ABSTRACT
The study attempted to investigate
the effect of formal education on Nigerian women’s attitude towards
family planning in Lagos
State. The study
also reviewed relevant and extensive literatures under sub-headings.
The descriptive research survey
design was employed in this study in order to assess the opinions of the
respondents with the application of questionnaire and the sampling technique.
A total of 160 (one hundred and
sixty) respondents were selected as samples representing the entire population
of the study.
Four null hypotheses were
formulated and tested in this study using the Pearson Product Moment
Correlation and the independent t-test statistical tools at 0.05 level of
significance.
At the end of the analyses, the
following results were obtained:
1.
Hypothesis one revealed that adult educational
programmes will significantly influence family planning among couples.
2.
Hypothesis two found that the socio-economic status of
couples will have significant effect on their level of family planning.
3.
Hypothesis three result shows that religious belief of
couples will significantly have relationship with their level of family
planning.
4.
Hypothesis four show that there is a significant
difference between the attitude of the educated couples towards family planning
and those who are illiterates.
All the null hypothesis were
rejected. This shows that adult educational programmes has significance influence
on the level of family planning among couples in Ikeja Local Government Area of
Lagos State.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgment iv
Abstract v
Table of content vi
CHAPTER
ONE 1
1.1
Introduction/Background to the Study 1
1.2
Theoretical Framework 4
1.3
Statement of the Problem 5
1.4
Purpose of the Study 7
1.5
Research Questions 7
1.6
Research Hypotheses 8
1.7
Significance of the Study 9
1.8
Scope of the Study 10
1.9
Definition of Terms 10
CHAPTER
TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 12
2.0 Introduction 12
2.1
Concept and Nature of Adult Education 13
2.2
Concept and Nature of Family Planning 14
2.3
Origin and Evolution of Family Planning 18
2.4
Methods and Effectiveness of Family Planning 23
2.5
Causes of Increase in Population Growth and Rise in
Fertility Rates 26
2.6
Family Planning Activities Among Couples 29
CHAPTER
THREE: Research Methodology 32
3.0 Introduction
32
3.1 Research
Design 32
3.2 Population
of the Study 32
3.3 Sample
and sampling Technique 33
3.4 Research
Instrument 33
3.5 Validity
of Instrument 34
3.6 Reliability
of Instrument 34
3.7 Procedure
for Data Collection 35
3.8 Procedure
for Data Analysis 35
CHAPTER
FOUR: Data Analysis and Interpretation of
Results 36
4.1
Introduction 36
4.2
Descriptive Analyses of Bio-Data of Respondents 36
4.3
Data Presentation of Questionnaire Responses 39
4.4
Hypotheses Testing 45
4.5
Summary of the Findings 50
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary,
Conclusions, and Recommendations 51
5.1
Introduction 51
5.2
Summary of the Study 51
5.3
Conclusions 52
5.4
Recommendations 53
5.5
Suggestions for Further Studies 55
References 56
Appendix 61
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the
Study
Education can be
described as a dynamic activity which involves an orderly, deliberate and
sustained effort to develop knowledge and skills (Olusakin, 1998). As Awoniyi
(1999) puts it, formal education is a process by which the human mind develops
through learning at school in stages from pre-primary through primary,
secondary to tertiary (university) institution. The present socio-economic
situation in Nigeria
has made it obvious that the women must be given sound, formal education as
their male counterparts are given.
According to Lai (1995), in the olden
days, a woman had little or no status as a person in her own right. In the
Nigerian society, women were viewed as their husbands’ properties, and as such,
had no say in the affairs of their own home. The women’s roles were basically
those of taking care of their husbands and their children, their in-laws, the
family compound, child-bearing and child rearing. Also, her place was believed
to be naturally, in the kitchen. However, only few people would deny the
functional roles of women in the larger society. Even through the average
Nigerian woman still performs her basic traditional roles as a daughter to her
parents, sister to her siblings, wife to her husband, mother to her children,
daughter or sister inlaw to her husband’s family, she is economically viable,
she contributes financially to the up keep of the family.
According to Adiele (2000), the
education of the girl-child was not a common phenomenon in the traditional
Nigerian society before independence. In fact, her birth would not attract so
much celebration as that of the male-child, and depending on the number of
female children the mother had given birth to before her, the birth of an
additional girl-child could cause her mother her marriage. This is still a
major problem in some homes even among educated men.
