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EFFECT OF SINGLE PARENTHOOD ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Secondary school is a pivotal period, shaping academic trajectories and influencing future opportunities. In this critical stage, factors beyond individual ability can play a significant role. One such factor is family structure, with single parenthood raising concerns about its potential impact on students' academic performance. While some studies paint a bleak picture, attributing lower grades and increased disengagement to single-parent households, a closer look reveals a far more nuanced reality. This study endeavors to navigate this complex landscape, critically examining the potential connections between single parenthood and academic performance in secondary school students. We acknowledge the multifaceted nature of the issue, recognizing the influence of various socioeconomic, cultural, and individual factors. By delving into existing research, we aim to shed light on the complexities of this relationship, highlighting both potential challenges and the resilience and strengths often found in single-parent families. Ultimately, this study seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of how family structure interacts with academic achievement, fostering informed discussions and promoting supportive environments for all students, regardless of their family background.

Single-parenthood can be defined as when one out of two people who is responsible for the nurturing and child rearing is not available, and the work meant for two people, is now carried out by only one person. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, single-parenting is defined as a mother or father who looks after children on their own, without the other partner. Single-parenting can be defined as a situation in which one of the two individuals involved in the conception of the child is being responsible for the upbringing of the child [Whitting and Child, (1993); Eshleman, (1981) & Henslim (1985)]. Single-parenthood may arise when either the male or the female decides to produce and rear a child or children outside wedlock (Ortesse, 1998).

Time has really changed many of the old customs and traditions which were taught and practiced for several years are becoming obsolete now. The modern culture has changed and outgrown the values and beliefs that were thought to be the core beliefs and values of our society. Even though, moralists and conservatives are experiencing disgust over the currently evolving belief and cultural systems. The truth is, what has been unacceptable in the olden days, is now becoming fast and rapidly rising trends. For decades and even centuries, one of the major concerning issues to the conservatives, is the issue of single-parenting. Single-parenting is already becoming a fast and rapidly growing trend in society. This made the Catholic Church that was known as the dominating mentor and guide of traditions, norms and values of living, to be so adamant to advocate the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage of matrimony. This is why the procreation outside wedlock is strictly considered as a ground for excommunication. It is of the greatest sins, according to the doctrine of the catholic church to engage in pre-marital or extra-marital sex. Nowadays, single-parent families have become even more common than the so called nuclear family, consisting of a mother or father and the children.

In Nigeria, the existence of single-parenthood was unknown and where they existed they are ignored as exceptional cases. However, nowadays, they are fast growing family patterns both inside and outside Nigeria. In Nigeria, among Yoruba’s, the parental roles are culturally determined and distributed. The maternal roles are that of child-rearing, home training and playing of complementary roles, while the paternal roles are that of economic responsibilities and disciplines of children. The child is morally, mentally upright and emotionally balanced when the caring responsibilities are carried out by both parents. Sociology of education makes us know that the family is the first primary social group that the child first belongs to, comes in contact with, and this group has a greater influence on the child’s physical, mental and moral development. The family lays the foundation of education before the child goes to school and the personality that the child takes to school is determined by the home (family), (Maduewesi and Emenogu, 1997). What make up a family is the father, mother and kids, not father and mother alone. Fadeiye(1985) pointed out that both parents have their own roles to play in a child's education.

The father is to provide every necessary tool for the educational advancement while the mother is expected to supplement the efforts of the father. But in the case where the father is absent and the mother is not privileged enough to cater for all the necessary and basic needs as well as supervising the academic performance of the child, by checking the academic records of the child or by going through their class and lesson notes or books every day. Also giving counseling support when needed, will affect the educational state or level of the child. So also, if a child is not well nurtured and mentally assisted, it will also affect his/her educational outcome. If it were to be a male child, it’s likely for the child to be antisocial in nature by joining gangs, also, if it were to be a female child, there is likelihood for her to become wayward. According to Nwachukwu (1998), children from single parent homes are more hostile, hyperactive and aggressive in nature. Many of the problems that single parents have are similar as those for a two parents family, but these problems seem more difficult to bear or manage when the home is being tutored by only one person. For example, all children feel hostile towards their parents as they grow-up and try to be independent. But in a situation, where the anger and rebellion are all directed towards one person, it may seem worse, if there is only one to bear it, not for the two to share.

