THE EFFECT OF BROKEN HOMES ON PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPETR ONE

INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research Hypotheses

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope and limitation of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

1.8       Organization of the study

CHAPETR TWO

2.0   LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1    sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

 

 

 

 

Abstract

The study examined the various effects of broken homes on personality development of secondary school students. To enhance the process, questionnaire were constructed, research questions were formulated and converted into hypothesis. Data instrument used were designed questionnaires that we patterned after six-point liker scale very strongly agree (VSA), Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Very strongly disagree (VSA), Strongly disagree (SD), and Disagree (D).  A total of 200 hundred students in some schools in were sampled and their pinion was analyzed using the chi-square (X2) statistical method to make an inference. Hypothesis was formulated with regards to the effect and influence of broken homes on student’s personality development.

 

 

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

The family is the child’s first place of contact with the world. The child as a result, acquires initial education and socialization from parents and other significant persons in the family. Agulana (2000) pointed out that the family lays the psychological, moral, and spiritual foundation in the overall development of the child. Structurally, family/homes are either broken or intact. A broken home in this context is one that is not structurally intact, as a result of divorce, separation, death of one of parent and illegitimacy. According to Frazer (2004), psychological home conditions arise mainly from illegitimacy of children, the label of adopted child, broken homes, divorce and parental deprivation. Such abnormal conditions of the home, are likely to have a detrimental effect on school performance of the child he asserts. Life, in a single parent family or broken home can be stressful for both the child and the parent. Such families are faced with challenges of inadequate financial resources (children defense find 2004). Schults (2006) noted that if adolescents from unstable homes are to be compared with those from stable homes, it would be seen that the former have more social, academic and emotional problems. Rochlke (2003) is of the opinion that the family and its structure play a great role in children’s academic performance. Levin (2001) states that parents are probably the actor with the clearest undimentionals interest in a high level of their children’s academic performance. To some extent, there is simple evidence to show the marital instability brings about stress, tension, lack of motivation and frustration obviously, these manifestations act negatively on a child’s academic performance. Johnson (2005) asserts that children of unmarried parents separated families often fail and are at risk emotionally. However, this may not be completely applicable in all cases of broken homes. Some children irrespective of home background or structure may work hard and become successful in life. Moreover, Ayodele (2007) stated that the environment where a child finds himself/herself goes a long way in determining his learning ability and ultimately his academic performance in school. The influence of sex (gender) on academic performance has also been an issue of concern to most researchers. This is because ‘gender’ appears to have some powerful effect on learning. According to Fauto-Sterling(2005) and Friedman(2005) suggest no significant difference in cognitive ability between males and females. Although research results vary widely the following conclusions have been drawn. Males are more abstract learners, females have more anxiety about study success, males are more instructive, and females are more analytical and organized (Bielinskia & Davison 2003). Okoye(2008) postulated that sex differences may have little or no effect on academic performance, rather, he submits that eventual achievement by learners is predicted more on personal effort than sex variable. However, the overall picture suggests that males and females may learn differently. In the same vein, socio-economic background is another factor that may affect academic performance of students. This background refers to the parent’s educational attainment, occupation, level of income and social class placement. When a child’s needs are not properly addressed, his learning ability could be affected due to lack of motivation. Generally, the home has been identified as an overwhelming factor affecting students’ performance academically. It would appear, then, that broken homes may present a very serious danger to the emotional, personality, and mental adjustment of the young adolescent. This impinges on students’ academic achievement. Other variable to consider in this study is the personality development of the child. We define personality as the sum total of the man or woman, as he or she impresses other men and women. We must learn what part personality plays in the three main areas of human life activities: love and marriage, career, and social relations. According to Freud, the personality is a trinity consisting of ego and superego. The id is a reservoir of psychic energy and the source of the human instincts. It furnishes the power that sustains a person’s activities. The ego is a special part of the id which keeps the individual in touch with the outside world, and finds outlets for the expression of his instincts. The superego is a kind of moral censor which passes judgment on the individual’s strivings according to the standards which he has acquired from his parents. It makes him feel guilty when he goes against those standards, and proud of himself when he lives up to them. According to Jung, the personality consists of six parts: the ego, the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious, the persona, the anima, and the shadow. The ego requires little explanation. It is what is more generally known as the conscious mind. It is made up of conscious perceptions, memories, thoughts and feelings. The personal unconscious consists of experiences which have been repressed or forgotten, but which can under certain circumstances be recalled. The collective unconscious is a storehouse of ancestral memories which is common to the whole race. The personal is that side of ourselves which we choose to display to society. The personal is thus a mask which often hides the true nature of the personality. The anima is the feminine side of a man’s personality. Its counterpart is the masculine side of a woman’s personality, which is known as the animus. The shadow is the animal side of man’s nature. In Jung’s view the personality looks not only backwards to its racial past, but also forwards to a goal, which is the development of a unified whole known as the self. The self or psyche, according to Jung, has four basic functions, which are present in every individual. These are thought, feeling, sensation and intuition. Thought seeks to understand the world on the basis of a true-false evaluation; feeling apprehends it on the basis of a pleasant-unpleasant evaluation; sensation perceives things through the senses; intuition perceives them through an inner awareness. Jung (1900) says that the personality reveals two attitudes. They are introversion and extraversion. The introvert is influenced by what he finds within himself. The extravert takes his bearings from what lies outside himself. The essence of Adler’s theory (1998) of personality is the doctrine of a creative self, which asserts that man makes his own personality out of the raw materials of heredity and experience. Adler’s conception of the nature of personality thus coincides with the popular idea that man can be the master, and not the victim, of his fate. Alder says that the individual’s style of life or law of movement is an expression of his total personality. The style of life is the individual’s characteristic way of reacting to the situations that confront him in life. It is pertinent therefore, to understand the basic principles of development and personality development. Personality development is the developing a personality cult so as to create a strong positive impression about self with the targeted group, or in general; and more pertinent aspect of such personality are to maintain and prove in a long run. The basic principles of development according to Lawes and Eddy (2006) have outlined four basic principles of child development. These are:

1. Children differ greatly in their rate of development, one may develop rapidly another much slowly.
2. A child may vary in his own rate of growth: at some time during his childhood, he may develop rapidly; at others he may be making little progress.
3. Different aspects of growth may proceed at different rates, for example, mental growth may not be as rapid as physical growth.
4. Despite the different rates of growth, each child passes through the same stages in the same order, for example, each crawls before he walks, speaks before reading, etc.

It therefore, calls for social development of the children in school. Children need to be helped to achieve satisfying social relations with their peers and adult members of the community. Piaget (2000) has distinguished three stages of social development in children- Egocentric. (This is the first stage where the child is impervious to social stimulation from without), Social communication (at this stage the child makes a conscious effort to enter into real social communication) and the Reciprocity and mutual respect between persons. Piaget observed that in the children he studied, the sequence of these stages of social development varies with different socio- economic groups, cultures and sometimes gender. The school and the home must provide conditions favorable for social development of children to excel in their academic pursuit. Children should be assisted to achieve socially acceptable pattern rather than the repression of their emotion for emotional feelings and expression in life. So far the researcher has examined the influence of broken homes on academic performance and personality development of adolescence, but who is an adolescent? It could recall that adolescence is a transitory period between childhood and adulthood. During this period, an individual is seen neither as a child nor as an adult. Hall(1904) claimed that adolescents are characterized by emotional instabilities and hyper-activities, which cause them to experience storms and stress. Erickson (1965), opined that identity formation creates tension in the adolescents to the extent that some of them become confused about their personality. According to Brown, Berriel and Russel (2006). Adolescence refers to the period of growth between the ages 12 and 21 years which shows very rapid social expansion. It is the era of peer group when the child spends most of his days with others of his age. It is the “transition period” from childhood to adulthood. It can be likened to “a bridge” which children have to cross in order to get to the final stage of human development because it is often characterized by significant physical and physiological changes. The period of adolescence between two extremes in the continuum of human growth and, developmental stages (childhood and adulthood) often puts the youngsters in dilemma of how to meet the society’s expectations. Coping with adolescents in Nigerian schools demand a thorough understanding of the peculiarities of this age group which according to Durojaiye (1972) is an era of identity crises when the young person begins to ask such question as “Who am I? Where am I? Crow and Crow (1962) on the other hand refer to children at adolescence as the “terrible teens”. They need the help of understanding adults in coping with the various physiological and psychological changes that they experience which give rise to a host of other problems. The period of adolescence is very important to the development of an individual. Any laxity on the part of parents’ in assisting and guiding the adolescents may result in academic backwardness and development of unwholesome behavous, the foundation of what a person becomes in the society is laid in the home and at the initial stage of life. Parents therefore have important roles to play in ensuring that the youths acquire the appropriate social, psychological, moral and academic development. They are required to be alive to their responsibility in providing sex education for their children at home. However, the school through the Parents Teachers Association could assist in enlightening parents on their roles in helping adolescents experience a smooth transition into adulthood. Academic performance is the seen as the knowledge attained or skills, shown in the school subject. To indicate such achievement, test scores or marks are assigned by the teachers. It is the school evaluation of the classroom work on the basis of the grades awarded. Academic performance according to Akinboye(2004) is of two types i.e positive and negative (poor) performance. Habits, family background, perseverance, attitudes, interest all these affect academic achievement in school. He concluded that if these variables are modified and attitude changed positively, then the level of individuals’ academic performance would improve. The home is the primary institution for children, home as perceived by Abdulganiyu (1997), Christe (2009), defined home as a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. The family can therefore, be looked at as a social group characterized by common resident, economic, cooperation and production. When a child is born, the family is the first primary group with which they come into contact. Transmission of social values of right and wrong, what is morally and religiously accepted or condemned by the family, it follows therefore that by the time a child attained five to seven years of age he must have learnt what are his rights, obligations and roles within the society. However, the background of a students go a long way to determine his/her individuality. As the child enters schools, he/she will start manifesting different attitudes and expectations. In addition they may be of the same age group, developed at different rates and so may be able to cope with the intellectual and social task of the school in varying extent. However, a home can either be stable or broken. A stable home is one in which both parent (mother and father) lives together with their children, while a broken home is the one in which one or both of the parents are not living together with the children. It is the level at which the home operates that determine the academic achievement of a science students in school. Broken homes been it unstable can influence the achievement of a science students academically. Also, children that have suffered from neglect or lack of love ( in a broken homes) are known to be psychologically imbalanced to face the realities of life. When there is disunity in the family, or a difference between a mother and a father, the child is caught in the middle and will be at disadvantage. According to Blackby (1999). Adequate research need to be conducted in this direction to ensure smooth transition of children from early stages to adulthood. The child’s home and his family offer the best education since his parents serve as teachers. The parents lay the foundation for the desired social, moral, emotional, spiritual and intellectual well-being of the child. The training received from home is of greatest importance in his/her total personality formation and his/her academic achievements as a primary school pupil. It can also be observed that the pattern of life in the home (stable or broken), the economic and social status of the family in the community and many other conditions that give the home a distinctive character can influence the achievement of student in school. Abdulganiyu (1997), added that research have shown that children differs in various ways as a result of variables of their home background such as socio  economic status, parental attitude to school and child rearing practices. These home background variables are also found to be positively related to children’s academic achievement, more especially primary school pupil that need care and love. Similarly, Giwa (1997), have investigated the factors within the students home background or family that affect their performance s in school, variables such as socio – economic status, family size, birth order, parental attitude, child rearing practices, parental absence or presence have been found to affect social and intellectual learning experiences of children in schools. This is so because children are born with some psychological, emotional and intellectual needs such as need for love and security, the need for new experiences, the need for praise and recognition and the need for responsibility. Many of these needs are not offered to the children of broken homes which will influence their performance in science. The extent to which these needs are met during the formative years of children between birth and the age of six or seven is the extent to which they enter school. This equipped them or ready to deal with the social and emotional aspects of schooling. Based on the observation above and in line with the assumption that economic and social future of many children in most localities is being undermined by cultural practices that promotes widespread divorce amongst couples and brought unnecessary hardship to the growing children. It is pertinent at this juncture to point out in spite of all the needs expressed as to be met by the students most especially secondary school, this research also has intended to seek for how much secondary school is affected in academic achievement, either as a result of his home been stable or broken.

