PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL DEVIANCE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE (A STUDY OF ND II STUDENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT)
ABSTRACT
This study is designed to find out and examine the perception of students on the impact of social deviance on academy performance. A summary method was used for the study. 60 respondents (41 Male and 19 Female) were included in the study and they were student of Kaduna Polytechnic, College of Administrative Studies and Social Science. The first chapter discuses the background of the study, statement of the problem, Objective of the study, research question, significant of the study, scope/limitation of the study, the second chapter deals with literature review, the chapter three deals with method of data collection, the questionnaire is the basic instrument for data collection. The chapter four consists of data presentation and analysis, of the finding which is through the questionnaire. The concluding chapter of the research work which is chapter five, the summary, conclusion and recommendation and advice for further studies as for summary, recommendation will help both the lecturer and the school authority, the parents the government, and the students.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Deviant behavior is a diverse and multidimensional concept. Usually two types of deviant behavior are distinguished: a) externalizing – marked by behavioral problems such as aggression, opposite behavior, conduct problem behavior, vandalism, robbery, and other kinds that may lead to unlawful acts; and b) internalizing – referring to emotional difficulties, such as anxiety, stress, withdrawal, somatic complaints and depression Achenbach (2000). Not only does deviant behavior have a negative impact on children’s psychosocial adjustment and development, but it may also disturb the school environment and disorganize the flow of educational process McNamara (2001).
Academic performance is defined as student’s progress, understood as the level of learning, comprehension and consolidation of the school curriculum Syngollitou (2003). Academic achievement is influenced by many psychological, family, school, and social factors.
Educational attainment is very important to future opportunities and many students look for much higher educational goals (schineider and Stevenson, 1999). Inequality of chances to achieve educational goals. (Hochchildand Scovronicity, 2003) and the school achievement gap associated with religion, raced ethnicity and gender in Africa society.Students who have high academic achievement are less likely to involve or indulge or engage in delinquent behavior than those who have lower academic achievement (Elliott and Voss, 1974; Henggler, 1989).
Students who have unsuccessful experiences in school are more likely to be involved/dingle in delinquent behavior such as dropping out of school (Voelketset al., 1999) there are many risk factors for school dropout. These can be categorized into social and academic risk factors. Students at risk for dropout based on academic risk factors are those who often have a history of absenteeism and grade retention, academic trouble, and more general disengagement from school life. School grade are the most reliable predictors for student delinquent behavior focuses on:
Student role performance factors
School environment factors
Family factors and
Peer factors
Student Role Performance(SRP); factor is how well an individual fulfils the role of a student in an education setting. Sex, race, school effort, extra-curricular activities, time spent on homework, deviance disabilities and class preparation are all-important influences on SRP and have been shown to affect test scores.
School Environment Factors; such as school size, school rules and school problems, neighborhood and relationship between teachers and students also influence test scores (Crosnoe, Johnson, and Elder 2004).
Family Factor; One’s family background has also been found to influence student test score. Research has found that socio-economic status, parental involvement, and family size are particularly important family factors (Majorbanks 1996).
Peer Group; Peer influence can also affect student performance. Peer pressure and peer conformity can lead to an individual participating in risk-taking behaviours which have been found to have a negative, indirect effect on test scores (Santor, Messervey and Kusumaker 2000).
Research is still being done to see which comes first, the deviant behavior or low grades. Jessor, Bos, Vanderryn, Costa, et al., (1995) performed a study looking at the risk factors that can affect deviant behavior. When controlling for the demographics of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status and grade, they found that low GPA is a significant risk factors liked to deviance (P<0.01). This supports the idea that having a low grade point average can be risk factors that leads to problem behavior. In their study of the pathways between self-esteem and academic performance, Liu, Kaplan, and Risser (1992) found that self-esteem had a significant negative impact on deviance, which had an inverse direct effect on motivation.
This is directly tied to academic performance (P<0.05). This deviance has an indirect effect on academic achievement through motivation. Kasen, Cohen, and Brook (1998) found that antisocial behavior, the risk of dropping out, and committing a crime all decline with higher academic achievement.First, a discussion of some of the dysfunctional aspects of deviant behaviour of students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. These dysfunctional aspects of deviant behaviour can be broken down into four categories:
Students and Examination Malpractices
An example of deviant behaviour exhibited by students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria comes in the shape of examination malpractice. Examination malpractice refers to cheating in examinations designed to get unearned marks and pass examinations.
Students and Secret Cults
Fear is a powerful psychological energizer; it can also be a great demobilizer. Members of secret cults seem to understand and appreciate the impact of this elementary psychology and do indeed use it to the fullest. An important aspect of this operation, therefore, is to strike fear and terror into the minds of fellow students in order to destabilize and demobilize them. Their victims are thus dehumanized and terrorized to submission.
Students and Violence
Violence perpetrated by students in times of students unrest has been a long-standing feature of Nigerian tertiary institutions. A number of reasons can be adduced for students’ resort to violence in pressing their demands. Foremost among them is that there is the thinking among students that ultimatum and violence or threats of it are the only ‘language’ to which the authorities can be compelled to listen.
Students Unrest
Student’s unrest is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria. It began in the 1960s and has remained unabated, with the spate of crises in recent times. It is now more of a yearly phenomenon, a ritual that must be conducted before the end of each academic session. Students’ unrest involves mass rally/ demonstration, boycott of lecturers, barricade of entrances and exists to campus, chanting of war songs, display of placards, confrontation with the police and sometimes destruction of property.
As mentioned earlier, deviant behaviour also has positive values. A look at history confirms this statement. For instance, modem science emerged only when men felt free to question the doctrine of Aristotle and the Church. Socrates challenged the basic beliefs of the Greek society of his time; his particular sin was that he believed that correct action implied correct thought.
This study examines the relationships between deviance and the test scores of Student role performance factor are been seen bellow:
Deviant students achieve lower test scores than non-deviant students net of other factors.
Minority students are more likely to achieve lower test scores net of other factors.
Students who attend extra-curricular activities achieve higher test scores net of other factors.
Students who spend more time on homework are more likely achieve higher test scores net of other factors.
Students who come to class prepared will achieve higher test scores net of other factors.
As school disruptions increase, test scores decreases net of other factors.
As school problems increase, test scores decrease net of other factors.
As SES increases, test scores increase net of other factors.
Students who have fewer numbers of siblings are more likely to receive higher test scores net of other factors.
Students who communicate with their parents more often are more likely to achieve higher test scores net of other factors.
This study showed that those who are deviant do not tend to attain test scores as high as those of students who are non-deviant. The research also showed that within high conflict school setting there is a high proportion of deviant youth (P<0.001).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
This study is to investigate the impact of social deviance on academic performance. Deviance in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviours that violate social norms, including formally-enacted rules (e.g, crime), as well as informal violation of social norms e.g, rejecting folkways and mores.
The failure to conform to the customary norms of a community or society is what is known as social deviance. Social deviance is the violation of the societal or organizational norms, expectations, and values. It is the failure to conform to the conventional ways of doing things in the society or an organization. Social deviances are in different dimension. For example, juvenile delinquency, corruption, drug abuse, alcoholism, prostitutions, immorality, crime, dressing code and exams malpractice etc. these deviant behaviours manifestation constitute also major social problems on academic performance. Previous research revealed that deviant students will have lower test scores than non-deviant students who. Elliott and Voss (1994) and Henggler (1989) mentions that students who have high academic achievement are less likely to indulge in delinquent behavior than those who have lower academic achieement.
The upsurge of deviant behaviours in the Nigeria society is a matter of concern to all and has engendered research for its not causes. Some people attributed it to nature and the civil war of (1967-1970) which lives and properties were last thereby rendering some children orphans and homeless exposing them to various types of criminal activities consequently upon the take of parental control.
The deviant behaviour which followed the war among others include abuse of drugs, corruption and stealing and some area where the population was near extirpation due to death and diseases of the time, comities encouraged free interactions of boys and girls for procreation to prevent the communities from being extinct. The problem now arises because some teenager feels that such male and female relationship should remain a permanent norm of life in their communities. Scholars, researchers should have understood and seek out solutions to this ugly trend over the years. The researcher therefore is of the opinion that there are perhaps serious factors that bring about increase in deviant behaviours in Nigerian schools environment.
This is the more so considering the huge investment which both the Federal and State Governance should make in education and health sectors to produce a virile future generation. It is fundamental therefore to determine the influence of deviant behavior on the academic performance of secondary school student.
