A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF BROKEN HOMES AND NON BROKEN HOME ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO STUDY

Having a good family background being with cohabitation is the basic for an improved mind set which may leads to good dusting, dusting therefore is a thing of the mindset is often influenced by family lifestyle, community lifestyle and associate personal life.

In the context of the project, we shell consider how communally life style or cohabitation influence offspring’s especially in the ordinary level of education popularly known as  secondary school, suing Edo state as a region of study, with Oredo Local Government as an area of study, one of the lifestyle that is very obvious in this local government of this state is broken homes.

Due to the importance of home or family, whatever happens in the family could affect the child’s educational development as well as academic performance. The writer from personal experiences observed that children from broken homes may not have access and equal educational opportunities as other children especially from intact homes or families. This is why Frazer (2010) explains that psychological home condition, that is to say, homes with psychological problems arise mainly among adopted children, broken homes, divorced and parental deprivation. Such abnormal conditions of the home are likely to have negative influence on the child’s performance in school.

Havlaw and Havlow in Udoma (2012) observed that family setting or structure and its socializing influence mould the personality of the child. Individual members of the family serve as a model to the child as he/she copies from each of them. Oburu (2014) explains that intact home is a home in which the parents are not separated or divorced, but live together irrespective of circumstances. Children from intact homes are less aggressive and perform better in their academic work. Such children are well catered and provided for.

According to oxford advanced learners dictionary broken homes is define as a family in which the parents are divorced or separated. This act being from and extend to a community even to association. In  Oredo it has  become the  major barricade to the  growth and  development  of  children  in school .Many woman have given birth to children who have no father ,you  can  think of  how such  children will behave when they start school that is to say that broken is affiliated to indiscipline and sex lust immoral act  of some irresponsible men and women even adolescent young stars. This immoral act led to the dead of  many  innocent souls in abortion and abandonment in gutter and toilet. The servicing ones in school especially colleges  of   educations in Oredo Local Government Area, go through problem such as poor financial support, hunger, lack of self confidence, humiliation, fear of the disillusionment in the life among other devastating challenges.

As a matter of facts, students from broken homes in college of education of Oredo Local Government live a life style that portrait frustration .

You can see this in their appearances. A more view of them would bring many questions and idea to your mind, one of which would centre on the effects. 

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM               

As a result  of improper  parental care, parental advice and counselling and rebuke the students are dull in learning, always struggling in class, poor physical outfit and disadvantaged, non hesitant in joining cult and bullying.

According to professions association of teachers the harmful effect of widespread divorce and single parent’s families in Oredo Local Government area is alarming. The demise of tradition family is creating a toxic cycle of school failure, poverty and crime. Many student struggles in class because they are brought up in chaotic home without married mothers and fathers. Studies in the past (Nzewunwah, 1995, Maduewesi & Emenogu, 1997; Ichado, 1998; Salami & Alawode, 1999; Frazer, 2001; Okoye, 2013; Salami, 2008; Hamilton-Ekeke, 2014 & Omoruyi, 2014), have dealt with influence of broken home on academic performance of secondary school students, majority of which were adolescents. Among the students in Nigerian secondary schools today, we have some that have passed through adolescence stage, not only that, in Nigeria as of today, there is dearth of literature on comparative analysis of secondary school students academic performance with respect to the types of homes they came from. It is on this background that this study was on comparative study of the effect of broken homes and non-broken homes on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oredo L.G.A

1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY            

The major purpose of this study is to compare the effect of broken homes and non-broken homes on the academic performance of secondary students. Other general objectives of the study are:

1. To find out the effect of a broken home on students academic performance.
2. To explore the effect of non-broken homes on students academic achievement.
3. To assess the relationship between academic performance of students from broken and non-broken homes.
4. To identify current challenges to students’ learning experience from broken homes.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS              

1. What are the effects of a broken home on student’s academic performance?
2. What are the effects of non-broken homes on student’s academic achievement?
3. What is the relationship between academic performance of students from broken and non-broken homes?
4. What are the current challenges to students’ learning experience from broken homes?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no effect of a broken home on student’s academic performance.

H1: There is a significant effect of a broken home on student’s academic performance.

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no relationship between academic performance of students from broken and non-broken homes.

H1: There is a significant relationship between academic performance of students from broken and non-broken homes.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study will assist teachers, counsellors, child psychologists and administrators to have a better understanding of the factors that affect secondary school students from broken homes in relationship with their academic performance and psychosocial adjustment, so that they can better appreciate the behaviours and attitudes of the children they teach or counsel.

More also, children in broken homes would be limited due to the awareness cut across by the impact of broken homes on children psychosocial and academic performance. This knowledge will put them in a good stead to help and add value to the life of these adolescents. It is also hoped that the result of this study will help practitioners to develop appropriate counselling techniques and programmes which if implemented will decelerate the speed at which broken homes is increasing; seeing that broken homes does not lend itself to the balanced moral, emotional, physical, social and educational development of children of such background.

1.7     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is restricted to effect of broken and non-broken homes on secondary school student in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. Because of the broken encountered in school by students from broken home, it is good for parents to live together with their family in unity.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Broken Home: The term broken as used here is a home in which the separation or divorce between the couple children who lost of thr parents. Broken home, in other words is defines as a situation whereby there is a confusion, misunderstanding and conflict in the family setup as a result of divorce of the couple.

Non-broken Home: Refer to families in which both biological parents are present in the home

Family: The word family is used in this study to mean a group of parents and children living in one house.

Marriage: It is the legal relationship between a husband and wife.

Home: The house of apartment that one live in, especially with your family.

Learning: A relatively pertinent to permanent change in the behaviour of an individual as result the learning.

Performance: This is the ability to successfully carry out a given task following instructions.

Standard: This concept is used in the research to mean the expected level of quality or specified level of academic excellence and its attainment in the system.