CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF
THE STUDY
Marriage of a youth in ancient society was parts of
the responsibilities of his parents. The young man had no choices and no say.
He accepted his wife his joy and thanks. In some cases, a wife was married for
him at a time he could certainly not afford to keep a wife all maintenance was
borne by the parents. In the past marriage were a matter within the clan or
within clan’s and its environs parents were not anxious to see their suns
getting married to girls from distant places or other tribes.
Marriages arranged by parents on the basis of family
friendship ties rarely broke up in the past. Single parenting in the ancient
times was also very rate, because of penalties of proven infidelity and fear of
offending elders of both families in Nigerian, there are four clearly defined
types of marriage we have the church or statutory marriage those performed at
the mosques and marriage contracted according to native law and customs of any
ethnic group. The purpose of marriage is to have children and establish a family.
When these children eventually arrive, they are regarded as blessing from God
and are social and economic assets to their parents. The family, this time
needs a home to live in and feel secured. Thus, home is a place where a family
lives and also a place where one secures love. It is a place which provides all
individual needed in order to fit into the society successfully. A home
provides for food, physical, mental, psychological and spiritual; development
of its members. A home is built on love and mutual understanding and good
planning is able to meet its goals in a home where love and understanding are
lacking, such a home is bound to crack and fissure in all direction. This
broken homes are homes or families where either the father or the mother has
ceased to be further member of such a home of family through divorce, desertion
to mention but a few.
Single parenting therefore can be defined to be
personal misfortune for either of the spouse ion any society but it is a
universal escape for the inevitable tension is marriage. Single parenting as a
matter of fact breaks the bonds, which once united two individual and their
family. Marriage is a big step in life, in which a person plans as a career or
even business, certainly you either fail or succeed. This bond dissolution can
occur as a result of extra marital practices by either of the partners, early
marriage, a solution where either of the spouses is not ripe enough for
marriage before getting married.
The proper upbringing of children is a more
important objective of the family than the happiness of the parents. This is
because the early of child life are the formation of personality and these are
the years that are spent mainly in association with parent’s siblings and the
family. The home as the child’s immediate environment forms the basis for
personality development, which accompanies the individual throughout life. As a
result of single parenting or broken home children fails to develop ties to one
or few important person in the family and when these ties are disrupted,
children are taught at school impaired in developing close relationship in
adulthood. They feel better and carryover critically as a happy person and at
the same time cannot concentrate on anything taught at school. When a mother is
out of a home, leaving the children under charity and mercy of step-mother,
these children are prone to many problems such as poor feeding, negligence not
inspired to study or learn, diseases and sicknesses, emotional disturbance
(fear, insecurity) as such they are not likely to perform up to expectation in
school. For a marriage to be successful there is the need for the couples to be
in harmony-mentally, physically, and spiritually. In other words, the husband
and the wife must have a common goal and each has to contribute his or her own
quota towards its fulfillment and the key ward should be love.
STATEMENT OF
PROBLEM
There are many problems with single parenting or
broken homes which at the long run reflect on the performance of children in
schools. Some of these problems are;
I.
Meeting
of a gap on the children’s existence because there is no adult to guide and
direct their behavior and desires as children learn by imitation.
II.
There
is increase in domestic work and redistribution of household chores, which
leaves the children with little or no time for their studies
III. Also, it has been observed
that children from broken homes suffer some other problems such as
non-provision of some basic material needs like non-provision of some basic
materials needs like food, clothing and learning material
IV. In security, step parent do
not show much love and affection to their step children. Thus, these children
suffer from mental retardation, personality improvement and are always
miserable. They show behavioral responses like lying, stealing, building and
playing truant in school.
In view of this, the researcher is forced to wonder
whether extra-relationship and financial problem could lead to broken home, and
if broken homes, are they causes of decrease in the performance of children in
schools. In that, a closer look at the turn out of secondary school graduates
these days reveals a lot of half-cooked, half-boiled and half-baked scholars
academically, socially and otherwise.
PURPOSE OF
STUDY
The researcher is interested in the study of causes,
problems and effects of single parenting or broken homes in the performances of
children in schools because of the present decrease children’s performance in
schools which is giving much concern to most Nigerians as to where we are
heading to. In view of this, this study is geared towards identifying the
causes and problem of broken homes and the effects on the performance of
children in some selected secondary schools in Egor local government area.
Also, to educated married couples and the general public of the consequences of
single parenting and or broken homes on the children and to encourage them to
live harmoniously in order to bring up children who will successfully fit into
the society and become useful to themselves and finally make necessary
recommendations.
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1.
Do
couples realize the causes of problems in marriage which lead to divorce?
2.
Are
couples aware of problems associated with single parenting as it affect their
offspring and the society?
3.
Does
psychological and emotional disturbances lead to academic and social
backwardness in schools?
4.
Does
insecurity and unruly attitude of step mothers to students of broken homes lead
them to steal at school?
5.
Does
lack of encouragement on the part of step parents contribute to academic
backwardness of students?
6.
Do
children from broken homes opportune to plan their future career with their
sponsor?
SIGNIFICANCE
OF STUDY
It is
hoped that findings from this study will enrich programmes of teaching social
studies. The researcher is interested in the study of effect of single
parenting on the performance of children in schools because whatever happens in
the home has a bearing in the academic performance of children. It is necessary
to educate the young stars who are yet unmarried about the problems and causes
of single parenting and their consequences on the children. It will also make
young stars to decimate their parents. Findings from this study will aid
children from parent who have being thought single parenting in the
understanding of problem experienced by their parents and give them assurance
about their future.
SCOPE AND
LIMITATION
There
are many secondary schools in Egor Local government Area where this research is
to be carried out, but due to poor financial position and time factor, the
researcher shall limit this study to four secondary schools, Egor Secondary
School, Uwelu Secondary School, Useh Secondary School, Evbarekhe Secondary
School.
DEFINITION OF
TERMS
Family: A group of persons, two or
more related by blood, marriage or adoption residing together; all such persons
are considered as members of one family
Marriage: Union of man woman as
husband and wife.
Couple: Two persons seen together
as husband and wife.
Divorce: Put an end to a marriage
by law.
Infidelity: Disloyalty or unfaithfulness of husband
or wife sexually outside matrimonial homes.