These acts have in no small measures being responsible for the rate of mental instability of youth who are expected to be good citizens and leaders of tomorrow in the society has been completely ruined in the school in which most o f them (students) acquired or learned it from individual factors such as gender, participation in extra-curricular activities, time spent on homework, and class preparation and behaviors from the peer groups as well as school environment factors such as family socio-economic status, the influence of siblings and family communication.
The questions someone may stand to ask are:
Is it actually the peer group that makes students to deviate from the school rules and regulations?
What prompt the students to join such groups?
How does a particular group mould their behaviours?
Is it actually the factors/child upbringing that makes students to deviate in the school or society?
To understand the full dynamic of deviant behavior with due emphasis on groups influence, it is necessary to find answers to the following problems/punishment:
What socio-cultural conditions are most likely to produce social deviance?
Why do people continue to deviate despite the negative sanctions that are brought to bear on them?
What benefit or otherwise do they derived?
How can deviance best be minimized or controlled?
This study therefore, aims at investigating perception of students on the impact of social deviance on academic performance.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the research are on the perception of students on the impact of social deviance on academic performance.
To identify the causes of social deviance among students
To find out the types of deviance behavioursthat is being practiced by students.
Examine how deviantstudents can be helped.
To find out the impact of social deviance on academic performance.
1.4 Research Questions
What are the causes of social deviance among students?
What are the types of deviant behaviours that are practiced by the students?
What are the ways to examine how deviance students can be help?
What are the impacts of social deviance on academic performance of students?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The significance of this study cannot be over-emphasized because it is belief that the finding will be beneficial to individual parents and institutional agent (e.g teachers, administrators), government and future researchers.
The individual parents will find the finding of the study useful as it will reveal or exposes their weakness on their part and ways to handle their children so as to stop them indulging/involving in any forms of social deviance. And the institutional agent will find it easy to defined appropriate classroom behaviors.
The findings will also help the government agencies to put the necessary infrastructure facilities and to come up with good policies that will eradicate/minimized or controlled the involvement of students in social deviance/deviant acts. The work or study will like to carryout study on the subject matter.
Lastly, the study is in partial fulfillment for the award of Higher National Diploma in social Development department, college of Administrative studies and social sciences (CASSS) Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna.
1.6 Scope/Limitation of the Study
The research is therefore, pertinent to point out that because of time, space and financial constraints; the work/study is delimited/ restricted to the college of administrative studies and social sciences (CASSS), department of social development ND II students, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna. And also restricted to perception of students on the impact of social deviance on academic performance.
The study will not cover whole department and as such, it is restricted/delimited to ND II students of department of social development.
THE EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FAMILY AS AGENT OF SOCIALIZATION AND ITS PROSPECTS ( A Study of Some Selected Wards in Chikun L.G.A.)
ABSTRACT
Socialization is an ongoing process of social interaction through which children become functional members of a society. What it means to be a functional member in a given society, however, depends on the broader socio-cultural context. Goals of socialization and parenting practices used to accomplish these goals vary across cultural groups, and parents and other caregivers play a particularly influential role in the socialization process.The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of the family as agent of socialization. The research design employed was a descriptive survey. The descriptive survey method was adopted since the main focus was to gather information about the family as a social institution. The questionnaire was the data collection tool that was employed in the data collection. The researcher explained the purpose of the study to participants after the explanation. The data collected was organized, tabulated and analyzed to help explain the variables of research. Data was analyzed by use of tables. The research conclusion was that the family play a vital role in ensuring that their offspring grow up to become responsible adults in the society. The recommendations were that discrimination among children should be far from their family environment.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Socialization according to Adeyemi (2000) is the process of the child acquiring norms, attitudes, values, skills and sanctions of the society. Socialization is a life-long thing that occurs from cradle to grave. This research work from the foregoing will look into the “evaluation of the performance of the family as an agent of socialization and its prospects”. Socialization does not just occur but it starts from the cradle which is birth. The first socializer is the mother. The mother by nature has the privilege to carry the life in her womb right from the time of conception which is the period of 36 weeks popularly known as 9 months (ideally).
Furthermore, the child’s first contact with the mother after delivery is the sucking of the nipple or breast. The mother starts by training the child to get to differentiate between her and the father, and the other Sibling if there is. Therefore, the child continues to grow physically and mentally. The family now joins hands to see that the child differentiates evil from good.
They teach him the moral values of greeting elders, collecting things with the right hand than the left hand. Fafunwa (2001) viewed that in an ideal family setting, it is the duty of the parents to instill the right values to their children and to also live by examples. He went further to stress that unless the family lives up to its billings of moral training, the society will ever remain rotten morally. This research will look into the ways the family as the first agent of socialization has done so far in training the child to become a good citizen or a bad citizen. The family is the root and the beginning of everyone in this planet earth. It is the avenue where morals are being transmitted from one generation to another.
The family to some extent failed in its struggles to make its children responsible that is what the research is after.
1.1 Background of the Study
The concept of family is as old as man himself. It is the smallest unit of a society that consists of a father, mother and children if any. The family is made up of two major types the nuclear and extended family. The nuclear family comprises the father, his Wife and children only, while the extended family includes the grandfather, grandmother, nephew, niece, aunties, cousin etc. All these members of the family have a role to play in society. One sociologist Professor Patricia Wilmot in a paper presentation in the year 2005 observed that the beauty of any society depends with the knowledge and awareness of its family as an agent.
Furthermore, the family is referred as the first agent of socialization because every individual is born into a family; nobody is a vagabond or homeless. Other agents, markets, stadium, hospitals, prisons are all behind the family as an institution. It is a well-known fact that the family serves as the first agent; it is equally the engine room of producing the children and character. It is the responsibility of the family to raise children and to cater for the needs of the family members. e.g. through the three basic necessities of life, food, clothing and Shelter. Sociologists’ experts observed that “unless the needs of the family members are met, they will remain a misfit in the society and their immediate environment”.
The family as the first agent of socialization plays the bigger role in socializing the child. They learn how to greet, show obedience and become responsible through the teachings of the family. Every family naturally will like its off-springs to proper in this life, because it brings honour and respect to the family. Everybody will respect such a family. For instance in Darasalam Tanzania as a nation, Julius Nyerere (Late) a former Tanzania President respected today because he was good and patriotic to an average Tanzanian, even his family members are being worshipped today. But where the father was a wicked soul before his death, nobody will respect his remains, so also the entire family members.
In any family set up the father must take his responsibility and also the mother, so that the children can’ learn from them as model or mentors. In a school, if a child becomes stubborn so much that he does not have time for his class studies, it is always a big problem to the teachers in school. These disobedience ranges from truancy, noise making, fighting, stealing (theft), lack of respect for elders, lack of interest for learning and what have you. Back at home, the children because of lack of parental attention, join bad companies (friends) who eventually introduce them to terrible habits like stealing, smoking of cigarettes, morphane, cocaine and even armed robbery.
Subsequently, the family that has time to teach and train members always succeeds. The children do bring joy and peace to the family members than problems. We want to stress here that some innocent families are trying to teach their children morals but only for the children to become wayward because of the type of friends they keep at school and within their neighborhood or vicinities. The truth of the matter is that you cannot change such a child except the grace (favour) of God. Therefore, children become wayward and stubborn as a result of societal influences and also lack of parental care. Adeyenu (2003) do serve that broken home accounts for the success of waywardness in children. Were the father and mother are no longer staying together in the name of separation or divorce (permanent separation). It is obvious that when two great elephants meet, only the grass that will suffer. It is indeed true because the children are the grasses where the parents serve as the great elephant.
Having said that, this research will explore performances of the family as the first agent of socialization and how it has fared most. The family is the basic unit and the beginning of the human race. It is the basis and foundation of every human being and as a result every person receives his first training from the agent. If the society is good it is as a result of a good family background. The family background of a person is a determinant factor that makes a human being complete and comprehensive. Therefore it is a good basis for people to behave well except that the family never did her role to teach and preach to the young ones. The family role in the society cannot be overemphasized because of its foundational level of molding and remolding of human beings. The family responsibilities are so enormous than other agents who are outside the home vicinity. A healthy family brings a wealthy society. This is as a result of the fact that every human being must pass through the school system which the first training starts from the home. The hour the child spend at home is more than that at the school and even the time he spends with his family. Therefore this research will in detail look into the responsibility of the family vis a vis learning morals other social values and norms.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Socialization process that people with the values, beliefs and standards of behavior that culture expects them to learn. (Yasaei, 2001) family is a small community that one of the aims is the socialization of children Family learning center person; for one, many of the family learns social behavior, such as respect for the rights of others, having good or evil traits and environmental compatibility of family and others. For the social development of children naturally be complete, certain conditions must prevail in the family environment, which are briefly discussed below.
