CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Millions of children around the
world are growing up without one or both of their parents. Many more are at
risk of separation, due to the impact of poverty, disability and such crises as
natural disaster and armed conflict. Children without parental care find
themselves at a higher risk of discrimination, inadequate care, abuse and
exploitation, and their well-being is often insufficiently monitored. Inadequate
care environments can impair children’s emotional and social development and
leave them vulnerable to exploitation, sexual abuse and physical violence
(Gadsden, 2003).
The
effect of parent care on a child at any given time cannot be over emphasized.
The home is very germane and crucial to a child’s well being and development in
later life. Family is the primary cell of society where the child's upbringing
must begin since his birth, still in cradle. According to V. Hugo, the person's
principles established since childhood are like letters engraved in the bark of
a young tree, which grow, enlarge with it making its integral part. Therefore,
right beginning makes the most important part of upbringing/education. Nobody
ever said that children were easy to raise. They don't come with guidelines or
instructions, and they certainly don't come with a pause button. What they do
come with is a crucial set of physical and emotional needs that must be met.
Failure of the parents to meet these specific needs can have wide-ranging and
long-lasting negative effects especially on academic performance. Epistein, (2001).
This is because parent in the home are children first teacher. As a child move
from infant to toddler and then to a preschooler, he learns how to speak,
listen, write and read which latter develop the child to achieve academically.
The influence of parents on children school achievement is well documented in
numerous studies. Gadsden (2003) says greater parental involvement at early
stage in children’s learning, positively affects the child’s school performance
including higher academic performance. Harderves (1998) review that family
whose children are doing well in school exhibit the following characters:
1. Establish
a daily family routine by providing time and a quite place to study with the
children and assigning responsibility for house hold chores.
2. Monitor
out-of-school activities, for example setting limits on television watching,
reduce time of playing, monitor the groups of friends the pupils walk with.
3. Encourage
children’s development and progress in school; that is maintaining a worm and
supportive home, showing interest in children’s progress at school, helping him
or her with home work, discussing the value of a good education and future
career with children.
Izzo
et al (1999) studied 1205 US children from kindergarten through to grade 3 in a
3 year longitudinal research programme. Teachers rated four forms of
involvement; provision of all the material needs of the child; frequency of
parent-teacher contact; quality of parent teacher interaction; participation in
educational activities in the home; and participation in school activities.
These factors, as well as parental care variables were examined to find any
relationship they might have with academic performance of primary school pupils.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Dubois
et al (1994) showed that family support and the quality of parental care
significantly predicted school adjustment in a sample of 159 young US
adolescents (aged 10 –12) followed in a two year longitudinal study. At-home
parental care clearly and consistently has significant effects on pupil performance
and adjustment which far outweigh other forms of achievement. When a child have
caring parent and families to support learning, children tend to succeed not
just in school, but throughout life. In fact the most accurate predictor of a pupil’s
performance in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which
that pupil’s family is able to create a home environment that encourages
learning and to express high expectations for their children’s future careers
and become involve in their children’s education at schools and in the home.
However, the researcher seeks to investigate the effect of parental care on the
academic performance of primary school pupils.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the effect of parental care on the academic performance of primary
school pupils.
2. To
examine the rudiments of parental care.
3. To
determine the factors that can influence the academic performance of primary
school pupils.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the effect of parental care on the academic performance of primary school
pupils?
2. What
are the rudiments of parental care?
3. What
are the factors that can influence the academic performance of primary school
pupils?
1.5 HYPOTHESIS
HO:
Parental care does not influences the academic performance of primary school
pupils
HA:
Parental care does influence the academic performance of primary school pupils
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
This
study will educate the general public on the need for good parental care not
only to enhance the pupil academic per5formance but to prepare the child for
the future endeavour with right upbringing so that the child will freely
interact with the pairs with better self esteem.
This
research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers
interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if
applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This
study will cover all the areas that parents need to properly take care of to
properly develop the child physically and emotionally, as the effect of these
variables will be examined of the pupil’s academic performance
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.
REFERENCES
Izzo,
C.V., Weissberg, R.P., Kasprow, W.J., and Fendrich, M. (1999).
A
longitudinal assessment of teacher perceptions of parent involvement in
children’s education and school performance, American Journal of Community
Psychology, 27 (6), 817-839
Gadsden
(2003) Interaction among child care, maternal education
and
family literacy.
Epistein,
J. (2001): School, family and community partnerships.
Boulders
West view press.
Henderson,
A.T . 7 Mapp, K.L (2002): A new ware of evidence; The
impact
of school, family and community connections on student achievement. Austin TX;
Southwest educational development. Harvard family research project’s published
by HFRD.