Education should be considered as a
great line of defence for women faced with life threatening situations that
traditional life-styles perpetuate. It opens the door to a lot of choices that
are not found by tradition (Nwagwu, 1996). Grange (1997) posits that education
encourages shaping one’s destiny. The situation of the educated Nigerian woman
steps up beyond the confines of motherhood and enhances the quality of life in
her family.
Therefore, incessant child-bearing
places a woman in a very weak position physically, economically and
psychologically, yet barrenness is viewed as a curse in the Nigerian society
due to high infantile mortality, the capacity to breed was much valued but
advances in the field of medicine have greatly increased the survival rate
among both infants and adults. According to Onyeanwu (2001), the incessant
child-bearing is therefore, no longer necessary, instead, it poses great danger
to the health of the mother and also increased family size that cannot be
supported with the family resources, especially now that the Nigerian economy
has nose-dived and the resultant effect of unemployment among men in the
society.
Therefore, to improve the living
condition of Nigerian families, the life of the women who are the cornerstone
of every household should be improved and the regulation of the size of the
regulation of the size of the size of the regulation of the size of the nuclear
family, through family planning, cannot be overemphasied (Lai, 1990).
There has been a lot of discrimination
against the female gender. In fact people just see them as breeding machines,
in spite of the availability of family planning. The dissemination of
appropriate and relevant information would lead to the acquisition of knowledge
skills and women empowerment. This can help in breaking the intractable poverty
cycle which many Nigerian families have come to be associated with due to
ignorance of family planning devices and the attitude of many women towards the
application of such devices.
According to
Halsall (1997), if women’s health and status remain poor, if their access to
land and other facilities continue to be limited and if they continue to be
held down by ill-timed or unwanted pregnancies, then the societal development
would be retarded.
1.2
Theoretical
Framework
Family planning
refers to the services offered to educate men and women about family life and
the encouragement given to them to achieve their wishes with regards to the
prevention of unwanted pregnancies, securing desired pregnancies, spacing of
pregnancies and limiting the number of children in the interest of overall
family and the family socio-economic status (Enudi, 1986).
According to
Amaechi (2003), the Federal Government released a National Policy on Population
for development, unity, progress and self-reliance in 1988 included as part of
the policy statement was the promotion of awareness among citizens of this
country of population problems and the effect of rapid population growth on
development and also the provision to every one of the necessary information
and education on the value of reasonable family size, the individual family and
the future of the nation on achieving self-reliance.
Ajuzie
(2000) theorizes that the value of family planning on the stability and the
well being of the family need to be taught and the message should reach every
woman since we practice the patriarchal family system because some want to
oppose the idea of family planning and since men are considered as the head of
the family, the decisions regarding the family size and child spacing cannot be
taken by the woman alone. The government should not only design but take
conscious effort to see to the implementation of enlightenment and educative
programme regarding family planning, some of which are:
1.
Vaginal douche
2.
Diaphragm with cream
3.
Cream or jelly alone
4.
Use of condom
5.
Calendar safe period calculation
6.
Intra-urine device (I.U.D.)
7.
Use of pills
8.
Vasectomu
9.
Bilateral tubal ligation (BTL)
Each of
these methods according to Anyanwu (2004) has its own advantages and
disadvantages which should be clearly understood before a choice is made.
1.3
Statement of the
Problem
There has been a
lot of discrimination against the female gender. In fact, people just see them
as breeding machines inspite of the availability of family planning.
The dissemination
of appropriate and relevant information on family planning would lead to the
acquisition of knowledge, skills and women empowerment. This can help to break
the intractable poverty cycles that many Nigerian families have come to be
associated with due to the ignorance of family planning devices and the
attitude of many women towards the application of such devices.
According to
Halsall (1977) if women’s health and status remain poor, if their access to
land and other facilities continues to be limited and if they continue to be
held down by lack of information concerning family, unwanted pregnancies and
sexual diseases, the societal development would be retarded. Also, the problem
that is involved in the negligence of family planning cannot be overemphasized.
