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The Influence Of Parental Separation On Academic Achievement Of Secondary School Students
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 5]
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The need for
the presence of parents in a child’s life cannot be over emphasized as
it goes a long way in ensuring the academic achievement of the student’s
in school. Parents presence tends to influence the performance of their
children or wards in school either positively or negatively. Separation
of parents and the resulting emotional instability in the home are
likely to affect the academic achievement of their children. Recent
research has shown that separation of parents occur when relationship
between the parents had broken down or because of migration of either
parents, from one geographical location to another i.e not staying
within the same geographical location.
Bong (2008), showed that
parents had little or no relationship with their children especially
when they were young. Some children have both parents living together
while in some homes, children lived with only their mothers or their
fathers or even care takers or care givers or guardians as a result of
the separation of their parents. Fathers separate from their children
earlier and for longer periods than mothers, mostly because of a
breakdown of relationship with the mothers. But separation could also be
due to migration, death and abandonment.
However, migration seems to
be one of the main reasons why mothers leave their children. They could
also separated from their children for financial reasons and sometimes
in these circumstances, the child might either be given to someone with
better resources or left in the care of someone while they seek work
elsewhere. The mothers too may leave the home because of breakdown in
relationship with fathers.
Winston (2009), said "It would be the
ideal situation to have both parents in the home, but often, this is not
the case but there is nothing that can be done about it, as there are
factors such as migration, death, and breakdown of relationships to
consider,". Same problems emanated from parental separation which could
lead to frustration, isolation of children and sometimes the students
may be forced to exhibit temper tantrums while in the classrooms. The
students anger, sadness and frustrated may justify the way they behave
because the children hope that after they must have returned from school
and wishes to play, no one would be available to play with them, in
addition to periods of sadness and behavioural problems, parental
separation could also contribute to changes in academic performance and
success for secondary school students.
Parental separation tends to
affect the development of children of which educational development is
inclusive. However, the academic achievement of students could be
attributed to the influence of both parents. A lot of outstanding
members of society have come from singled parent homes and even from
foster homes where no parents were present.
Since parental
separation has an influence on the academic performance of adolescents,
it is advisable that parents should sit down with their child and break
the news about the separation if there be need. It has been noted that
parental separation may result into a divorce and it becomes hard on the
whole family. Hence the need for every member of the family to get used
to the change in the family dynamic, as well as children coming to
terms with the fact that mum and dad aren’t together anymore.
The
restructuring of families that occurs after a separation requires
several adjustments for children, according to the Early Childhood
Australia website. Transitioning between homes, especially homes where
children are exposed to a lot of parental conflict, can be particularly
detrimental. For example, if an adolescent goes back and forth between
homes and must also listen to parents fighting or talking negatively
about one another, it can cause the child lesser time to do homework and
study. Newly separated parents might ask adolescents and teens to pitch
in around the house more often, such as babysitting younger siblings,
which also gets in the way of studying. Problems might also be so
distracting that the child isn't able to concentrate and pay attention
at school.
A separation might mean the child has to move and enroll
in a new school. This change in routine can interfere with a child's
ability to concentrate in class and do his best in school work. In fact,
this instability can impair developmental growth in general. According
to a 2007 article published in "American Sociological Review." Many
adolescents tend to pull away from their parents during a separation.
Pickhardt (2009), opines that if there be a separation from parents, a
child might not want to approach parents for comfort or to discuss the
transitions, leaving him without a support system as he navigates his
new school and tries to do his schoolwork.
Children who experience
two drastic transitions during childhood, such as parents separation and
move to a new school, tends to get lower grades and score lower on
achievement tests than children who have no such transitions or only one
transition. Among adolescents, just one such major transition raises
the risk that the child will drop out of school, the same journal
reports. Most children of separated or divorced parents live with their
mothers, which can be especially hard on boys who need a father figure.
Boys who have fathers who continue spending enough time with them tend
to get better grades than boys with absent fathers.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 5]
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study examined the influence of parental Separation on Academic Achievement of Secondary School Student in Lagos Educational District II. Descriptive research design was used. The population for the study comprised all the secondary school students in Lagos Educational District II. Stratified Random technique was used to collect the sample. The instrument for the study was a self construct questionnaire titled “Influence of parental separation on academic Achievement of secondary scho ... Continue reading---