There are some problems that are exceptional, which are only faced by the single-parents, which make it somewhat difficult to raise children. These problems include: bitterness towards the absent spouse, loneliness, poverty and insecurity about raising children alone without help. For these and some other reasons, single parents sometimes cling to their children or over-indulge them. It is widely believed that children from broken homes have a higher incidence of academic, emotional and behavioral problems than other children from intact homes.

Truancy is a term used to describe any international unauthorized absence from compulsory school. The term truancy, typically refers to absence caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absence, such as ones related to a medicated condition. Truancy is the term referring to an absence that is associated with the most brazen students irresponsibility and results in the greatest consequences. It also refers to students who attend schools but do not attend classes. Atkinson, Hasley, Wilkin and Kindler(2000) pointed to differences in the extent of absence, from avoidance of a single lesson to absence of several weeks. The definition is designed to cover the long term absence of a depressed school refuser or a teenage mother, the gesture of a bravado of an occasional truant, the child kept at home by a parent to help care for siblings, and the child taken out of school for an out of-season family holiday, and many other variations on this theme.

 According to Sheila Bryant in Library Law Blog (2006) said; Truancy occurs when a student between the age 6 and 17, missed a certain number of days from school within a specific period and time, as defined by the statute of the state that the student resides in. Truancy Usually applies to those students that are minors, because in most states, the age of an adult is deemed 18, however, these can be exceptions based on the state statute. Truancy is an issue that affects many people, because truancy has been associated with various criminal behaviors such as vandalism, burglary and drug use. Also, truancy can be the symptoms for other emotional/mental, economic and family situations.

Therefore, the problem of defining truancy lies in the concept at which each researcher believes in, and this affects the definition of each researcher. Truancy depends on the school’s criteria used in categorizing truancy, while some says it differs from school to school’s handbook for defining truancy. Some authors also say it depends on the total number of lessons/classes missed and so on. Therefore, all these concepts and believes, unable people to classify anyhow absence from school or class to be truancy.

Since in many, though not all cases, the decision to truant is taken by children themselves, it seems appropriate to begin with their views on the causes of truancy. Kindler, Wakefield and Wilkin (1996) reported on interviews with 160 children in age 7 and above, for the children, the main causes of truancy and disruptions are classified and described (in rank order) as :

i. The influence of friends and peers who are seen encouraging truancy as a status-seeking activity or as a way of joining in or blending in, and sometimes teasing or goading the child into truancy.

ii. The content and delivery of the curriculum, seen as lacking in relevance and stimulus. Family factor, either parental attitudes or family problems. Bullying in school

iii. The classroom context, either because of teachers’ inability to control, or problems arising from the child’s own personality or learning abilities. Student non-attendance is a problem that extends much further than the school. It affects the student, the family, and the community.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education identifies truancy as the most powerful predictor of delinquency. Police departments across the nation report that many students not in school during regular hours are committing crimes, including vandalism, shoplifting, and graffiti. When Van Nuys, California, officials conducted a three-week sweep for truants on the streets, shoplifting arrests dropped by 60 percent (Garry 1996). Absenteeism is detrimental to students' achievement, promotion, graduation, self-esteem, and employment potential. Clearly, students who miss school fall behind their peers in the classroom. This, in turn, leads to low self-esteem and increases the likelihood that at-risk students will drop out of school. In a longitudinal study of African-American males, Robins and Ratcliff (1978) found that of those students who were often truant in elementary school and truant in high school, 75 percent failed to graduate. Failure to graduate, in turn, is associated with diminished earning potential in adulthood and other poor outcomes.

Tenibiaje (2009) highlighted causes of poor performance in Nigeria higher institutions, he said poor performance have been attributed to a lot of indicators, such as student factors, like students' attitudes to school, approach to learning and academic self-concept. Apart from student factors, school factors and parents’ factors, there are other indicators that affect poor performance. On the part of the parents, there are certain factors which influence children’s success, such as: parents’ social class, parents’ educational status as well as parental inputs and other exogenous variables. The views of professionals in schools and education welfare services collected and analyzed by Kinder, Harland, Wilkin and Wakefield(1995) also included personal factors; family and community factors and school factors amongst the causes of truancy.

Individual (personal) factors include: Lack of self-esteem/ social skills/ confidence, poor peer relationship, lack of academic ability, special needs and lack of concentration/ self management skill and self interest.

Family and community factors: These include; parentally condoned absence from school, not valuing education, domestic problems, inadequate or inconsistent parenting, economic deprivation and community lack of self-esteem. Within the school, professionals identified the case with which some pupils could slip away unnoticed if school systems were not in place to defer them, relationship with teachers and peers, and problems relating to the relevance of school and the curriculum to these truants.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The main problem for this study is that a lot of people, educationists and counselors are complaining about the nonchalant attitude of students to study and attendance to classes. Reports and observations on students from different family structure and family composition are indicators to academic performance. Generally speaking, two good heads are better than one. The role parents play in the upbringing of a child is very important and so many male and female children in school are portraying habits which seem not to be in accordance with the school rules and regulation e.g. fighting, stealing, female pupils keeping male companies, keeping bad companies. And this has a negative effect on the academic performance of the pupils.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of single parenthood on the academic performance of secondary school students

Other objectives of the study are:

i. Examine the prevalence of challenges faced by children in single parents homes.

ii. Compare the level of turancy between the children of single parents and of intact parents.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i. Is there any difference between the academic performance of students from single-parent?

ii. Is there any difference between truancy behavior of children from single parents and children of intact homes?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1. There is no significant difference between the academic performance of adolescents from single-parenting homes and those from intact homes.

Hypothesis 2. There is no significant difference between the truancy behavior of students from single-parenting homes and those from intact homes.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to find out the influence of family patterns on the academic performance and truancy of secondary school students. The study also wants to know the effects of single-parenting on academic achievement and if it causes truancy in the students of secondary schools.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study delves into the multifaceted relationship between single parenthood and academic performance in secondary school students. While acknowledging the potential challenges faced by single-parent families, it avoids oversimplification. Instead, it examines the diverse experiences within this group, considering factors like the cause of single parenthood, socioeconomic background, and access to support systems. Beyond solely academic achievement, the study explores broader student well-being, encompassing mental health, self-esteem, and motivation. It recognizes the influence of cultural context and community resources on shaping individual outcomes.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Studying the link between single parenthood and academic performance in secondary scholars faces complexities. Defining "single parent" (divorced, widowed, etc.) and measuring academic achievement (grades, tests) are initial hurdles. Separating the true impact from factors like socioeconomic status, learning disabilities, and cultural context proves challenging. Self-reported data can be biased, and studies often rely on correlations, not causation, making it difficult to isolate the single parenthood effect. Additionally, sample size, ethical considerations, and cost/time constraints can limit the research scope and generalizability. Recognizing these limitations is crucial for interpreting any study's findings and avoiding simplistic conclusions.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Single Parent: A parent who raises a child without a spouse or partner present in the home. The reasons for single parenthood can vary and include divorce, separation, never being married, or partner loss (widowhood).

Academic: Relating to education and learning. This term can encompass various aspects of education, including classroom studies, standardized tests, and overall academic achievement.

Pupils: Another term for students, typically used in primary and secondary education contexts. It refers to individuals receiving instruction at a school.

Performance: How well someone accomplishes a task or activity. In an academic context, it refers to a pupil's achievement in their studies, often measured by grades, test scores, and completion of assignments.

Primary Caregiver: The individual who takes on the major responsibility for caring for a child's physical and emotional needs on a daily basis. This is often the single parent in single-parent families.

Family: A social unit typically consisting of parents and their children. However, there is no single definition of "family," and it can take many forms, including single-parent families, blended families, and adoptive families.

Divorce: The legal dissolution of a marriage, ending the legal rights and obligations between the spouses. While divorce impacts both parents emotionally and financially, it can also significantly impact the children involved.

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