One must in a family environment, a sense of peace and security and ensure that the love and respect of others. When someone in the family is about love, social relations will be strengthened further, but if a family environment with fear and anxiety, he joined the humiliation and hatred, the vengeful and cynical times, and certainly in the social connections will be a failure. The behavior of parents in child development and social education is very effective. If parents constantly argue and talk constantly of separation and divorce, the socialization of the child would be severely compromised. In these situations, children suffered from anxiety and fear, and always concerned that fights and disputes occur between parents. This practice has very bad effects on children’s mental and social fields and provides diversion and delinquency.
In addition, the children of these families after marriage and family, his parents followed the ugly behavior and their wives behave in the same style. This issue in addition to severe psychological distress for families, in the long term may even lead to ruin societies.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The research has the following objectives.
To make a theoretical framework of the role of the family in the Nigerian society.
To evaluate the performance of the family as an agent of socialization and its prospects.
To make an evaluative performance of the family as an agent of socialization.
To examine the performance of the family in the areas of social norms values and attitudes.
To suggest and recommend ways on how the family as the first agent of socialization can do to be better up.
1.4 Research Questions
The researchers hereby make the following as guiding questions.
What is the role of the family as an agent of socialization?
Does other forces or agents affect the family?
Why do children becomes wayward and stubborn?
What are the forces that help the family to succeed?
What is the effort the government is doing to help the family as an agent?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The result of this study will to a large extend be useful to the practitioners in the department of social services. They will acquire knowledge on how to help families identify their basic roles in the life of children. The rural communities will be educated and encourage in performing their roles in order to raise good and responsible adults in the future.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The study will be given a special preference on some selected primary schools in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state and its environment. The result will consequently apply directly to the local government area and any generalization attempted for the whole country would be considered as rough extrapolation at the data.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Family: is the smallest unit at the society that comprise of the father, mother and children if any.
Evaluation: It is the act of trying to find out about a phenomenon or something.
Agent:It is a place or avenue
Socialization: It is the process of acquiring skills, attitudes values and norms.
Prospects:It has to do with result out of something.
Performance:Is the thing that happens or in a motion.
Values:Those accepted right behaviors in any place or society.
Sociologist:An expert of the nature and beginning of a society.
Extended:It has to do with far distant blood relations.
Nuclear:It has to do with near blood relations.
Mass Media:it has in do with electronic and print or papers.
Molding:The process of building a character or something.
AN ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF BOARDING AND DAY STUDENTS IN BENIN METROPOLIS OF NIGERIA IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the academic performance of boarders and day students in Benin metropolis of Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to undertake analysis of academic performance of boarding and day students in Benin metropolis of Nigeria: implications for counselling specifically the study sought to investigate whether academic performance is higher among boarders than day students in Benin metropolis of Nigeria, investigate sex difference in performance of both boarding and day students. Investigate whether male boarding differs from male day student in academic performance and in addition the study sought to investigate whether female boarding differ from female day students in academic performance. The study employed the descriptive research design. Thus 530 boarding 850 day students in Benin Metropolis of Nigeria and 274 were randomly sampled from a population 1380. To guide the study seven research questions and five hypotheses were raised and formulated respectively. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistic which involved mean, frequencies, t-test and simple percentage. The analysis yielded the following findings among others: that boarding students perform better in English language and mathematics than day; and male day students perform better than female day students in mathematics. However, there is no significant different in performance in English language between male and female day students; and female boarding performed better than their males counterparts in both English language and mathematics; male students in boarding schools performed better in both English language and mathematics than males day students., and female students in boarding schools performed significantly better in both English language and mathematics than their female day students. These findings were discussed and it was recommended among others, that all relevant stakeholders – parents, teachers, government and school counsellors should take special interest in encourage boarding school for both sexes; that there should adequate parental involvement in the academic activities of day students by ensuring proper study reading pattern in the children and equally monitor their activities and the kind of friends they keep. Boarding school is recommended to parents who can afford it. The school counsellors should try to focus more on day students by way of strengthening the academic activities.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTON
Background to the Study
No nation can develop despite of its natural endowment if such nation does not take seriously human capital development which could be derived through sound academic foundation that is tailored towards performance in the secondary schools. The Nigerian society places great emphasis on education because it is believed to be the only avenue for national development. However, this can only be achieved if students who are in boarding and day schools in the citadel of learning get actively involved in academic activities which will enhance their academic performance. This will, in turn, lead to the technological advancement of the nation.
In many countries of the world education is viewed as a good investment for national development. Education in Nigeria is an instrument ‘’per excellence’’ for effecting national development, which is highly valued because it is a system expected to produce qualitative and quantitative human resource, required for any nation’s economic growth by using the right mix of input Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN,2004). On the strength of the above new research which proves that contemporary boarding schools serve a diverse body of motivated and well-rounded students who study and live in supportive, inclusive academic communities where they learn about independence, responsibility and traditional values that help them achieve success at higher rates than private and public day schools students in the classroom and beyond.
Boarding schools generally have small class sizes that help teachers engage every student in the classroom, whose settings are often specifically designed to encourage student participation and eye contact among everyone in class. Desarrollo (2007) Boarding Schools promote socialisation and mainstreaming of poor minority children, as children from remote and rural areas or of ethnic and linguistic minorities can be introduced to new ways of living, routines, responsibilities, technologies, teachers and fellow students from outside their community.
Boarding schools are self-contained communities. Students and faculty eat together. They share relaxing times watching TV and playing games together. This is because teachers and staff in a boarding school function in place of parents. They take the place of parents literally and figuratively. They play a powerful role in shaping and guiding their young charges while they are at school. Because the students are not allowed to go home at the end of classes, they cannot avoid the strong influence teachers have on them. This is a major reason many parents send their sons and daughters off to boarding school.
In a boarding school students can develop skills that can serve them to live in a broader community. Learning and living together with other students, boarding offer students a good opportunity to help each other with their studies during and after school hours; cooperate and respect other people’s habits and values; develop social and communication skills through interaction with other students and staff.
UNESCO (2010) opted that Boarding schools provide a centralized location for learning and living that can be an effective link between the remote communities of origin and the larger society. Most of the boarding students read regularly because they have scheduled time for reading in their curriculum, they sometimes use library and library books. Independence, self-confidence and responsibility, are the characteristics of persons who have been to a boarding school, as they rely less on their parents.
Boarding schools offer structure and discipline; as they are obligated to study according to a structured program during and after school hours; learn to respect rules, conduct duties on time, go to bed on time and rise up early. Lack of discipline and lateness to school is also a negative characteristic of day-school, as students and teachers have less regards for rules and are less responsible, as they are more irregular and less punctual at school.
Overcrowding in dormitories in boarding schools sometimes double the originally intended number of students being accommodated. The problems faced by boarding students included overcrowding in the students’ hostels, many boarding school meals are frequently badly managed or badly prepared, beside the inadequacy of the diet, scarcity of water, noise from class or neighbouring classes. Other problems include lack of good lighting system, interference from friends in the same or other classes and disturbances from non human activities like mosquitoes. Despite those problems, an average boarding student enjoys living and studying conditions, which are luxurious, compared to the hardship and squalor endured by many day students.
Academics at boarding schools operate at high standards, as students are pushed to “ask why,” thus becoming inquisitive and this enables them tackle challenging problems. Course selections at boarding schools tend to be quite diverse, have plenty of academic performance (AP) options, and offer a wide range of topics. Athletic and extracurricular options tend to be broad thus encouraging students to try new things. Many boarding schools also offer opportunities to study short term courses in different countries, with counselling departments which are generally well-staffed. Counsellors often have plenty of experience in helping students identify appropriate schools and advising them on getting admission into competitive institutions. Another situation that leads to preference for boarding schools is the case of semi-orphans or lack of good parental care for the children.
Also, monitoring and coaching of students is better in boarding schools. Often parents of students, who are illiterate, are unable to monitor the progress of their children and coach them in their studies. Furthermore, in boarding schools it is easier to monitor and coach students than in day schools, because students stay intern during and after school hours. A lack of monitoring and support of children is a negative characteristic of day-school, especially in the case of illiteracy. Monitoring and coaching of students is very important in order to achieve good educational results. Parents play an important role in this respect, in the case of illiterate parents, monitoring and coaching by parents can be problematic, as it is difficult or highly impossible to monitor the progress of their children and to coach them, which if in a boarding school, the school can fill this gap.
