ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to
investigate the influence of parenting styles on in school adolescents’
achievement orientation and academic achievement in secondary schools in Enugu
State. The design of the study is ex-post facto while the population comprised
all SS II Students in Enugu North. The sample size for the
study was 296 respondents while the researchers’ self developed questionnaires
formed the instruments for data collection. Three experts validated the
instruments and a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient method was employed to
ensure the reliability of the instruments. Four research questions and four
null hypotheses guided the study; while the t –test statistics was used to test
the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. A review of empirical studies was
carried out to guide the researchers into previous studies in the area and also
to provide the researcher with the theoretical base. Two sets of questionnaires
were used to collect data for the study while t- test statistics was used to
analyze the data. The researcher found that the authoritative parenting style
has more positive influence on achievement orientation and academic achievement
of in-school adolescents and the influence of gender on in-school adolescents’
achievement orientation is not significant.
Keywords: Parenting styles, adolescents, achievement
orientation and academic achievement
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
When
a child is born into a family, such a child is helpless and needs the help of
others to get on. These others are usually the members of the family or the
caregivers. The major caregivers are usually the parents. The word ‘parent’
refers to the biological relationship of an adult to a child or when used as a
verb, to the care and protection that adult provides (Smith, 1999). A parent is
a person who fosters all facets of a child’s growth by nourishing, protecting,
and guiding the child through the course of development (Eze, 2002).
Operationally, a parent is one who has the duty of transferring values, norms
and experiences that could influence the adolescent in the society because
parents exert the first influence on the children’s life before any other
factor. Thus, parent shape the character and personality of its siblings
through the process of parenting.
Okpoko
(2004) and Utti (2006) defined parenting as the act of parenthood, child
upbringing, training, rearing or child education. Olsen & Defrain (2000)
defined parenting as the process of raising adolescent from infant to adulthood
who will provide continuity within the family for years to come. Parenting is
described as a constellation of attitudes toward the child that are
communicated to the child and that, taken together, create an emotional climate
in which the parent’s behaviour is expressed (Darling & Steinberg, 1993).
The quality of parenting is more essential than the quantity of time spent with
the child. For instance a parent can spend the entire afternoon with his or her
child but the parent may be engaging in a different activity and not
demonstrating interest towards the child. Operationally, parenting is the act
of moulding, shaping, guiding, and supporting the development of an
individual from infant to adulthood. Parenting is carried out differently by
individuals because of differences in personalities and exposure, giving rise
to different parenting styles.
Parenting
style is a universal climate in which families function and in which child
rearing behaviour of parents or other primary caregivers revolve (Chiew, 2011).
Kelland (2000) observe that where an ideal parenting style is employed in the
home, the children are disciplined but where this is not, the reverse is the
case. It has also been observed that in-school adolescents in public secondary
schools especially in Enugu State are faced with a lot of problems which
include: lack of parent monitoring and control, and poor academic achievement.
The ways to rear children is presented in Baumrind typology of parenting
styles. Authoritative parenting style indicated in Baumrind typology of
parenting style is the best way to rear children. Though, Children go through
different stages in life; therefore parents create their own parenting styles
from a combination of factors that evolve over time as children begin to
develop their own personalities. In the context of this study, Parenting styles
are the representation of how parents respond to the demands of their children.
Many authors have presented different forms of parenting styles but for the
purpose of this study, the researcher is adopting Baumrind (1973) parenting
styles which include authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved.
Authoritarian
parents are highly controlling in their use of authority but are not responsive.
They are often strict and harsh. They show little affection to their children.
They do not consider the children’s opinion as a group, and discourage verbal
give-and-take. Obedience, respect, and tradition are valued. Rules are
non-negotiable; parents are always right and disobedient
children are often punished physically (Baumrind, 1989). The authoritarian
parents have high expectations of maturity and want to control their child’s
behaviour and attitudes; and do not condone disobedience and confrontation from
their children with regards to laid down rules, regulation, traditions and
decision.
Authoritative
parents are warm and communicate well with their children. They are both
responsive to the needs of their children and demanding in that they set
expectations for their children. This type of parenting style permits children
enough freedom of expression so that they can develop a sense of independence
without extending beyond reasonable limits. They are firm, consistent, and
fair. They establish and enforce behaviour standards and stay in control by
encouraging their children to follow the standard. Family rule is democratic
rather than dictatorial (Berger, 2001). In authoritative parenting, children’s
opinions are valued and respected. They are encouraged to decide and accept
responsibility for their actions and decisions (Cherry, 2005). In addition,
such parents are more likely to encourage academic success. This parenting
style is in favour of one of the variables in the present study which is
academic achievement.
Permissive
parents on the other hand are high in warmth but lack control towards their
children. They are more responsive to the needs of their children but less
demanding. Permissive parents are lenient, do not require mature behaviour,
allow considerable self-regulation and avoid confrontation. They find it hard
to set clear limits and provide structure. They tend to reward bad behaviour
regularly. Children are not pushed to obey guidelines or standards such that
even when they do exist, they are not enforced (Sarac, 2001). Permissive
parents take orders and instructions from their children. They are passive, endow
children with power, have low expectations, use minimal discipline and do not
feel responsible for how their children turn out. Ironically, these children
turn out to be the unhappiest of all. They are more likely to exhibit such
psychological problems as anxiety and depression. Research links permissive
parents with delinquency, substance abuse, and sexual activities (Sailor,
2010).
Uninvolved
parent demands almost nothing and gives almost nothing in return, except near –
absolute freedom. This style is low in both demandingness and responsiveness.
At its worst, it can verge into neglect. They rarely dialogue with their
adolescents and generally do not want to be bothered by their children. Little
is known about this parenting style and research on this population of parents
is lacking because that are typically not very responsive or involved in their
children’s lives and therefore do not volunteer to be studied (Cramer, 2002).
For the reasons above, the researcher is limiting the study to authoritarian,
authoritative, and permissive parenting styles. Research shows that some
parenting styles do not favour good achievement orientation and academic
achievement while others do. Parenting style has been found to predict child
well – being in a number of areas, including social skills, academic
achievement, and the degree of problem behaviour (Baumrind, 1989). The response
and demand of parents to their children will be influenced by achievement
orientation of adolescents.
Adolescents go through the
period of adolescence thus, Wigfield, Eccles & Pintrich, (1996) defined
adolescence as a transitional stage of development between childhood and
adulthood, representing a period of time during which a person experiences a
variety of biological changes and encounter a number of emotional issues, thus,
this period is termed the period of storm and stress. Adolescence according to
Who Health.....
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