ABSTRACT
The
study sought to investigate the influence of family structure on children’s
motivation to learn and academic achievement in Minna Metropolis, Niger State.
To guide the study, four research questions were posed and answered while four
hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study
adopted ex-post facto or causal comparative research design. The population of
the study comprised of all the primary five children in Minna metropolis, Niger
State totaling 9,995. A total sample of 425 primary five children in public
schools in Bosso and Chanchaga Local Government Education Authorities were used
for the study. The academic achievement scores of children for a session were
collected using children’s result for three terms. The instrument named
influence of Family Structure on Children’ s Motivation to Learn Questionnaire
was used for data collection. Mean and Standard Deviation were used in
answering the research questions, while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used
to test the null hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that; children
from monogamous family structure had the highest mean motivation to learn
followed by the children from multiple transition family structure while
children from polygamous family had the lowest mean motivation to learn.
Further analysis showed that family structure significantly influences
children’ s motivation to learn. Children from single parenthood family
structure had lower mean achievement score than children from monogamous and
multiple transition family structure while children from polygamous family
structure had the lowest mean achievement score. However, it was further
revealed that family structure has no significant influence on the children’s
motivation to learn and children’s academic achievement. Gender has no
significant influence on children’s motivation to learn and academic
achievement. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that
parents should be fully involved in the education of their wards by assisting them
in their home works and getting other relevant materials for study ready for
them.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Children’s lives are influenced by the number of parents and siblings
that they live with, as well as by whether their parents are married. Parents
with children make up a family. A family is a group of people who share
Affinal, Consanguinal and adoption ties and are within two generations (Oti,
2005). Fairly is a close knit group of people who care about and respect each
other (Hughes, 1999). The fairly is a social group characterized by common
residence, economic corporaton and reproduction. It comprises adults of both
sexes, at least of two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship
and one or more children own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.
Family is a group of two or more people that are related by blood,
marriage, adoption, step or fostering and who usually live together in the same
household. This includes newly wedded couples without children, couples with
dependants, single mums or dad with children, siblings living together.
Family is the focal socializing unit in the society especially Africa
(Oti, 2003). The family as an institution provides for the rearing, socializing
and education of the child. It is a forum for the child’s initial contact with
the society. It is the basic group for individual’s social identity. It is the
most common unit of socialization. The stability of the family and its
antecedents are important in the child’s education. It is also a general
opinion that the quality of family interactions has important associations with
children’s motivation to learn and academic achievement. Kellaghan (1993)
asserted for example, that the family environment a the most powerful influence
in determining children’s motivation to learn and academic achievement and the
number of years of schooling they will receive. In this study family refer to a
group of people, comprises of mother, father and their children, related by
blood or adoption, share responsibilities and live together or separate.
Family structure is made up of different types of families, and
marriages. These include nuclear and extended family, single parenting,
monogamous, polygamous multiple transition, monoandrous and polyandrous family
structure.
Nuclear family structure is a group of people consisting of a pair of
adults and their children (US NHI, 2007). Nuclear family is typically centre n
married couple (US NHI, 2007). In this study nuclear family is a group of
people consisting of mother, father and their children living together or
apart.
Extended family structure is a family that is beyond the nuclear family,
consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all living nearly or in
same household (US NHI, 2007). Extended family is a combination of bother
nuclear family and other relatives associated with the nuclear family members.
Single parenthood is a problem of national proportion shared by all
social and racial groups. Down (2000) holds that single parent refers to the
parent who has most of the day to day responsibilities in the raising of the
child or children, which would categorize him or her a dominant caregiver being
the parent with which the child has residency, majority of the time. White,
(2004), Cherlin, (2005) found out that children from single parent family
structure tend to have lower levels of psychological well being. Single
parenthood involves a situation where everything needed in the child’s
upbringing is given by the custodian parent who live with the children
(Berokraitis, 2012). The advent of single parenthood may result in increased
strain on a single parent resources like time, energy etc, the desire to
succeed in single parenting leads to anxiety (Wiley, 2004). The single parents
also tend to worry about unpredictable income and poor housing which has
influence on the child motivation to learn and academic achievement.
Monogamous family structure is a form of relationship in which an
individual has only one partner during their lifetime or at any one time as
compared to polygamy (Barash, David and Lipton, 2001). Monogamy holds the
family together as an entity. Children from monogamous family structure have been
proven to have less risk of psychological and cognitive problems (White, 2004).
Children whose parents practice monogamy seems to be motivated to learn better
than those who parents practice polygamy.
Monogamous family structure refers to a male and female social living
arrangement e.g shared use of a territory, behavior, indicative of a social
pair and or proximity between a male and female without inferring and sexual
interactions or reproductive patterns (Barash et. al 2001). In this study
monogamous family structure comprises of two adults of both sex, legally
married and live together as husband and wife with or without children.
Opposite of polygamy.
Polygamous family structure comprises of a man and multiple simultaneous
wives, polyandry is where in a woman has multiple simultaneous husband; or
group marriage, where in the family unit consist of multiple husbands, a woman
married to more than one husband at the same time (Hughes, 2000). In this
study, polygamous family structure is referred to a man, married to more than
one wife at a time, live together or separately, have children together and
share responsibilities in raising the children. The family has a very strong
influence on the child’s motivation to learn and academic achievement. The reason
is that different supportive learning environment for their respective children
such support may include, love, time, finance in satisfying required child
school need. The polygamous family structure may be more constrain in ensuring
the provisions of essential children needs than the monogamous family
structure. Powell and Steelman (2003) opined that children’s attainment depends
on inputs of time, attention and many from their parents, the more children
they are in the family the more less the inputs. In sufficient provision of
supportive learning
environment could lead to low motivation to learn and academic achievement of
children. Some of the characteristics of polygamous family structure many
children are less inputs of time, attention and money invested on these
children which may negatively influence the children motivation to learn and
academic achievement.
Multiple transition family structure can be described as a basic unit,
since it embraces all forms of interactive between individuals. The family
provides the child with an identity with a social status and with economic well
being. The child from multiple transition family structure experiences addition
of step parents and half siblings. This may cause them to experience stress,
and more transition may lead to greater stress. The addition of step parent is
said to increase stress among children and adults, as families adjust to new
routines, as the biological parent focuses attention to new partner as step
children come into conflict with step parent. Amato (2005), the stress of
family change is cumulative because any disruption requires re-adoption and
therefore, the number of family transition has greater negative influence on
children’s motivation to learn and academic achievement than any other
particular family structure. In this study multiple transition family structure
is the change of family, addition of step parent, and half siblings as a result
of divorce and repeated divorce. Cherlin (2007) opined that children who experienced
multiple transition in family are likely to drop out of school, complete fewer
years of formal schooling, score lower on standardize examinations than those
from intact homes living with both biological parents. For high academic
achievement, children should be motivated.
Motivation is an internal
state that arouses, directs and maintains behavior Umeano (2012). Mangal
(2008), defined motivation as something, which prompts, compels and energizes
an individual to act or behave in a particular manner at a particular time for
attaining some specific goal or purpose. This implies that a child who is
motivated to learn will participate actively and otherwise will not participate
actively in learning activities.....
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