Day school provides the right balance between family life and school life. The child can go to school to learn and develop social skills, but come home and have bonding time with the family. Plus, day school is much less costly than boarding school and this may play a role in your final decision as well.
Day schools students always grow up in an upright way and very responsible because their parents or guardians involve them in responsible activities. As we can see, some students lack good manners because they live without parents who would correct them in case they make any mistakes. These show that, when parents devote more time for their children, it leads to a healthier relationship that is mutually beneficial.
Many day schools offer coeducation facilities and this is an important requirement in terms of today’s world. Interacting with the opposite sex in the early years will enable children to be comfortable in the presence of the opposite sex when they reach a stage where they might have to work alongside them in an official environment. Children who have not had this opportunity might be shy and uncomfortable where in the company of people from the opposite sex in the future.
Most day schools encourage children to mix with the opposite sex from their early years and this builds confidence and helps in exchange of ideas between the sexes over the formative years. This is one of the most important functions performed by a day school. He added that although there may be a few boarding schools that offer coeducation, but day schools clearly outnumber the boarding schools doing this and coeducation in day schools is a much more accepted and existent structure in day schools.
Day schools are a preferred option as they are much less expensive than a boarding school. Tuition fees in day schools are cheaper. Most good quality day schools are relatively cheaper than boarding schools and this is another reason why parents opt for day schools over boarding schools. Day schools allow parents to admit students in private tuitions of their choice as well, in case their children need extra coaching. Most boarding schools have fees that are a bit exorbitant, and unless parents are willing to fund a new experience and style of education for their children, most average parents prefer day schools.
Day schools are a better option for those parents who wish to have close supervision over their children. Day schools enable constant parent-teacher contact and this enables the parents to be able to monitor the progress of their children in terms of both academics and extra curricular activities. This is also an important aspect of a day school. Parents can provide moral guidance if they are in constant contact with their children and this is possible only if the children attend a day school.
Where children are used to the comforts at home, then they might find it difficult to survive in a boarding school. Day schools enable the children to relax a bit more than boarding schools. In a boarding school, students are required to take part in many events and many students find it difficult to deal with this schedule. Parents will be better served to opt for a day school if their children have been brought up in a relaxed atmosphere.
In case of any sickness or injury, parents can be with their children immediately if they are admitted in a day school. Some children require parents to be constantly being by their side, especially if something untoward happens. The choice between a boarding school and a day school depends on a variety of factors and especially on the maturity level of the child involved. Whatever decision parents make, it is important for them to stick to it- the kind of schooling a child receives and the experiences there eventually define the personality of the child.
The time at school is limited, and children have to do household tasks when at home, especially girls, concentration on their studies is more difficult at home. Going to and coming from school also takes time, as they seldom read, especially during examination. As the environment of most day students is not conducive for reading; it is in the light of this that some prefer their children to go to boarding school for proper discipline and to inculcate better reading habits. In line with this belief, boarding schools can be seen to positively influence students’ academic performance, as this cannot be over emphasized.
The greatest problem faced by day students besides their home environment that is not conducive for reading, includes long distances to school, bad company at home, lack of proper accommodation and proper diet.
Kail, Robert and John (2007) opined that Academic Performance refers to the Grade Point Average (GPA) of the respondents obtained at the end of term. It is the method the school uses to evaluate and assess how well the students understand what has been taught and proves what they have learnt by their academic performance within the term.
Adomeh (2006) sees counselling as a set of service which is rendered by a professional counsellor to an individual or group of individual in need of such service.
Counselling is the process of establishing a relationship to identify people`s needs, design strategies and services to satisfy these needs and actively assist in carrying out plans of action to help people make informed decision, solve problems develop self awareness and leave healthier lives. Schmidt (1993).
Educational guidance is a process of help student to achieve the self understanding and self-direction necessary to make informed choices and move toward personal goals. Guidance, a uniquely American educational innovation, focuses on the complete development of individual student through a series of services designed to maximize school learning that result in academic performance of student being boarder or day. Although guidance activities are usually associated with educational professionals known as counsellors, educational guidance is actually a cooperative enterprise, involving the participation of teachers, administrators, other educational specialists, and parents.
The purpose of the act is to indentify students with outstanding abilities, to encourage them to seek higher education, assist them in following studies best suited to their abilities.
Guidance Program is organized as a series of services. One service is academic planning. Counsellor assists students with curriculum and individual courses selection. The program also is designed to help students who have academic difficulties.
Student’s appraisal is another counselling function. Standardized tests are administered to assist in appropriate academic placement, to assess academic achievement, to identify individual aptitudes, to explore vocational interest, and to examine personal characteristics. Test is used also to identify gifted students and those with special learning problems. College counselling centre assist students with academi, vocational or personal problems.
Urban and Daad (2007) examine the characteristics of boarding and day schools and how it contribute in a positive way and what characteristics
Contribute in a negative way to the academic performance of the students. Also the positive and negative effects related to the features of boarding and day schools and contextual and situational factors influence the academic performance of the students.
Day school provides instruction during the day to students who go home at the end of the school day, in contrast with a boarding school, in which students live on the campus full time, going home for holidays and special occasions. Day schools may be public or private in nature, and can be run in accordance with a wide variety of missions. Many children spend at least some time in a day school during the course of their educations. Some day schools run literally all day, providing instruction from the early morning to the evening.
Other day schools may run on a relatively short schedule, from early morning to early afternoon, but provide students with optional activities and classes which can be taken after school, potentially allowing students to stay all day for activities. Parents of day students can become more involved in helping their children improve their academic performance by providing encouragement, arranging for appropriate study time and space, extra lessons at home by a lesson teacher employed, reducing their wards house chores in order to create time for reading, modelling desired behaviour (such as reading for pleasure), monitoring homework, and actively tutoring their children at home. Far distance is an important situation that leads to preference for boarding schools.
Urban and Daad (2007) agrees that many day-schools also offer more than schooling, like food and clothing. But in the case of boarding schools this aid is usually more extensive (including housing). This ‘full aid’ can stimulate parents to send their children to school, though boarding school is quite expensive and it’s met for those who parents/guardian can afford it. This aid also indirectly contributes to good educational results. Learning with an empty stomach is difficult.
Ebenuwa- Okoh (2010) agrees that on the other hand, preference is given to day-schools if there is a possibility to attend or establish a school nearby. Distance to school is often caused by a shortage of schools, caused by lack of funding. Day-schools are cheaper, therefore more schools (close to home) can be established. Day school provides the right balance between family life and school life. The child can go to school to learn and develop social skills, but come home and have bonding time with the family.
The Counselling implication to schools is that the school counsellor should be able to maximal learning and interested in academic performance of students. Counselling as the third arm of educational programme (i.e. Instruction, administration and guidance) the counselling in the Nigeria education system has become a reality. One point of note is that counselling psychologist should give considerable attention to the importance of school type (Co-educational) sex (male and female) of students in boarding and day schools as it bring about difference in academic performance of the students. The school counsellor in this area should give cognisance to counselling of students irrespective of their sex and their parents in relation to academic performance. This may be a good way to improving students academic performances. Also counsellor should be able to counsel the boarding or day students so as they may know why they are in the type of school.
From whatever angle one looks at boarding and day students academic performance at school, certain factors such as sex, school type and environment, bring differences in academic performance. Therefore, Teachers, school counsellors, parents and government are unanimous in wanting children to learn. Boarding and day schools make that learning possible.
In Benin Metropolis, therefore, the importance of academic performance of boarding and day students cannot be over looked. The stronger the relationship, especially between boarding and day school on which is prefer the higher the likelihood for stakeholder in deciding which to send their children to. There has been previous studies carried out in kwara state secondary school to compare students academic performance of boarding and day students in English language and mathematics, there had not be too many studies in analysis of academic performance of co-educational (boarding and day in the same school) in Benin metropolis of Nigeria. It is against this background therefore that the present study seeks to investigate and fill the gap.
Statement of the Problem
The whole system of education revolves round the academic performance of students, though various other outcomes are also expected from the system. Thus, a lot of time and effort of the schools are used for helping students to achieve better in their scholastic endeavours. Boarding or day school in the system has become an index for measuring student’s academic performance in the educational process in this highly competitive world. The choice to make by stakeholders in the educational sector, governments, educationists, parents, principals, teachers, guardians etc. is been considered critical in the society and it has been observed by the researchers in recent times, certain factors are responsible for the academic performance of boarders and day students that leads to the research on the analysis of boarding and day student academic performance.
