CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The educational pursuit of every child is relatively determined by the pattern of family or home he or she comes from. Be it wealthy or poor, educated or otherwise, traditional belief or aspirations. Parents who failed in their responsibilities to assist and guide their wards through every stage of development in life may likely have to contend with poor academic performance sooner or later and the development of unwholesome behaviours, as foundation to the successor failures in any child is laid upon the home and at the initial stage in life. Parents therefore have a great role to play in seeing to it that the students acquire the appropriate social, psychological, moral and academic development. Those found in this category are mostly adolescents who needed to be tutored not only by the teachers but with combined efforts of the parents.
In Nigeria, there are widespread cases of single-parenthood across all regions and tribes which has become a major source of concern to the socio-economic and socio-cultural development. Single parenting can be defined as a situation in which one of the individual involved in the conception of the child is being responsible for the upbringing of the child (Henshin, 1985). This idea is relatively unknown before now in Nigeria but is fast growing family patterns both inside and outside the shores of the land (Nwachukwu, 1998). Children from single parent homes are likely to suffer deprivation, and denial of some rights and opportunities. They are more exposed to antisocial behaviours and poor academic records.
Divorce and separation of various kinds or death of one spouse may leave a child with no option than to have a single parent. The benefits of a two parent’s family far outweigh that of a single parent family, as mother play the traditional role of child care and home-making while the father’s role is that of economic responsibilities and discipline of children. But in single parent families, double responsibilities are required of time, attention invariably the cost of receiving education today is high to be financed only by a single parent who may be financially handicapped.
In the case of the few wealthy single parents in the locality of the research study the task is more with the nature of their job which affects adequate supervision of a child’s growth and development.
Teachers commonly describe children from single parents as more hostile, aggressive, anxious, fearful, hyperactive and distractible than children from intact families (Nwachukwu, 1998). The school curriculum if well designed as the situation demands will become helpful in addressing the deficient students’ academic performance on the set-objectives of secondary education as well as analyzing the factors that affect the performance. Although, there are no available statistics of single parent families in Nigeria, practical experiences and tabloid report shows that it is increasing on a daily basis. On the contrary, western countries have a geometric progression in the percentage of adults and children living in single parent households (Nwachukwu, 1998).
The conditions are not palatable for effective parenting of a child in most single parental families (Ortese, 1998). This was because when the parent are over burdened by responsibilities and by their own emotional reactions to environmental situation and insensitive to their children’s plight. It is against this back drop that this study was being planned to investigate the possible impact of single parental upbringing on the academic performance of secondary school students.
1.2 Statement of Problem
It is worthy to note that education high quality is expensive and possibility beyond the reach of most poor single headed homes. This project is interested in finding solution to the problem of effects of single parenting on the academic performance of secondary school students parents that is also fail to understood each other during the journey of their marriage, if any one of them fail to cope or understood other, this may cause divorce to some certain responsibilities that fail to carry out and also if the child’s mother also deprive from her own responsibilities at home in a situation whereby she needs to take good care of their child and also monitoring and cook for her child, this may lead to divorce and can affect the educational performance of the wards.
Disagreement of the two parents may also affect the cognitive domain and the necessary school activities that the child needs to carry out both in school and at home even among his peer group.
Majorly parents are the main sources of the problem for the child since they fail to monitor, direct and advice the child by encourage him or her to read and to concentrate on any subject that it might give him/her problem during the examination.
Lack of finance might even lead to not improvement of the child by the parent that insist to struggle and send his/her ward to the best private school instead of sending them to public school even some can join anti-social like cultism and inculcate bad norms in the school.
1.3 Purpose of Study
The purpose of this research is to highlight the effects of single parenting on the academic performance of secondary school students in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State and the specific one centered on the pupils that also fail to prepare down before and during the examination and this will also lead to the failure of the pupils.
1.4 Research Questions
This research is set to give answer to the following research questions:
1. To what extent does income status of single parental homes influence the academic performance of secondary school students in Abeokuta South Local Government Area?
2. What is the influence of educational attainment of parental homes on the academic performance of secondary school students in Abeokuta South Local Government Area?
3. Are there differences in the academic performance of secondary school students of single parents compared to those of two parents in Abeokuta South Local Government Area?
1.5 Significance of Study
As widely described, a child plays an important role in the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values and ideal. Unfortunately, the pattern of homes reason or another. Thereby, affecting the academic performance of a child’s upbringing in and out-of-school. The finding anticipated in this study shall empower single parents and others alike to have an indivisible family.
The outcome of this study would also help secondary school teachers and other teachers as well, to acknowledge the importance of a stable home as a major pillar for academic success in the life of any student.
Moreover, pupils are also benefit from this study by having a well adequate preparation before the examination to acquire a full knowledge and experience on how to fulfill his or her goals or aim in life.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of the study is to get the first-hand knowledge about the effects of single parenting on the academic performance of school children in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State (at Egba Comprehensive High School, Asero, Abeokuta, Ogun State or Lisabi Model Secondary School, Ita-Agemo, Igbein, Abeokuta, Ogun State).
1.7 Limitation of Study
Some of the respondents can hide the real information. Sometime people did not have time to fill questionnaire, so they tick option also where the researcher is going to carry out the investigation is far and this may not lead to conclusion of the project due to lack of money and time to put this project work on writing for the supervisor to cross check after browsing the topic on line.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Parenting: The skills and task responsibilities of raising child/children. In this case, the child’s physical, emotional, social and intellectual developments are being promoted and supported by the parent.
Single Parenting: The situation where there is only one biological parent to raise up a child/children. In most cases, this tendency may be as a result of many years of travel by one of the parents, divorce, death, etc.
Academic Performance: A student’s grade or marks obtain from school examination. Although, class contribution and participation can determine the strength of a student’s work, the common method use globally to asses a student’s academic performance is through written examination.