CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The
home is the primary institution for children, home as perceived by Abdulganiyu
(1997), Christe (2009), defined home as a place in which an individual or a
family can rest and store personal property. Haven’t define the concept of home
it is therefore important to define family. The family can therefore, be looked
at as a social group characterized by common resident, economic, cooperation
and production. When a child is born, the family is the first primary group
with which they come into contact. Transmission of social values of right and
wrong, what is morally and religiously accepted or condemned by the family, it
follows therefore that by the time a child attained five to seven years of age
he must have learnt what are his rights, obligations and roles within the
society.
However,
the background of a student goes along way to determine his/her individuality.
As the child enters schools, he/she will start manifesting different attitudes
and expectations. In addition they may be of the same age group, developed at
different rates and so may be able to cope with the intellectual and social
task of the school in varying extent. However, a home can either be stable or
broken.
A
stable home is one in which both parent (mother and father) lives together with
their children, while a broken home is the one in which one or both of the
parents are not living together with the children. It is the level at which the
home operates that determine the academic achievement of a students in school.
Broken homes been it unstable can influence the achievement of a students
academically. Also, children that have suffered from neglect or lack of love
(in broken homes) are known to be psychologically imbalanced to face the
realities of life. When there is disunity in the family, or a difference
between a mother and a father, the child is caught in the middle and will be at
disadvantage. According to Blackby (2000), adequate research needs to be
conducted in this direction to ensure smooth transition of children from early
stages to adulthood.
Many
authors have defined the home and deal fully and give various definitions to
it. According to Homeby (2004), broke home is a home in which the parents are
separated or divorced or are no more together as a result of death. In the same
way Udry (2004), define a broken home means a house in which the parental are
no more living together. Other researcher studies been carried out on broken
homes seem to agree that broken home are associated increase aggressive and
juvenile delinquency in children. From such home (broken home) children from
this lack proper care and security. In assessing the definition such as a
situation (broken home can result to poor academic achievement in student as
once the child misses such opportunity of guide, securities affection and
assistant where necessary).
Home and the Childs’ family provide
the best and first education since the child serve as teachers. The parent laid
the foundation for the desired social, moral, emotional spiritual and
intellectual well being of the child. The training a child received from home
is of imperative in his/her total personality formation and the academic
performance as a student in secondary school. It can also be observed that the
pattern of life in the home (stable or broken), the economic and social status
of the family in the community and many other conditions that give the
performance of student in the school.
Abdulganiyu (2002), started that
research have shown that children differs in various ways as a result of
variable of their home background such as socio-economic status, parental
attitude to school and child rearing practices. These home background variables
are also found to be positive related to children’s academic performance.
Also Giwa (1997), have also
investigated the various factors within the students home background or family
that affect their academic performance in school, variable such as
socio-economic status, family size, birth order, parental attitude child
rearing practices parental absence or presence have been found to affect social
and intellectual learning experience of children in school.
This is so, because children are born
with some psychological, emotional and intellectual needs such as need for love
and security, the need for new experience, the need for praise and recognition
and need for responsibility. Many of these needs are not offered to the
children of broken home which influence their performance in school. The extent
to which these needs are met during the formative years of children between
birth and the age of six or seven in the extent to which they enter school well
equipped or ready to deal with the social and emotional aspects of schooling. Based
on the observation above and in line with the assumption that economic and
social future of many children in most localities is being undermined by
cultural practices that promotes widespread divorce amongst couples and brought
unnecessary hardship to the growing children.
It
is pertinent at this juncture to point out in spite of all the needs expressed
as to be met by the students most especially secondary school students, this
research also has intended to seek for how much secondary school student is
affected in academic achievement, either as a result of his home been stable or
broken.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
In
our society, children are sometimes exposed at an early age to all sort of
dangers arising from malnutrition, diseases and various temptation of surviving
due to absence of one or both of their parents. Student’s life in broken homes
is observed to be associated with emotional stress that can impair intellectual
development, thereby giving way for such children to grow up without being
trained properly. However, absence of one or both parents deprives young
children of the stable love, care, security and total support they have been
accustomed to and tend to make children different in the eyes of the peer
group. If children are asked where the missing parent is or why they have a new
parent to replace the missing parents, they become embarrassed and ashamed.
They may also feel guilty and unwanted by the society, such stressful situation
leads to psychological, emotional and intellectual imbalance in growing
children.
These subsequently result to quitting from school or poor academic achievement
of secondary schools student as education require critical thinking, relax mind
and proper family support to be able to perform to expectation in the school.
Hence it becomes necessary to investigate factors that cause broken homes with
a view to finding solution to the problems for psychological well being of
growing children in our society, and these lead us to look at the effect of
broken homes on the academic performance secondary schools students in Nigeria.
1.3 Objectives
of the Study
The main objectives
of this research work includes the following:
To assess the impact or effect of broken homes influence on secondary schools
students in Nigeria.
To find out the causes of broken
homes and the solution in Nigeria.
To seek for solution for widespread
divorce among couples.
To find out how absence of one or
both parent influence secondary schools students academic performances in
school.
To suggest ways of women and men
unnecessary divorce
1.4 Research Questions
The
following research questions are formulated to guide this study.
1. Does the home have any significant effect on secondary school student in
Nigeria?
2. Does broken home have any significant effect on the academic performances of
secondary school students in Nigeria?
3.
Does the socialization of the home have any significant effect on the academic
performances of secondary school students in Nigeria?
4
Is there any significant different in the academic performance of secondary
school student from broken homes and these from unbroken home?
1.5 Research
Hypothesis
1.
There is no any significant effect on secondary school students in term of broken
homes.
2. There is no any significant difference in the academic performances of secondary
school students from broken homes and from unbroken homes.
3. There is no any significant effect on the academic performances of secondary
school students in term of socialization of the home.
1.6 Significance
of the Study
The purpose of
this study is to find out causes of broken home on academic performance of
secondary schools students in Nigeria. This is with a view to suggest ways of
minimizing and overcoming the problem. Home play very significant role in child
personality formation and socialization, broken homes are identified as one of
the factor that undermined the socialization process at home, which
consequently affect the performance of student. If the concern of education,
secondary schools in particular is to look after socialization process of the
child as well as his intellectual development, then this research work would be
of great importance to parents and educators, teacher and society at large that
absence of one or both of the parent affect children educational career.
Lastly, it will be
of benefit to future researchers as the finding will serve as a source of
literature review.
1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study
Though, the questions which prompted this study
were found to be in existence in different part of the country, most especially
in the northern part of the country, it is not possible for this research to
cover all such areas. This is because the research/ researchers cannot obtain
data from all places concerned due to lack of time and resources (both human
and material resources). As the title of the research reads, the research will
be limited to only Esan West Local Government Area of Edo state and it should
be noted that the work may not represent some areas in the local government and
not all people during the course of the research exercise will cooperate, hence
the research is bound to experience limitation.