Moreover, despite many researches on analysis of academic performance in the few decades there is still much to be done. Researches in the area of analysis of academic performance have focused mainly on secondary school students. Deforges & Abouchaar,(2003) and most especially in areas of academic performance.
Secondary education is the foundation for all students anywhere in the world, it is necessary to consider the analysis of academic performance of boarding and day students at this level. Since some school structures that are boarding also have day students that attend the institution by day and return off-campus to their families in the evenings. The advantages and disadvantages to both school settings, is a further consideration when making choices about the child’s academic performance whether to choose a day or boarding school for them to attend. Also, literature has shown that there are differences in academic performance of boarding/day students as manifested in their examination.
Other factors responsible for academic performance of boarding and day students are Sex and environment of the students etc. There is the need for parents to know which of their children either male or female to send to boarding or day secondary school, the questions that come to mind then are; Which of the sex perform better in day school and which sex perform better in boarding school? To what extent does boarding school have positive or negative influence on the student’s academic performance? To what extent does day secondary school have positive or negative influence on the students’ academic performance? These questions constitute the gap in knowledge that the study intend to fill.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study was to undertake analysis of academic performance of boarding and day students in Benin Metropolis of Nigeria: implications for counselling. Specifically, the study sought to:
Investigate whether academic performance is higher among boarders than day students in Benin metropolis of Nigeria.
Investigate sex differences in academic performance of both boarding and day students.
Investigate whether male boarding differ from male day students in academic performance.
Investigate whether female boarding differ from female day students in academic performance.
Research Questions
Is there any difference in academic Performance between boarding and day students in Benin Metropolis?
Is there any difference in academic Performance between male and female students in Day school in Benin Metropolis?
Is there any difference in academic Performance between male and female students in Boarding school in Benin Metropolis?
Is there any difference in academic performance between male boarding and male day students in Benin Metropolis?
Is there any difference in academic Performance between female boarding and female day students in Benin Metropolis?
Hypotheses
H01: There is no significant difference in academic performance boarding and day students in Benin Metropolis.
H02: There is no significant difference in academic performance between male and female day students in Benin Metropolis.
H03: There is no significant difference in academic performance between Boarding and day students in Benin Metropolis.
H04: There is no significant difference in academic performance between male boarding and male day students.
H05: There is no significant difference in academic performance between female boarding and female day students.
Significance of the study
The finding of this study will be beneficial to stakeholders in the educational system such as parents, boarding and day students, psychologists, school counsellors, educators, researchers and government. The study would be of great assistance to Benin metropolis in particular and Nigeria in general and contribute to existing literatures.
The finding of the study will be of benefit to students on which type of school to attend whether boarding or day especially those who have opportunity to make choices. The school authority will be convinced to organised a seminar where students, parents, teachers, school counsellors, psychologist, researchers and government officials will be there, issue like boarding and day co-educational school type and its benefits, benefit of both sex and their academic performance, the worth and disadvantages of both school type will be discussed, the students will be acquainted with the right information concerning boarding and day schools and co-educational. They will be provided with the merit and demerit of being a boarder or day student and their academic performances.
The study will assist parents to know whether to send their children to boarding or day school; it will afford them the benefit of the structure of both types of schools. It will equally assist parents to know which sex perform better in boarding than day school. It will also assist parents to know whether to send their male or female children to boarding or day school; Parents having be informed through seminar such information or the awareness may help parents to monitor the activities of their children at home in order to regulate the following(Watching of films, Television, Playing of games, Football the use of smart phones texting/chatting/pinging. it will equally help them reduce time spent on domestic house chores, and friend (idle time), monitor study patterns of their children, school assignment to allow for proper concentration ,thereby creating the enabling environment for learning. The release of such information to parents/guardians will also help them engage their children meaningfully and help utilizing their time better than what they are doing now.
At the PTA (Parents Teacher Association) Meetings you can also request opportunity to talk to the parents concerning the findings of the study. The summary of the findings can be distributed to the counsellors of schools affected to cut and paste on the school notice board within the schools where students can go to read and benefit.
The finding of the study it will assist the school counsellor/psychologists to enlighten the community about enormous advantage associated with boarding and day school that is co-educational know how best to counsel boarders or day students on how their study/reading pattern should be in order to excel academically, with the information the counsellor will be able to advised students to have a reading time-table and stick to it.
The findings of this research work may also be beneficial to educational institutions. The results can be utilized to develop school programmes. It will assist the educators to know the benefit of both type of schools.
It is also hoped that the findings of this study will help potential future researchers in Nigeria in the of literature review as it will serve as one of the empirical studies in the field of analysis of academic performance of boarding and day students in Benin metropolis of Nigeria. And it will enable future researchers to replicate this study in other parts of the country if the work will be published online, so that it will be made available for other researchers and assist the government in Educational planning, policies and provision of infrastructures for boarding and Day schools.
Scope of the Study
This study covered all private schools that operate a structure of boarding and day Secondary Schools (Co-Educational) in Benin Metropolis, with the exclusion of public Secondary Schools. The schools in this research work were mainly Nosakhare Model Educational Centre, Word of Faith group of School, St Mary British International High School and Baptist High School. Schools like ICC, Presentation High School, University Preparation Secondary School were excluded because they operate purely boarding and are either boys or girls. But the ones used were boarding and day in the same school and mixed.
This study covered school type (boarding and Day) the sex of the students in boarding and day schools and their academic performance in English Language and Mathematics, it also cover the academic performance among private secondary school students, specifically students in SS I on their academic records. They only have JSS III standardised results computed for this work.
Limitations of the Study
The limitation of the study was that, only privately owned schools were used for this study while public boarding and day schools were excluded. The reasons being that, no public school is co-educational in nature that is having boarding and day school together and schools in rural and urban area could not be used because the discrepancy is much, the environment, the infrastructure, the teachers and learning materials are not all the same. This is an obvious limitation. The population and the sample size for this study did not represent the totality of students in the secondary schools in Edo State because the study was restricted to only boarding and day school(Co-educational) in Benin Metropolis of Nigeria.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are identified by the researcher as important to the understanding of the study:
Boarding (or Residential) Schools – are in this research defined as schools where students stay internally during the school week (and sometimes during the weekend/ holidays). Boarding Schools have dormitory facilities and facilities for eating, studying and recreational activities. Usually there is accommodation for supporting and/ or teaching staff as well.
Day-Schools– are defined as schools that students attend during the school day. Children stay in school during school hours. Often, there are facilities to take lunch at school as well. Furthermore, extra-curricular programs can be offered in and/ or by the school outside school hours.
Academic Performance: This refers to the performance that falls within specified standard. The specified standard is usually called pass mark and the pass mark is score above average which students are considered having passed and below which students are considered having failed.
Metropolis: it represents a city.
Co-Educational: A school with boarding and day students in the same school.
PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON THE IMPACT OF CHILDLESSNESS ON MARRIED COUPLE: A STUDY OF AWGU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
The problem of childlessness which is majorly caused by sickness, diseases and infertility in Awgu L.G.A gave rise to this study. This study investigated the Public Perception on the Impact of Childlessness on Married Couples in Awgu Local Government Area, of Enugu state. The study was conducted between November 2017 and May 2018. Six research questions and two hypotheses were formulated. The research design used was sample survey descriptive design. The quantitative and qualitative instruments used for data collection are Questionnaire and In-depth Interview guide respectively. The sampling techniques used for this study was multi stage sampling technique. Four hundred (400) questionnaires were shared randomly among the selected respondents. Three hundred and seventy questionnaires was retrieved, the data collected was processed using SPSS software. The statistical tool used to analyze is computerized statistical package for social science and the chi- square formulae was used in testing the research hypotheses. From the analysis of the data, the major findings among others include; sickness and diseases is the major cause of childlessness, there is a negative attitude of childless couples towards child adoption and surrogacy as a solution to their problem. Childless couple also suffer stigmatization, depression, labeling, abuse, disrespectful attitude from spouse and family members In view of these findings, the study recommend among others that: mass enlightenment of the public could help increase the knowledge of the causes of childlessness among couples and also reduce feeling of inferiority complex among childless couples. Childless couples should seek for medical treatment jointly.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
According to Merlo (2002), procreation is the function of the family; every man takes a wife apparently to have children for the continuity of his name and linage and for general productivity and development in the society. In traditional Igbo society, many wives try to ensure the procreation of children to its fullest limit. Where this main purpose of marriage is not forth coming into fulfillment it results to tension.
