THE IMPACT OF SINGLE PARENTING ON CHILD EDUCATION IN SELECTED SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
Marriage of a young person was part of his parents’ responsibilities in ancient society. The young man had no options and had no say. He accepted his wife’s joy and gratitude. In some cases, a wife was married for him at a time when he couldn’t afford to keep a wife, and all maintenance was paid for by the parents. Parents were not concerned in the past with their suns marrying girls from distant places or other tribes because marriage was a matter within the clan or within the clan’s and its environs.
Marriages arranged by parents based on family friendship ties rarely ended in divorce in the past. Single parenting was also common in ancient times, due to the penalties for proven infidelity and the fear of offending the elders of both families. In Nigeria, there are four clearly defined types of marriage: church or statutory marriage, mosque marriage, and marriage contracted according to native law and customs of any ethnic group.
Marriage serves the purpose of having children and starting a family. When these children do arrive, they are regarded as a God-given blessing as well as a social and economic asset to their parents. This time, the family requires a safe place to live. Thus, home is both a place where a family lives and a place where one can find love. It is a place that provides everything an individual needs to successfully integrate into society.
A home provides for its members’ physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual development. A home is built on love and mutual understanding, and good planning can achieve its goals in a home that lacks love and understanding; such a home is bound to crack and fissure in all directions. Broken homes are homes or families in which either the father or mother has ceased to be a member of such a home or family due to divorce, desertion, to name a few.
Single parenting can thus be defined as a personal misfortune for either spouse in any society, but it is a universal escape from the inevitable tension that comes with marriage. Single parenting, in fact, breaks the bonds that once bound two people and their families together.
Marriage is a big step in life, and whether you plan it as a career or a business, you will either fail or succeed. This bond dissolution can occur as a result of extramarital affairs by either partner, early marriage, or a solution where either spouse is not mature enough for marriage before getting married.
The proper upbringing of children is more important than the happiness of the parents in the family. This is because the early years of a child’s life are crucial for personality development, and these are the years spent primarily with parents, siblings, and family. The home, as the child’s immediate environment, serves as the foundation for personality development, which continues throughout life.
Children fail to develop ties to one or a few important people in the family as a result of single parenting or a broken home, and when these ties are disrupted, children are taught at school that they are impaired in developing close relationships in adulthood. They feel better and carry on as a happy person, but they are unable to concentrate on anything taught at school.
When a mother is absent from the home, the children are vulnerable to a variety of issues, including poor feeding, a lack of motivation to study or learn, diseases and illnesses, and emotional disturbance (fear, insecurity). As a result, these children are unlikely to perform well in school.
A successful marriage requires the couples to be in harmony-mentally, physically, and spiritually. In other words, the husband and wife must share a common goal and each must contribute their fair share to its achievement, with love serving as the motivator.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
There are numerous issues associated with single parenting or broken homes, which have a long-term impact on children’s academic performance. Some of these issues are as follows:
i. Closing a gap in the children’s lives because there is no adult to guide and direct their behavior and desires, as children learn through imitation.
ii. There is an increase in domestic work and redistribution of household chores, leaving children with little or no time to study.
iii. It has also been observed that children from broken homes face additional challenges, such as a lack of basic material needs such as food, clothing, and learning materials.
iv. In security, stepparents do not lavish love and affection on their stepchildren. As a result, these children suffer from mental retardation, personality development, and are generally unhappy. They exhibit behavioral responses such as lying, stealing, building, and being absent from school.
In light of this, the researcher is forced to wonder whether extra-marital relationships and financial problems can lead to a broken home, and if broken homes are causes of poor academic performance in children. In this regard, a closer examination of the current crop of secondary school graduates reveals a plethora of half-cooked, half-boiled, and half-baked scholars academically, socially, and otherwise.
STUDY PURPOSE
The researcher is interested in studying the causes, problems, and effects of single parenting or broken homes on children’s school performance because of the current drop in children’s school performance, which has most Nigerians concerned about where we are headed. In light of this, the purpose of this research is to identify the causes and problems associated with broken homes, as well as the effects on the performance of children in some selected secondary schools in the Egor local government area.
Furthermore, to educate married couples and the general public about the effects of single parenting and/or broken homes on children, to encourage them to live harmoniously in order to raise children who will successfully fit into society and become useful to themselves, and to finally make necessary recommendations.
QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
1. Do couples recognize the sources of marital problems that lead to divorce?
2. Are couples aware of the issues associated with single parenting and how it affects their children and society?
3. Do psychological and emotional disturbances cause academic and social backwardness in schools?
4. Do stepmothers’ insecurity and unruly attitude toward students from broken homes cause them to steal at school?
5. Does a lack of encouragement on the part of stepparents contribute to students’ academic backwardness?
6. Do children from broken homes have the opportunity to plan their future careers with their sponsor?
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
It is hoped that the findings of this study will improve social studies education programs. The researcher is interested in studying the effect of single parenting on children’s school performance because what happens in the home has an impact on children’s academic performance.
It is necessary to educate unmarried young stars about the problems and causes of single parenting, as well as the consequences for the children. It will also drive young stars to murder their parents. The findings of this study will help children of single-parent families understand the problems their parents are facing and will give them hope for the future.
TERMS DEFINITION
Family: A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption and live together; all such people are considered members of the same family.
Marriage is the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife.
Couple: Two people viewed as husband and wife.
Divorce: The legal dissolution of a marriage.
Infidelity: Sexual disloyalty or unfaithfulness of a husband or wife outside of the matrimonial home.
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THE IMPACT OF SINGLE PARENTING ON CHILD EDUCATION IN SELECTED SCHOOLS