For example, without family planning there will be population explosion which
could bring about shortage of food and other necessary amenities in the
country. According to Uzomah (2004), women who do not expose themselves to
formal education do not have necessary information, especially on family
planning and majority of them have died in their bid to give birth to children.
This study
therefore, sets out to examine the effect of formal education on the Nigerian
women’s attitude towards family planning.
1.4
Purpose of the
Study
The purpose of this
study is to examine the effect of formal education on the attitude of Nigerian
women towards family planning.
Other specific objectives of the study
include:
1.
To ascertain the difference in the attitude of women towards
formal education in Nigerian society.
2.
To examine whether there is difference in the attitude of
women towards family planning.
3.
To examine whether difference exists between the attitude of
women who have formal education and those who are not.
4.
To assess whether there is difference in the level of
awareness of family planning of women with formal education and those without
formal education.
5.
To investigate whether there will be difference in the
number of children of women with formal education and the number of children of
those without formal education.
1.5
Research Questions
The following
research questions were posed in this study:
1.
Will the attitude of women towards formal education affect
their family planning method?
2.
How can we ascertain whether there is difference in the
attitude of women towards formal education?
3.
To what extent can we examine whether there is difference in
the attitude of women towards family planning in Nigeria?
4.
Is there any difference between the attitude of women who
are exposed to formal education and those who are not?
5.
Is there difference in the level of awareness of family
planning of women with formal education and those without formal education?
1.6 Research Hypotheses
The following
research hypotheses were raised in this study:
1.
There will be no significant difference in the attitude of
women with formal education to family planning compared to those without formal
education.
2.
There will be no significant difference in the level of
awareness of family planning of women with formal education and those with no
formal education.
3.
There will be no significant difference in the number of
children of women with formal education and the number of children of those
without formal education.
1.7 Significance of the Study
This study will be beneficial in
various ways thus: For instance, The government has continued to devote a
substantial part of her health-care funds to finance family planning activities
with the hope that the adoption of the modern method and give women a better
place in the socio-economic sphere. This study therefore, examines the effect
of formal education on Nigerian women’s attitude to family planning inspire of
various family planning programems and service. The finding and recommendations
in this study will be of immense benefit to manpower planning , administrators
and other programme executors not only in Lagos Mainland Local Government, but
also in Lagos State as a whole. The findings and
recommendation of this study will equally be of benefit to the couples and
other individuals if they will attempt to implement all or most of the
suggestions or recommendations of this study in the interest of women, children
and the entire families in Nigeria.
The school administrators will no
doubt, benefit from the findings and recommendations of this study. Also the
benefit from the exposition this study will put them into because they will be
able to make allowance for a larger enrolment in the short run. The state
government will equally benefit from this study because it will help her to
carry out a better projection or expected needs of the state population with a
view to raising the per capita income.
Finally, this study will be of
great benefit to the population commission officials, because it will help them
to regulate the child birth rate in the country if the recommendations put across
in this study are observed and acted upon.
The society, will also benefit from
this study because it will be a good reference material to the public,
especially adult members of the society. Also students at various levels will
find this study a good reference material.
1.8
Scope of the Study
This study
attempted to examine the effect of formal education on the Nigerian women’s
attitude to family planning in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State.
1.9
Definition of Terms
Operational terms
were defined in this study thus:
1.
Fertility Rate: This is the
summation of all the fertility obtained from the age specific rate for each
year of child bearing span hence it gives the number of children per thousand
of women without any mortality.
2.
Contraceptive
Prevalence:
This gives the proportion in percentage of couple (married or sexually active
women) of reproductive ages using contraceptive method amongst a population of
interest at a time.
3.
Family Planning: This refers to the
whole range of problems associated with reproduction regulation spacing and
limitation, as well as sexual education.
4.
Contraceptive
Users:
This refers to those who do not abandon the use of contraceptive in order to
regulate child birth or to space their child birth rate. It is the acceptance
of birth regulation through the application of contraceptive.
5.
Family Planning
Programme:
This shows the amount of change in fertility that can be attributed to the
policies. It is the measured by finding the difference between fertility level
in a given year and the level that would have prevailed in the same period
without family planning.
6.
Pill: This is a tablet
composed of synthetic hormones, which help to prevent pregnancy even when
ovaries are released.
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