Zastrow (2001), identified reasons couples decided to have children, from the origin, biblically, having children is a blessed event and ranging from religion to ideology to economic necessity and cultural expectation. Historically, in agricultural and pre-industrial societies children were seen as economic asset; their labors were important in planting and harvesting crops and in tending domestic animals. Parents wanted large families to help with the work because, children were seen as economic asset, and values were gradually established that it was natural and desirable for married couples to procreate.
In a typical traditional society childlessness has been regarded as great personal tragedy involving much emotional pain and grief, especially when it results from the failure to conceive (infertility) or when it results from the death of a child (Charlene, 2007).
According to Mccury (2005), before conception was well understood, childlessness was usually blamed on the woman and this in itself added to the high negative emotional and social effects of childlessness. The concept “childlessness” can be seen in two senses in this study. Rowland (2001), Merlo (2002), and Zastrow (2001) describe childlessness as the willingness to have children but they are not forth coming and childlessness as the ability to have children but decide not to. Childlessness as the unwillingness to have children implies to married couples that choose not to have children and this is termed “child free”. In the same vein childlessness as the willingness to have children refers to married couples that are ready and willing to have children but are not able and this is the termed “involuntary childlessness” (Zastrow 2001), this is the concern of this study.
Some wealthy families also adopt children as a means of providing heirs in case of childlessness. The monetary incentives offered by the westerner’s desire for children are so strong that a commercial market in the child laundering business exists. Merlo (2002) and Rowland (2001) are of opinion that childlessness is concern, partly with its implications for the maintenance of society and partly because of its consequences for individual. Childlessness has a function of population control but that is not the concern of this study. The main focus of this study is the effects and implication of childlessness for married couples in the society.
Throughout the world and particularly in African societies, the word “childlessness” sends a cold signal and the sense of pity is immediately aroused. Having children is necessary for married couples and is considered as a major necessity in marriage. From cultural and traditional perspective the reason for marriage is for procreation, continuity of linage and impact or transferring cultural values and norm form one generation to another within the society (Gibson 2002).
In modern world, “childlessness” denotes merely the absence of children. The term has intimations of loss and bereavement, but technically applies to any without children; whether this is by choice, by circumstance, or by biology is undermined.
The social construction in many cultures is that men and women are meant to become parents and that women especially socialized to become mothers (Gibson, Meyer and Dyer 2002) found that most of the married women considered fertility as the primary function of being a woman. Becoming a parent will often corroborate feeling of self worth and sexual identity when people have been socialized into that role. In essence, the social construction of the role of mothers and fathers has become a part of the identities of man and woman in the society. A study conducted by Gibson and Meyers (2002) indicates that in general women experience more negative effects than men throughout the entire involuntarily childless diagnostic and treatment process. Women experience a greater sense of loss of control than men, and have a greater tendency to blame themselves for the couple’s infertility. Adding to this, women are more likely to perceive childlessness as simply unacceptable. Many authors suggest that women experience a more difficult adjustment to infertility than their partners, due in large part to the emphasis in our society on the role of women as mothers.
The purpose of this study is to explore the phase women endure from being childless and to highlight some of the complexities underpinning childlessness and its impacts on married couple, and family in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu state and also to gain deeper insight into how women incorporated this experience into their lives and relationships and how they began to create a future life without their own biological children.
Based on the trends of childlessness in Nigeria, this project has been undertaken to ascertain the extent of peoples’ perception on the impact of childlessness on married couples in Nigeria using Awgu Local Government Area, Enugu State Nigeria as a case study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The number of childless couples is tremendously on the increase, According to Ugwuanyi (2000), this is evident to the fact that attempts to initiate a move which would have been directed towards adoption is taken with serious resistance in some places like Nigeria mostly by couples without even a child.
According to Dike (2013) most couples are childless as a result of the degree of their waywardness when they were young or during their youthful age and unmarried, such as illicit use of drugs in order to avoid pregnancy, smoking of cigrates, cocaine, and marijuana e.t.c.
The World Health Organization (2014) stated that married couples suffer from childlessness for so many reason such as drug abuse, hard drugs intake, contraception, numerous abortions, and genetically inherited sickness that could lead to low sperm count and most cases psychological problems.
According to Nwapa (2004), some couples attribute to their problem of childlessness to the supernatural, the hope in God that gives children to remember them at the appropriate time while some couples usually fall back to their fetish lifestyle consulting their gods to seek solutions to their problem or appealing their gods as a means to cleanse them from such predicament. Nwapa also outline that childlessness can also be seen as consequences from the gods when an abomination or taboo has been committed, there can also be death of existing children rendering the married couples childless (Nwapa 2004).
Married couples faces a lot of problems and discrimination, from the society due to the fact that the married couples cannot procreate but in the same vein the society also suffer 30% of this childlessness problem, there will be low manpower and fluctuating number of people in the workforce and the social structure will not function properly (Hales 2000).
The researcher carried out a survey to find out the factors that generate childlessness, origin of childlessness in Awgu and people’s perception about childlessness and its effects, and implication on married couples in Nigeria using Awgu Local Government, Enugu State Nigeria as a case study with the view of proffering solution by ways of recommendation and intervention.
1.3 Research Questions
The following research questions have been put forward to guide this study.
What are the causes of childlessness in Awgu L.G.A?
What are the social implications of childlessness on married couples in Awgu L.G.A?
What are the cultural implications of childlessness on married couples in Awgu L.G.A?
What are the psychological implications of childlessness on married couples in Awgu L.G.A?
What are the perceptions of the public towards childless couples in Awgu L.G.A?
What are the solutions to childlessness problem inAwgu L.G.A?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this study is to examine the impacts of childlessness on married couple in Awgu L.G.A of Enugu state. Specifically, the following objectives will be treated:
To find out what are the major causes of childlessness in Awgu L.G.A
To indentify the social implication of childlessness on married couples in Awgu L.G.A
To indentify the cultural implication of childlessness on married couples in Awgu L.G.A
To find out the perception of people towards childlessness in Awgu L.G.A
To proffer possible solutions on how to eradicate childlessness problem in Awgu L.G.A.
1.5 Significance of Study
This study has both theoretical and practical significance.
Theoretically, the study will provide the perceptions of people towards childless couples in Awgu L. G.A. The study will provide the basic materials which the researcher in this topic will find valuable. This study will add to the existing body of knowledge on medical sociology. It will create room for further research on the socio-cultural impact of childlessness on married couples in other areas. It will also provide relevant data on how childlessness creates problems in the family and Awgu L. G.A at large. It will help to expand their
knowledge on the concept and impact of childlessness on married couples in Awgu L. G.A and beyond. It will also provide materials for researchers to anchor their studies and also provide them with relevant literatures for analysis and review of relevant literature for analysis and review.
Practically, the study will be of great relevance to students of sociology. The study will provide useful information that can be used by health care providers. The research work is of importance to the researcher as it is a basic requirement for the award of a university Bachelor of Science degree Findings of this study will provide useful information that will shade more light on the difficulties encountered by childless couple and proffer possible solutions to this problem.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Adoption: The voluntary acceptance of a child of other parents to be the same as one’s own child through legal term.
Childless: The absence of children in a family resulting from the inability to conceive a child by married couple or death of existing children.
Couples: This refers to a man and woman united and legally bounded in marriage.
Conception: This refers to the act of conceiving; the fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.
Culture: The arts, customs, beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute peoples’ way of life.
Fertility: The condition, or the degree of being fertile
Infertility: The inability to conceive after a period of 12 months of uncontrollable and unprotected sexual intercourse.
Lineage: Descent in a line from a common progenitor; descending line of offspring or ascending line of parentage.
Sexual Intercourse: The physical activity of sex played by married couples in order for them to produce children or offspring.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUALIFICATIONS, REMUNERATION, TRAINING AND JOB EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the relationship between qualifications, remuneration, training and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State, Nigeria. In carrying out this study therefore, five research questions were raised out of which one was answered descriptively while four hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the correlational research design. The population of the study was made up of 3321 teachers in public junior secondary schools in Edo State, Nigeria. The multistage sampling technique was adopted for the study. A sample of 332 teachers was used which comprised 10% of the population. However, the principals were also used as respondents for the study to ascertain the job effectiveness of teachers. The copies of the questionnaires were used for the data collection and were titled: Teacher Job Effectiveness Questionnaire (TJEQ) and Teacher Qualification, Remuneration, Training and Job Effectiveness Questionnaire (TQRTJEQ). The instruments for the study were validated by the researchers’ supervisors and two other experts in Education. The test re-test reliability method was adopted for this study and the reliability coefficients of 0.87 and 0.79 were obtained. The data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages, chi-square and regression analysis. The findings of the study showed that teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State were fairly effective in their job, qualifications had no significant relationship with job effectiveness of teachers, remuneration and training had significant relationship with job effectiveness of teachers and that training mostly predicted job effectiveness of teachers. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Government should ensure that remuneration packages such as leave bonuses, car loans, housing loans, health insurance scheme among others, are provided to teachers in order to enhance their job effectiveness in schools and that in-service training programmes like coaching, mentoring, computer based training, discussion session should be regularly organized by the school administrators for teachers.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
It is a common saying that education is the key to national development and that teachers hold the key to it. The success of the educational system is what the teacher makes out of it. Education is so powerful that it can “heal and kill”, it can build up or tear apart, it can lift up or impoverish. This however would depend on the type of education and particularly on the teacher who is the hub of the education process. It is therefore expected that only the intellectually promising, morally stable and qualified teachers are needed in teaching the learners.
