ABSTRACT
The study examined the effects of broken home on
academic performances of secondary student schools in Nigeria. Descriptive
survey research design was adopted with the sample consisting of 200 students
and teachers drawn from ten randomly selected secondary schools in Esan West
Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria. One validated instrument (Effect of
Broken Homes on Academic Performance of Secondary School Questionnaire (EBASSQ)
was used for data collection and the data collected were analyzed using
descriptive statistic. three null hypotheses were answered. The results showed
that there were no significant effects on secondary school students in term of
broken home. There were no significant differences in the academic performances
of secondary school students from broken homes and unbroken homes. There is no
significant effect on the academic performance of secondary school students in
term of socialization of the home. It is recommended that school counsellors
should be employed in all schools where they should provide necessary
assistance to students especially those that are from single-parent families or
broken homes to enable them overcome their emotional concerns. Implications of
the findings for the parents and the school counsellors were highlighted.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Title
page…… …………… ………….. ……………………………. ……..i
Certification …………… …………….. …………………………………...ii
Dedication …………… …………….. ………… …………………………iii
Acknowledgment ……………. ………………. …………………………..iv
Abstract ………………….. …………………. …………………………….v
Table of Contents ………………… …………………. …………………..vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the study ……… … ……… …… ………..………………..1
Statement of the problem …. ……. ……… ……….. ……..……………...10
Purpose of the study …………. ………… ………… ……..……...............11
Research question …………. …………. …………… ……........................12
Hypothesis …………… ……………. …………. ……………...…………13
Significant of the study ………… ………. …….. ………………………..13
Scope of the study ……………. ………… ………….. …………………..14
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review …..……………….. ……….. ………….. ……………16
CHAPTER THREE
Research methodology ………….. …………….. ………… …………….34
Research design ………….. ……….. ……… …….. …………………….34
Population of the study ……………. …………….. ………………………35
Sample and sampling technique ……….. ………. ………………………..36
Instrument for data collection ………… ………….. ……………………...36
Validation and reliability of the instrument……….
………………............37
CHAPTER FOUR
Data presentation and analysis ……….……. ……………. ……….. …….39
Analysis of questionnaire respond by sex …………………………………40
CHAPTER FIVE
Summary Conclusion and Recommendation ………………………. …….54
Conclusion …………. ……………. ……………….. ……………… ……56
Recommendation …………… …………. ………….. ……………… …...57
Recommendation for further research ………… ……………………. …...58
References …………………………………………………………………60
Questionnaire ……………………………………………………………...62
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
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.
Background of the Study.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Objective of the Study
The main
objective 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
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.