CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Marriage of a youth in ancient society was parts of the responsibilities of his parents. The young man had no choices and no say. He accepted his wife his joy and thanks. In some cases, a wife was married for him at a time he could certainly not afford to keep a wife all maintenance was borne by the parents. In the past marriage were a matter within the clan or within clan’s and its environs parents were not anxious to see their suns getting married to girls from distant places or other tribes.

Marriages arranged by parents on the basis of family friendship ties rarely broke up in the past. Single parenting in the ancient times was also very rate, because of penalties of proven infidelity and fear of offending elders of both families in Nigerian, there are four clearly defined types of marriage we have the church or statutory marriage those performed at the mosques and marriage contracted according to native law and customs of any ethnic group. The purpose of marriage is to have children and establish a family. When these children eventually arrive, they are regarded as blessing from God and are social and economic assets to their parents. The family, this time needs a home to live in and feel secured. Thus, home is a place where a family lives and also a place where one secures love. It is a place which provides all individual needed in order to fit into the society successfully. A home provides for food, physical, mental, psychological and spiritual; development of its members. A home is built on love and mutual understanding and good planning is able to meet its goals in a home where love and understanding are lacking, such a home is bound to crack and fissure in all direction. This broken homes are homes or families where either the father or the mother has ceased to be further member of such a home of family through divorce, desertion to mention but a few.   

Single parenting therefore can be defined to be personal misfortune for either of the spouse ion any society but it is a universal escape for the inevitable tension is marriage. Single parenting as a matter of fact breaks the bonds, which once united two individual and their family. Marriage is a big step in life, in which a person plans as a career or even business, certainly you either fail or succeed. This bond dissolution can occur as a result of extra marital practices by either of the partners, early marriage, a solution where either of the spouses is not ripe enough for marriage before getting married.

The proper upbringing of children is a more important objective of the family than the happiness of the parents. This is because the early of child life are the formation of personality and these are the years that are spent mainly in association with parent’s siblings and the family. The home as the child’s immediate environment forms the basis for personality development, which accompanies the individual throughout life. As a result of single parenting or broken home children fails to develop ties to one or few important person in the family and when these ties are disrupted, children are taught at school impaired in developing close relationship in adulthood. They feel better and carryover critically as a happy person and at the same time cannot concentrate on anything taught at school. When a mother is out of a home, leaving the children under charity and mercy of step-mother, these children are prone to many problems such as poor feeding, negligence not inspired to study or learn, diseases and sicknesses, emotional disturbance (fear, insecurity) as such they are not likely to perform up to expectation in school. For a marriage to be successful there is the need for the couples to be in harmony-mentally, physically, and spiritually. In other words, the husband and the wife must have a common goal and each has to contribute his or her own quota towards its fulfillment and the key ward should be love.          

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM  

There are many problems with single parenting or broken homes which at the long run reflect on the performance of children in schools. Some of these problems are;

i.                    Meeting of a gap on the children’s existence because there is no adult to guide and direct their behavior and desires as children learn by imitation.

ii.                 There is increase in domestic work and redistribution of household chores, which leaves the children with little or no time for their studies

iii.               Also, it has been observed that children from broken homes suffer some other problems such as non-provision of some basic material needs like non-provision of some basic materials needs like food, clothing and learning material

iv.               In security, step parent do not show much love and affection to their step children. Thus, these children suffer from mental retardation, personality improvement and are always miserable. They show behavioral responses like lying, stealing, building and playing truant in school.

In view of this, the researcher is forced to wonder whether extra-relationship and financial problem could lead to broken home, and if broken homes, are they causes of decrease in the performance of children in schools. In that, a closer look at the turn out of secondary school graduates these days reveals a lot of half-cooked, half-boiled and half-baked scholars academically, socially and otherwise.

PURPOSE OF STUDY

The researcher is interested in the study of causes, problems and effects of single parenting or broken homes in the performances of children in schools because of the present decrease children’s performance in schools which is giving much concern to most Nigerians as to where we are heading to. In view of this, this study is geared towards identifying the causes and problem of broken homes and the effects on the performance of children in some selected secondary schools in Egor local government area. Also, to educated married couples and the general public of the consequences of single parenting and or broken homes on the children and to encourage them to live harmoniously in order to bring up children who will successfully fit into the society and become useful to themselves and finally make necessary recommendations.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS     

1.                  Do couples realize the causes of problems in marriage which lead to divorce?

2.                  Are couples aware of problems associated with single parenting as it affect their offspring and the society?

3.                  Does psychological and emotional disturbances lead to academic and social backwardness in schools?

4.                  Does insecurity and unruly attitude of step mothers to students of broken homes lead them to steal at school?

5.                  Does lack of encouragement on the part of step parents contribute to academic backwardness of students?

6.                  Do children from broken homes opportune to plan their future career with their sponsor?

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY   

            It is hoped that findings from this study will enrich programmes of teaching social studies. The researcher is interested in the study of effect of single parenting on the performance of children in schools because whatever happens in the home has a bearing in the academic performance of children. It is necessary to educate the young stars who are yet unmarried about the problems and causes of single parenting and their consequences on the children. It will also make young stars to decimate their parents. Findings from this study will aid children from parent who have being thought single parenting in the understanding of problem experienced by their parents and give them assurance about their future.

DEFINITION OF TERMS  

Family: A group of persons, two or more related by blood, marriage or adoption residing together; all such persons are considered as members of one family

Marriage: Union of man woman as husband and wife.

Couple: Two persons seen together as husband and wife.

Divorce: Put an end to a marriage by law.

Infidelity: Disloyalty or unfaithfulness of husband or wife sexually outside matrimonial homes.

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