Teachers constitute an important factor in the implementation of the school curriculum. For the goals of the education to be achieved, the role of the teacher can not be underplayed. Teachers as principal agents of change must be effective for the goals of education to be achieved. Effectiveness means producing the desired result. Teacher effectiveness is therefore used broadly, to mean the collection of characteristics, competencies, and behaviours of teachers at all educational levels that enable students to reach desired outcomes, which may include the attainment of specific learning objectives as well as broader goals such as being able to solve problems, think critically, work collaboratively, and become effective citizens.
According to Okolie cited in Oviawe (2016), effective teaching may include high level of creativity in analyzing, synthesizing and presenting knowledge in new and effective ways. It instills in the learners the ability to be analytical, intellectually curious, culturally aware, employable and capable of leadership. Teacher effectiveness involves a set of teaching behaviours which are especially employed in bringing about desired changes in students’ learning. Teacher job effectiveness in this study therefore, relates to how well teachers perform in their duties as outlined in their scheme of service, such as lesson plan/note preparation, lesson presentation, punctuality and regularity at lessons, lesson evaluation, classroom management, marking of students’ classroom work, among others. The job effectiveness of teachers could be measured against their routine job roles in schools. Hence, teacher job effectiveness could be said to mean doing the right thing at the appropriate time in terms of designed job roles.
There are identifiable characteristics of teachers that are predictive of their success in the classroom. Wayne & Young (2003) identified teachers’ characteristics that are predictive of their success in the classroom. These include among others, qualifications, remuneration, good conditions of service, adequate and quality infrastructure, instructional materials, training, equipped libraries and laboratories. However, this study only considered qualifications, training and remuneration as predictors of teacher job effectiveness.
One of the identifiable characteristics of teacher job effectiveness is qualification of teachers. Improving teacher quality is at the forefront of concern among education stakeholders and policy makers. The qualification of teachers is a key predictor of the overall outcome of the educational system. The quality of education of a nation to a large extent is determined by the quality of her teachers. The academic qualifications of teachers in secondary schools remain a priority concern to administrators because it determines their effectiveness (Abe & Adu, 2013). The success or failure of any nation depends largely on the quality of its educational system. This in turn depends on the quality of her teachers.
Qualification is most often viewed from two perspectives, academic qualification and professional qualification. Academically qualified teachers refer to those that are not certificated in education. Meanwhile, it is expected that anybody going into the teaching profession should have a qualification in education. Teachers with such qualifications as NCE, B.Ed, B.Sc/B.A. Ed, M.Ed etc could therefore be regarded as professionally qualified teachers.
Another identifiable characteristic that could predict the job effectiveness of teachers is training. In order to ensure there is effectiveness in the system, teachers have to undergo training from time to time. Teaching as a profession demands continuous development of knowledge and ability through training programmes. Staff training has been accepted as an effective method of increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers in order to enable them teach more effectively. According to Lawal (2004), staff training programmes for teachers are important aspects of education process that deals with the art of acquiring skills in the teaching profession. They are essential practices that enhance subject mastery, teaching methodology and classroom management.
The objective of training is that it ensures the promotion of professional growth, helps to improve pedagogical skills, keeps teachers abreast with new knowledge, meets particular needs, such as curriculum development and orientation, helps in leadership responsibility, helps new teachers to adjust to teaching field, helps to promote mutual respect among teachers and recognizes the need for modern teaching methods (Madumere-Obike, 2007). Training programme in an organisation is a process by which people are taught with skills and equipped with the necessary knowledge or attitude to enable them to carry out their responsibilities to the required standard in the present job and to undertake greater and more demanding roles for effective job performance.
Organisations are facing many challenges which are related to economic needs, social needs and technological needs. The world has gone digital and technology is fast growing and it is expected that every sector of the economy especially education sub-sector key into this technological age. As such, training programme plays an important part in overcoming these challenges and in catering for the needs of the education sector as an organisation. The need for training in education, particularly for teachers, is important because it helps to improve the quality of the education system. Such training programmes include workshops, conferences, seminars, induction and orientation for new staff, refresher courses and so on. Training provided for serving teachers according to Ogunu and Omoike (2006) include job rotation, coaching, mentoring, formal lectures, visit or tours, and computer based training which are classified as on-the-job training while conferences, seminars, workshops and additional formal training in Colleges and Universities especially the sandwich programme undertaken by teachers during the holidays are regarded as off-the-job training. The effectiveness of teachers to a large extent, could be enhanced by the training received while on the job because such training keep them updated with current global trends in education.
One of the characteristics that could also predict teacher job effectiveness is remuneration. Remuneration of teachers is an important aspect of the school life as it often time determines the motivational behaviour of teachers. Teachers’ remuneration covers such aspects as salaries, wages, allowances, fringe benefits, leave benefits among others. Although, teachers are seen as the manufacturers in the education sector, the live wire of any educational institution and the most important catalyst for man’s intellectual development, yet their welfare and condition of service in the society are to some extent neglected. The title, ‘Teachers’, in the colonial days can open a lot of doors to the bearer (Edem cited in Egwu, 2015). Egwu explained that though the attention to the teaching job was never drawn by monetary involvement or teachers being classified as the rich, but teachers in the past were not wallowing in poverty in the society, since they were thankfully appreciated by their employers and voluntary organisations.
Unfortunately, the teaching profession which used to be prestigious is presently seen by many teachers as stepping stone to other lucrative jobs. Observation shows that the sudden change in the economy of Nigeria as a result of the fall in oil revenue created financial constraints in every sector especially in education. Owing to the short fall in the prices of oil which is the main source of revenue for Nigeria, education sector has continued to receive poor allocation from the federal government annual budget. As a result of this, education sector has continued to dwindle, resulting to the neglect of teachers especially in the regular and prompt payment of salaries and the provision of adequate infrastructure.
Owing to these ugly situations, teachers abandon their official duties to engage in non-school activities in order to make ends meet; and most often, embark on strike arising from non payments of salaries, fringe benefits and other entitlements. It is only believed that to make the teachers to be effective in schools, there may be need to reverse this situation by encouraging teachers through better salaries paid as and when due, and enhanced welfare conditions such as car loans, housing loan scheme, health insurance, among others.
It is often believed that money helps to stimulate job efforts. This is particularly true of most of the developing countries where physiological needs of most workers are yet to be satisfied. Money is instrumental in achieving workers’ desired needs and in obtaining higher order needs such as recognition in the society and in buying essential and luxury goods and services that make for comfortable life. One major reason people work is to earn income in monetary terms. Salaries tend to have a large motivating effect on workers, especially teachers. It is not the increase in salary that only matters but also its prompt and regular payment.
This is why Fabiyi cited in Akande (2014) concluded that, of all conditions of service, salary is the best predictor of teacher’s performance and productivity. The researcher’s study expressed that job that offered higher salary would attract more and better qualified personnel than any other that offered a lower pay. It further added that salaries of teachers were inadequate to the extent that it became difficult for them to meet the basic necessities of life. Teachers’ salaries when compared with other employees with the same qualifications and experience in other sectors of the economy such as Banking and Health can be described as inadequate. In Edo State for instance, the salary of secondary school teachers is relatively low compared with professionals in other sectors of the economy such as financial institutions and oil and gas. Although the State Government recently on 1st of May, 2016 announced increment in salary of workers from N18, 000 to N25, 000 minimum wage, the impact on teachers, may not be significant taking into cognizance the rate of increase in prices of goods and services emanating from hike in pump price of petrol and exchange rate of Dollar to Naira. To this end, teacher qualification, training and remuneration are considered key variables that could determine teacher effectiveness in secondary schools.
