Influence Of Social Environment On The Upbringing Of Children In Lagos State

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The social environment is one of the major factors that influence the upbringing of children, reasons why children behave and act differently at home, society, social gatherings and even the school. Much work have been done on the influence of parenting and other social group on the upbringing of children, but no research has been done on the influence of social environment on the upbringing of children.

Little wonder the questions that have been at the heart of much of the work in developmental psychology since the inception of the field. The development of children varies which also affects their level of achievement. In pursuing the answers, the broad forces of nature and nurture, and the interplay between them, have been of central concern. It has long been clear that there are powerful maturational time-tables governing developmental change: e.g. the progression in infancy from sitting to crawling to standing to walking, or in the acquisition of language, the transition from rudimentary one-word utterances through intermediate phrases to the production of full, well-formed sentences. However, it has been equally obvious that children are learning many things through their daily experiences in interacting with the physical and social world, and that what is learned is not encoded in the genes. Some of the experiences children have are random not planned or organized by any outside agency but some occur according to what might be called a socialization time table. It is here that parenting has its place.

All societies prescribe certain characteristics that their members are expected to possess, behaviors and certain things people must not do, if they are to function adequately as members of their society. Some of these prescriptions and proscriptions are nearly universal across cultures, such as the requirement for parents, or specified parent surrogates, to provide nurturance and protection for children. 

The standard the society has set for its members in terms of behavior and attitudes will definitely have some impediments if the social environment of its members is not put into considerations. Other standards and values vary greatly from one cultural setting to another. In all societies, training of children occurs, and social controls are in place to ensure that children are socialized that is, brought up in such a way that each new generation acquires the prescribed patterns of beliefs and behaviors. Of course, cultures do change, either slowly or rapidly, so that the cross-generational transmission is by no means absolute. A new generation may need to adapt to conditions that the parent generation did not face. And transmission of values, even when they continue to be appropriate for succeeding generations, is not always successful. Some children in every cohort may be seen to be inadequately socialized by the criteria that the society applies.

Currently, there is increasing emphasis on the role of parents’ and children’s mutual perceptions and understandings about each other’s dispositions and intentions as determiners of their influence upon one another. But none of these theoretical shifts has greatly affected the underlying assumption that social environment and parents have a powerful impact on the characteristics children develop and the directions their lives take. The social environment has a lot of influence on the development of children in all facets of life. Many researchers concentrated on the role of parenting, schools and peers on the upbringing of children, letting out the social environment in which the child is brought up.

The study will focus on how the social environment influence on the upbringing of children especially in Lagos State. Children who grow up in places tagged as the (Ghetto) have the tendencies of living a rough and immoral life style because of environmental factor.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

The main aim of the study is to critical examine the influence of social environment on the upbringing of children in Lagos State. Other specific objectives include:

1. to determine the relationship between the social environment and the upbringing of children in Lagos State.

2. to examine how social environment influence the upbringing of children in Lagos State.

3. to examine how the family influence the upbringing of children in Lagos State.

4. to examine how family income and economic well being influence children upbringing in Lagos State.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION

1. What is the relationship between the social environment and the upbringing of children in Lagos State?

2. How does social environment influence the upbringing of children in Lagos State?

3. How does the family influence the upbringing of children in Lagos State?

4. how does family income and economic well being influence children upbringing in Lagos State?

1.5 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1. HO: social environment has no significant influence on the upbringing of children in Lagos State.

2. HI: social environment has significant influence on the upbringing of children in Lagos State.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study will be of immense help to parent, schools and the government of Lagos State.

To parents, it will enable them understand how the positive and negative influence the environment will have or has already on their children. If it has a negative influence, they will know hoe to manage it. 

For parents who are low income earners and because of that are living in an unconducive environment can start early to inculcate discipline and good morals on their children not letting the social environment have a negative influence on them. Since the family is a child’s first agent of socialization, the family can instill positive vibes and influence on their children.

In regard to parental occupation, a child from a well educated with high socio-economic status is more likely to perform better than a student from an illiterate family. This is because the child from an educated family has a lot of support such as a decent and good environment for academic work, parental support and guidance, enough textual and academic materials and decent feeding. He or she is likely to be sent to good schools where well seasoned teachers will handle his or her subjects (Akinsanya et al., 2011). According to Graetz, (2009) parental education and occupational status are highly correlated with children’s educational achievement.

To the government of Lagos State, it will serve as a reminder to the duties it owes to its residents. One of which is a clean and conducive environment, provide a proper learning environment with qualified teachers and availability of social amenities. Another way the study will serve the Lagos State Government is to understand that it owes it resident to provide job opportunities and ensure it doesn’t owe its workers as well as ay gratuities.  Lack of jobs and payment is what leads parents to live in some environment that ordinarily would not live and bring up their children if not for their social status leading to the negligence of their parental duties. When this happens, the child is let in the hands of whatever its get from the environment and the people he/she socializes with.

To schools and teachers, it will help them get a better understanding on how to teach and treat their students understanding the differences in environment and social status. Children that grow up in good social environment assimilate and learn faster than those that are from poor social environment. The teachers learning method will be adjusted to suit both children.

Finally, it will serve as an added research work to the influence of social environment on the upbringing of children.

1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY

The study will cover the influence of social environment on the upbringing of children in Lagos State.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

1. 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).

2. 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

Influence

The capacity to have an effect on the character,development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.

Social Environment

The social environment, social context, socio cultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact.

Upbringing

The treatment and instruction received by a child from its parents throughout its childhood.