parents, from one geographical location
to another i.e not staying within the same geographical location.
Bong
(2008), showed that parents had little or no relationship with their children
especially when they were young. Some children have both parents living
together while in some homes, children lived with only their mothers or their fathers
or even care takers or care givers or guardians as a result of the separation
of their parents. Fathers separate from their children earlier and for longer
periods than mothers, mostly because of a breakdown of relationship with the
mothers. But separation could also be due to migration, death and abandonment.
However,
migration seems to be one of the main reasons why mothers leave their children.
They could also separated from their children for financial reasons and
sometimes in these circumstances, the child might either be given to someone
with better resources or left in the care of someone while they seek work
elsewhere. The mothers too may leave the home because of breakdown in
relationship with fathers.
Winston
(2009), said "It would be the ideal situation to have both parents in the
home, but often, this is not the case but there is nothing that can be done
about it, as there are factors such as migration, death, and breakdown of
relationships to consider,". Same problems emanated from parental
separation which could lead to frustration, isolation of children and sometimes
the students may be forced to exhibit temper tantrums while in the classrooms.
The students anger, sadness and frustrated may justify the way they behave
because the children hope that after they must have returned from school and
wishes to play, no one would be available to play with them, in addition to
periods of sadness and behavioural problems, parental separation could also
contribute to changes in academic performance and success for secondary school
students.
Parental
separation tends to affect the development of children of which educational
development is inclusive. However, the academic achievement of students could
be attributed to the influence of both parents. A lot of outstanding members of
society have come from singled parent homes and even from foster homes where no
parents were present.
Since
parental separation has an influence on the academic performance of
adolescents, it is advisable that parents should sit down with their child and
break the news about the separation if there be need. It has been noted that
parental separation may result into a divorce and it becomes hard on the whole
family. Hence the need for every member of the family to get used to the change
in the family dynamic, as well as children coming to terms with the fact that
mum and dad aren’t together anymore.
The restructuring
of families that occurs after a separation requires several adjustments for
children, according to the Early Childhood Australia website. Transitioning
between homes, especially homes where children are exposed to a lot of parental
conflict, can be particularly detrimental. For example, if an adolescent goes
back and forth between homes and must also listen to parents fighting or
talking negatively about one another, it can cause the child lesser time to do
homework and study. Newly separated parents might ask adolescents and teens to
pitch in around the house more often, such as babysitting younger siblings,
which also gets in the way of studying. Problems might also be so distracting
that the child isn't able to concentrate and pay attention at school.
A
separation might mean the child has to move and enroll in a new school. This
change in routine can interfere with a child's ability to concentrate in class
and do his best in school work. In fact, this instability can impair
developmental growth in general. According to a 2007 article published in
"American Sociological Review." Many adolescents tend to pull away
from their parents during a separation. Pickhardt (2009), opines that if there
be a separation from parents, a child might not want to approach parents for
comfort or to discuss the transitions, leaving him without a support system as
he navigates his new school and tries to do his schoolwork.
Children
who experience two drastic transitions during childhood, such as parents
separation and move to a new school, tends to get lower grades and score lower
on achievement tests than children who have no such transitions or only one
transition. Among adolescents, just one such major transition raises the risk
that the child will drop out of school, the same journal reports. Most children
of separated or divorced parents live with their mothers, which can be
especially hard on boys who need a father figure. Boys who have fathers who
continue spending enough time with them tend to get better grades than boys
with absent fathers.
Parental
separation doesn't automatically doom an adolescent to poor grades and lower
test scores. Children who continue having warm, close relationships with their
parents tend to fare better academically than a child who doesn’t. Further,
children who were previously living in a home where parents fought or were
abusive toward one another tended to do better with the separation because
their home life became more stable. In the end, an adolescent's academic
success likely isn't harmed, despite separation, if he has a stable home life
and involved parents.
The
period of adolescence which most students pass through is very important to the
development of an individual. Any laxity on the part of the parents in
assisting and guiding the adolescents may result in academic backwardness and
development of unwholesome behaviours, the foundation of what a person becomes
in the society is laid in the home and at the initial stage of life. Parents
therefore have important roles to play in seeing to it that the youths acquire
the appropriate social, psychological, moral and academic development.
In
Nigeria, among the Yorubas for example, the parental roles are culturally
determined. Maternal role is that of childcare and home making while the
paternal role is that of economic responsibilities and discipline of children.
Generally, it is the responsibility of the family, to train and bring up the
child in the norms and values of the society. They are to be responsible for
the psychological and emotional welfare of the child. The parents are mainly
responsible for the educational and career development of their children.
However, divorce and separation of various kinds or death of one spouse may
leave the roles in the hands of a single parent. A considerable amount of
research has recognized the importance of social contexts in determining
engaging school behaviour of adolescents. In general, the emphasis has been
placed on three different socialization agents, namely family, teachers and
peers (Fredricks, Blumenfeld & Paris, 2004; Simons-Morton & Chen, 2009;
Stewart, 2007). In their article, they focus on the family as it is often
considered as the most important socialization agent for youngsters (Grusec
& Davidov, 2007; Hillaker, Brophy-Herb, Villarruel, & Haas, 2008).
Driven by the sharp increase in family instability, the question is raised
whether this would have lasting negative consequences on school outcomes of
adolescents, as education is considered the key factor in determining the long-term
economic success of adolescents. Living in a non intact family makes
adolescents more likely to be less engaged and detached from school and work
(Brown, 2004; Hess, 2010).
Education
is becoming more and more one of the most important social cleavages within
society, as it clearly divides the haves from the have-nots (Berlin,
Furstenberg, & Waters, 2010). Individuals with a higher educational degree
have more chances at the labour market, whereas those with a lower educational
degree struggle more to find a job and often have a lower occupational status
and income (Pong, 1997; Amato, 2005). For adolescents, school forms one of the
most important life spheres. Next to their home and family, adolescents spend
most of their time at school, because education forms a clear stratifying
mechanism in society, school outcomes of youngsters are important to
investigate. They signal the future position of adolescents within society.
Whereas the objective school outcomes for adolescents have been studied
abundantly (Astone & Mclanahan, 1994; Bean, 1985; Evans, Kelley, &
Wanner, 2001), the more subjective school outcomes are equally important to
investigate (Van Houtte, 2004).
These
latter types of school outcomes are in the same way part of their school
experience that forms them and leads to several consequences within their
current and later life (Johnson, Crosnoe, & Elder, 2001). To illustrate,
disengaged students will have lower academic and career aspirations, which can
limit their career options (Finn & Rock, 1997; Kenny, Blustein, Chaves,
Grossman, & Gallagher, 2003).
Adolescents
difficulties in school often originate outside the school environment. This
therefore placed emphasis on parental separation as a factor that influences
adolescents academic performance. They examined the subjective outcome of
school engagement that considers whether adolescents are concerned with their
studies, if they are inquisitive and eager to learn, or if they dislike school
and are averted to their studies. They searched for differences between
adolescents in intact and non-intact families. Does growing up in a broken
family affect academic performance? Are adolescents who experienced a parental
separation differently affected by family contexts when school engagement is
analyzed? Answers to these questions would tell the extent to which parental
separation can affect the academic performance of adolescents in schools.
Single
parenting could be defined as a situation in which one of the two individuals,
involved in the conception of the child is being responsible for upbringing of
the child. Single parenthood may arise when either the male or female decides
to produce and rear a child or children outside wedlock. A child from homes
where the father and the mother are present will be well taken care of and
socialised in the best way possible (Asana, 2008). This is due to the fact that
the process of socialization depends on both parents playing complimentary
roles in bringing up the child. Such a child is likely to achieve self-actualisation
later in life, Children from single-parent homes are likely to suffer
deprivation and denial of some rights and opportunities. Adolescents'
from-broken homes are usually associated with anti-social behaviour and poor
academic records. The problem of deprivation of a second parent is bad enough
but when the remaining parent cannot cope with the resultant problems a tragic
situation arises. In such a situation, the child becomes a misfit in the
society.
The
family is the first socialising agent the child comes into contact with, it has
a great influence on the child's physical, mental and moral development (Brien,
2006). The family lays the foundation of education before the child goes to
school and the personality that the child takes to school is determined by the
home. It’s important to note that both parents have roles to play in child
education. The father is to provide the necessary tools for the educational
advancement while the mother is supposed to supplement the father's efforts in
this regard. When the father is absent and the mother is not privileged enough
to cater for all the basic needs as well as supervised the academic performance
of the child he/she (the child) will be backward or withdrawn.