The level of teacher job effectiveness in secondary schools is important to this study. The state of readiness of teachers in discharging their assigned duties needs to be measured to ascertain their level of effectiveness that is, whether they are very effective, averagely effective, fairly effective or not effective through proper assessment by the school principals. It is often widely acclaimed by stakeholders of the education sector that teachers are not performing to expectation in their assigned roles of lesson plan and note preparation, lesson evaluation, punctuality and regularity at lessons, examination invigilation, marking of students’ examination scripts, completion of scheme of work, among others. Whether teachers are effective in these tasks are issues of serious concern to the researcher. The principals as the supervisors are to oversee the activities of teachers and other workers in the school system to ensure that they conform to the generally accepted principles and practices of the systems especially in the discharge of assigned tasks. As such, principals’ are used to measure the level of teachers’ job effectiveness in schools. It was on this note that this study investigated the relationship between qualifications, remunerations, training and job effectiveness of teachers.
Statement of the Problem
The issue of low quality products from the educational sector has continued to be a source of worries to stakeholders in education over the years. It is observed that many secondary school products in Nigeria are poor in reading, writing, computational and vocational skills. Academic performance of students over the years seems to be low both in internal and external examinations and it is believed that effective utilisation of teachers influences academic performance. Many teachers in secondary schools seem to show lukewarm attitude to teaching. Some of them may only attend to the students during the classroom teaching session and may not have extra time to advise and counsel the students on school related issues and other personal and emotional needs that could interfere with their education. Some could give assignments which may never be marked while others give notes to students to copy with or without explanations. All these practices could be linked to the effectiveness of teachers. The end result of this could be half-baked secondary school graduates that may not be able to further their educational pursuit, or even be employable because they could lack the requisite knowledge and skill to function in the labour market.
Remuneration of teachers which covers salaries, wages, allowances, leave bonuses, holidays and tours, fringe benefits among others serve as motivation to teachers. However, the welfare and condition of service of teachers in the society are to some extent neglected. This is why Akande (2014) reported in a finding that salaries are the best predictor of teachers’ job effectiveness. Researchers like Osibanjo, Adeniji, Falola and Heirsmac (2014) and Adu, Akinloye and Adu (2015) found that proper remuneration of staff acts as motivating factor to their job performance and effectiveness. When these are absent, there is the likelihood that job effectiveness of teachers could be low. It is however observed that teachers are not satisfied with the level of remuneration received at the secondary school level most especially in the areas of salaries and fringe benefits when compared to staff in other sectors of the economy with same or similar qualifications. This could therefore constitute a source of dissatisfaction which could lead to low morale and invariably low effectiveness.
It is worrisome that the teaching profession which used to be prestigious is presently seen by many teachers as stepping stone to other lucrative jobs. Observation shows that the sudden change in the economy of Nigeria as a result of the fall in oil revenue created financial constraints in every sector especially education. As a result of this, education sector has continued to receive poor allocation, resulting to the neglect of teachers especially in the regular and prompt payment of salaries and the provision of adequate infrastructure. For instance, only 7.92%, 7.40% and 7.04% of the total national budget were allocated to education in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. Owing to these ugly situations, teachers could abandon their official duties to engage in non-school activities in order to make ends meet; or embark on strike arising from non payments of salaries, fringe benefits and other entitlements.
Teachers in secondary schools are expected to perform their assigned duties and they should do so at the right time. Whether the teachers are actually effective in the performance of their assigned duties is a fundamental issue that puzzles the minds of many researchers. The job effectiveness of teachers over time is questioned by many stakeholders of the education sector due to the poor quality of secondary school graduates produced yearly. For teachers to be seen as effective, it must be reflected in the overall output of the learners. In this case, it could be questioned if teachers effectiveness is influenced by their qualifications, remuneration and training. Hence, a knowledge gap exists. It was this gap in knowledge this study sought to fill.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between qualification, remuneration, training and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to:
ascertain the level of job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State;
find out if any relationship exists between qualification and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State;
find out if any relationship exists between remuneration and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State;
ascertain if any relationship exists between training and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State;
find out which of the variables among qualification, remuneration and training most significantly predict job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State.
Research Questions
The following research questions were raised to guide the study.
What is the level of job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State?
Is there any relationship between qualification and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State?
Is there any relationship between remuneration and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State?
Is there any relationship between training and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State?
Which of the three variables of qualifications, training and remuneration most significantly predict job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State?
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance.
There is no significant relationship between qualification and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State.
There is no significant relationship between remuneration and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State.
There is no significant relationship between training and job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State.
Qualification, remuneration and training do not significantly predict job effectiveness of teachers in public secondary schools in Edo State on equal basis.
Significance of the Study
The study would be of benefit to policy makers in education, teachers, principals, students and the public. The finding of this study would be of benefit to policy makers in education because they could routinely access the qualification and level of job effectiveness of teachers and on the basis of their discovery, plan in-service training programmes for teachers to enhance their job effectiveness. This would in no doubt help to improve on the quality of the education sector. They would also see the need to inform the government of the dissatisfaction of the present status of teachers in terms of salaries and other fringe benefits so that proper packages can be arranged for them to enhance their motivation.
The teachers would benefit from the finding of this study by being provided with in-service training programmes to help them to upgrade themselves in the modern methods of teaching; in this way, their job effectiveness may be enhanced. Better pay gives motivation and when teachers are well remunerated, they might have the inner satisfaction which might increase their job effectiveness in schools. This could lead to improved instructional practices which might invariably lead to improved students’ academic performance in schools. When students’ academic performance is improved, there is the likelihood that the goals of the education system could be realized.
The principals of schools would equally benefit from the findings of this study because having teachers with better salaries and adequate training; there is the likelihood of having well motivated and dedicated staff to work with. This would help ease the instructional supervisory task of the school administrators (principals) in secondary schools. The public would also benefit from the finding of this study as more qualified graduates might be released into the society to be engaged into the labour force. This would go a long way in boosting the economic development of the country because the economy relies on the education sector for its development.
Scope of the Study
The content of this study covered teacher qualifications, remuneration and training in relations to teacher job effectiveness in public junior secondary schools in Edo State. Teacher effectiveness covers among others, teachers’ commitment to duties of lesson plan/note preparation, lesson presentation, marking of students’ register, preparation and administration of test/examination and marking of scripts and classroom management. The study was limited to teachers of public junior secondary schools in Edo State.
Operational Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined as used in this study.
Effectiveness: This simply means doing the right thing. It also means producing the right result with available resources to the organization. Effectiveness is a measure of the appropriateness of the goals an organization is pursuing and the degree to which the organization achieves those goals. Meanwhile, efficiency is the extent to which an organization minimizes amount of input resources (labour, materials and time) available to it to produce a given output of goods. However, performance is the measure of how effective and efficient resources are put to use to achieve organizational goals.
Job Effectiveness: This is concerned with the commitment of teachers to their duties, producing actual results in terms of their job roles or duties. Job effectiveness was measured on four point scale of very effective, averagely effective, fairly effective and not effective.
Teachers’ Qualifications: Teachers’ qualification as used in this study refers to both academic and professional qualifications. Teachers with academic qualification refer to those who have no qualification in education. Such academic qualifications include OND, HND, B.Sc, B.A, PGD, M.Sc, LLB, LLM, Ph.D etc. Teachers with professional qualification are those with qualifications in education such as NCE, B.Ed, B.Sc Ed, B.A. Ed, PGDE, M.Ed, and Ph.D in education.
Teacher Remuneration: This is the payment or rewards for services rendered to teachers by their employers (government). It comprises salaries and fringe benefits.
Teacher Training:This is related to the training acquired by teachers after they have been employed into the teaching profession. It comprises on-the-job training and off-the-job training. It constitutes teacher professional development.
On-the-Job Training: This is related to training programmes made available to teachers to learn a specific skill to improve on practice. They include among others job rotation, coaching, mentoring, formal lectures, visit or tours, and computer based training. They are usually in-house. In this study, the following are listed as on-the-job training: job rotation, mentoring, computer based training, formal lectures and coaching among others.
Off-the-Job Training: Off-the-job training on the other hand is the training provided outside the normal working hours that usually takes place in training schools, conferences, seminars, workshops and additional formal training in colleges and Universities especially the Sandwich programme undertaken by teachers during the holidays. These training are provided for teachers to learn specific skills.
PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL DEVIANCE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE (A STUDY OF ND II STUDENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT)
PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL DEVIANCE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE (A STUDY OF ND II STUDENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT)