ASSESSMENT ON THE PREDICTORS OF PUPILS’ DROPOUT AND ACHIEVEMENT IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

            Education is the process of acquiring and applying knowledge in a variety of fields in order to perform one's job effectively. The federal, state, and local governments of the United States of America place a high value on education, seeing it as a weapon against ignorance, disease, squalor, and poverty, as well as a means of raising an educated, active, and productive citizenry and producing a prosperous nation. Education is a critical tool for transmitting cultural traits, facilitating change and transition, and informing members of any society about accepted norms, values, and practices. According to Omebe (2005), the primary goal of educational institutions is to change people's behavior from the moment they are born until they die.Omebe (2007) defined education as the training given to children's first instincts of virtue through appropriate habits, when pleasure and pain are properly implanted in the non-rational soul. Education refers to the specific training in the areas of pleasure and pain that leads to hatred and love for what love should have and love.

            Nigeria's federal government has adopted education as a tool for achieving not only national development but also the five national objectives outlined in the country's education policy (2007). These goals include the construction of:

v  A society that is free and democratic

v  A society that is just and equal.

v  A nation that is united, strong, and self-sufficient

v  A strong and thriving economy

v  A land brimming with exciting opportunities for all citizens.

This means, among other things, that Nigeria intends to provide education to all of its school-aged children. This educational provision extends at least from primary school to tertiary levels, depending on the academic ability of the individual.Primary education is defined by the National Policy on Education (2007:14) as education provided in institutions to children aged 6 to 11, and because the rest of the education system is built on it, the primary level is critical to the success or failure of the entire system. The period will last six years.

Bizarrely, the number of school children who dropped out has increased in recent years which has raise the concern of researchers on this dimension. According to Emore (2005), a dropout is a person who, for one reason or another, withdraws from or never completes his or her education in a primary school or other higher education institution. The consequences of dropping out of primary school can be devastating to a young person's life. Primary school dropouts have lower relative earnings and are more likely to be unemployed later in their careers. Synder and Sickmud found that young girls who drop out of school are more likely to become pregnant at a young age (2005). Primary school dropouts may have lower relative earnings than those who finish their education. In the same way, primary school dropouts have a higher rate of unemployment later in life. Girls who drop out of primary school are forced to work as nannies, hawkers, farmers, and planters, among other things. Pupils from the populous farming and fishing areas are drawn out of schools during planting and farming season to assist in these activities. Still on the subject of economics, young girls from low-income families are forced to work as hawkers in order to make ends meet because their parents are unable to pay their school fees. Boys and girls alike drop out of school to work as nannies, either at home or in the community. According to Davidson (2005:15), those who do not finish their education will have limited opportunities for the rest of their lives, and may even be prone to delinquency and crime.

From a historical perspective, research has revealed a one-sided perspective on why children drop out of elementary school. Whelage (2006) claims that students' characteristics, as well as their families' and cultural backgrounds, are to blame for their dropping out. Whelage (2006) went on to say that a more complex and balanced picture of the reasons for school dropout has been discovered. Subject failure and disciplinary issues at school, in combination with chaotic personal, social, and family circumstances, have been shown to contribute to dropout.

1.2 Statement of the problem

             Internationally, there is considerably variation in dropout rate because different nations are in different stages of extending universal basic education. Primary education completion rates in developed countries are generally on par with or higher than in the United States, though the nature of primary school varies greatly. In other countries, the rate of primary admission and completion has been increasing, but the rate of primary admission and completion has been increasing globally. Some of the factors influencing drop out rate includes Gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as immigration status and geographic location, all influence dropout rates (Omebe 2007). Differences in dropout rates exist even when socioeconomic and demographic factors are not taken into account. One notable demographic distinction is the difference in rate between males and females. In developed countries and Latin America and the Caribbean, females are less likely to drop out before completing primary education, but in the rest of the world, females are more likely to drop out before completing primary education (Synder and Sickmud 2005). Although studies on pupil drop has been examined in other countries, none has out-rightly focused on predictors contributing to this anomie. Against this backdrop, the researcher intends to identify the predictors of pupils’ dropout and achievement in primary school.

1.3       Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is to examine   predictors of pupils’ dropout and achievement in primary school. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1.  To examine the prevalence of school drop out among primary school pupils in Nigeria

2. To ascertain whether there is any significant difference in male and female pupil drop out rate in Nigeria.

3. To investigate the contributory factors influencing school drop out in Nigeria.

4. To make suggestions on possible ways of curbing primary school pupil drop out.

1.4       Research Question

The research is guided by the following research questions:

1. At what extent is  school drop out among primary school pupils prevalence of  in Nigeria?

2. Is there is any significant difference between the rate between male and female pupil drop out rate in Nigeria?

3. What are the contributory factors influencing primary school pupils drop out in Nigeria?

4. What are the possible ways of curbing primary school pupil drop out?

1.5       Significance of the study

Achieving a significant result is highly imperative in any empirical study. Mostly, the result of this study will be useful to government, parents, curriculum planners and the students. Also findings of this study will be of benefit to parent by understanding that they should give support of education to their children. It will help parents by knowing that children are the leaders of tomorrow and school dropout could be dangerous to their children’s future. Also, this will help government to supply the missing link if any in its future plan for educational progress.

 However, it will be of benefit to curriculum planners by providing the planned experiences provided by the school to assist the pupils in attaining the designated learning outcomes. Again, it is expected that the result of this findings will expose the problem associated with school dropout and it consequence to the development of Nigerian education. More significantly, apart from increasing the volume of literature in emerging research work, the findings of the study will aid government for its policy making and will assist student to a great extent who may wish to conduct a research which is related to this one.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study borders on  assessment on  predictors of pupils’ dropout and achievement in primary school. In the course of the study, these factors will be highlighted and tackled properly to reduce the incidence or rate of dropout, the study is expected to suggest possible ways in which the rate of dropout will be minimized. The study is however delimited to Esan  Central local government in Edo State.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only  primary schools in  Esan  Central Local Government Area of  Edo State. Thus findings of this study cannot be generalized for other  secondary schools in other states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. Despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Education: Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits, and personal development. Education originated as transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to the next.

Primary Education: Primary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in primary school, the elementary school or first and middle school depending on the location.

Drop out: School dropout has been defined as leaving education without obtaining a minimal credential for practical reasons, necessities, inability, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.

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