The
same thing occurs when the mother is absent and the father is not privileged
enough (Fisbet, 2005). A single parent faces doubled responsibilities requiring
time, attention and money of the parent- Hence, less attention is paid to the
education of the child. Teachers commonly describe children from single or
separate parents as more hostile, aggressive, anxious, fearful, hyperactive and
distractible than children from intact families. Hence, the need to Investigate the influence of single parent family on students academic
performance, Investigate the influence of parent socio- economic status on
students academic performance, Investigate if students from single parent
family will performed better than students intact family, Investigate if
students gender have any influence on students academic performance to the
purpose of study as it goes a long way on student academic achievement.
Statement of the Problem
Often
times it is said that a child is a product of his immediate environment and
this environment ranges from the physical environment to the social environment
to the genetic or biological environment. These environmental factors would to
a large extent determine the behavioural pattern of these children of which the
attitude to their academics would not be left out. Needless to say that the
family as an agent of socialization in the environment has an effect on the
academic performance of adolescents because the kind of family one comes from
affects his or her academic performance.
The
school performance of students could be traced back to their homes as we view
that the home is the first point of call for every individual so any way an
individual is raised from the home whether by a single parent or both parents
would most likely affect the academic achievement of the children.
Separation
of parents from children tends to pose a serious threat to attainment of their
educational goals since they (the children affected) lack the necessary
parental role or care from parents. This is a problem that needs to be
addressed so as to avoid any possible backwardness in academic attainment of
students concerned.
There
are many students within our school system that come from single parent or
separated parent families. Due to the many issues that stems from such family
model, some students are unable to reach their full potential. As such parent
model rapidly becomes the norm, it is necessary to find a way to address these
issues so as to provide students and parents with solutions to help them
achieve or perform to their highest ability.
In
essence, separation of parents may be caused by various factors such as
geographical location, nature of family, parental socio-economic status to
family size and parents wish among others.
It is
therefore a necessity that for any separation to occur, caution should be taken
to avert the level of negative effect it could have on a student affected.
It is against this backdrop that a study of this
magnitude becomes imperative with a view to investigate the effect of parental
separation on academic achievement of students in some selected secondary
schools in Education District II in Lagos State.
Purpose of the Study
The major
objective of this study is to investigate the influence of parental separation
on the academic achievement of secondary schools students in Lagos Educational District II. Specifically,
the researcher seek to :
1.
Investigate the influence of
single parent family on students academic performance
2.
Investigate the influence of parent socio- economic status on students
academic performance
3.
Investigate if students from single parent family will performed better
than students intact family
4.
Investigate if students gender have any influence on students academic
performance
Research Questions
(i)
Will single parent family have any significant influence on students academic
performance?
(ii)
Do parent socio- economic status have any significant influence on students
academic performance?
(iii)
Do students from single parent family performed better than students from intact
family ?
(iv)
Does students gender have any influence on students academic
performance?
Research Hypothesis
(i)
There is no significant relationship between single parent family and
students academic performance
(ii)
There is no significant relationship between parental socio-economic
status and students academic performance
(iii)
There is no significant difference between academic performance of
students from single parent family and academic performance of students from
intact family.
(iv)
Gender difference does not have any significant influence on students
academic performance
Significance of the Study
The
study hopes to contribute to knowledge by shedding light on the effect of
parental separation on the academic achievement of the students in secondary
schools. It will also generate enough data for teachers, social workers,
government, counsellors, psychologists and parents concerned with the care and
welfare of the children under their watch. This study also hopes to inform and
guide parents on the need to maintain their homes as separation could have
adverse effects on children. In addition, this study would also seek to
enlighten students on the effect parental separation and socio-economic status
of parents would have on their academic performance.
Operational Definition of Terms
Parent:
Parents are caretakers of the offspring in their own specie i.e. one who takes
care of his/her biological children.
Guardian:
Guardians are people who by appointment or by relationship have the care a
person.
Adolescent: An
adolescent is child between childhood and adulthood usually between the ages of
10 and 19.
Adolescence: This is a transitional state of physical and
psychological human development that generally occurs during the period from
puberty to legal adulthood.
Parenting: This
is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and
intellectual development of a child from infancy to adult hood.
Separation: The condition of being
apart, especially the condition of two
people who had
lived together or been married living
in different places
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