 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

An overwhelming number of poor and minority students are victim of separated parent trying to meet up with the struggle of life. These set students are confronted with many problems such as lack of parental care, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy etc. In our society, children are sometimes exposed at an early age to all sort of dangers arising from malnutrition, diseases and various temptation of surviving due to absence of one or both of their parents. Student’s life in broken homes is observed to be associated with emotional stress that can impair intellectual development, thereby giving way for such children to grow up without being trained properly. However, absence of one or both parents deprives young children of the stable love, care, security and total support they have been accustomed to and tend to make children different in the eyes of the peer group. If children are asked where the missing parent is or why they have a new parent to replace the missing parents, they become embarrassed and ashamed. They may also feel guilty and unwanted by the society, such stressful situation leads to psychological, emotional and intellectual imbalance in growing children. These subsequently result to quitting from school or poor academic achievement of science student as education require critical thinking, relax mind and proper family support to be able to perform to expectation in the area. Hence it becomes necessary to investigate factors that cause broken homes with a view to finding solution to the problems for psychological well-being of growing children in our society, and these lead us to look at the effect of broken homes on personality development of secondary school students

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are

1. To examine secondary school teachers’ perceptions on the effects of broken homes on children’s academic performance.
2. To ascertain the causes of broken homes in Nigerian society and the effects on academic performance of secondary schools
3. To ascertain the effect of broken homes on personal development of a child in secondary school

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

H₀:  teachers’ perceptions do not have any effects on academic performance of children’s from broken homes

H₁: teachers’ perceptions do have effects on academic performance of children’s from broken homes

 H₀²: there are no causes of broken homes in Nigerian society and the effects on academic performance of secondary schools student

H₂: there are causes of broken homes in Nigerian society and the effects on academic performance of secondary schools

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to carry out research on the effect of broken homes on personality development of secondary school student. This is with a view to suggest ways of minimizing and overcoming the problem.
As known by all educators, home play very significant role in child personality formation and socialization, broken homes are identified as one of the factor that undermined the socialization process at home, which consequently affect the performance of student. If the concern of education is to look after socialization process of the child as well as his intellectual development, then this research work would be of great importance to parents and educators that absence of one or both of the parents affect children academic performance. The role of family to come with solution of ensuring stability in the homes for the betterment of growing children and the society at large is very essential here.

 

 

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the effect of broken homes on personality development of secondary school students. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) Organizational privacy: Limited Access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

BROKENHOME: A family in which one parent is absent, usually due to divorce or desertion: The term broken home entered English in the mid-1800s to cover the absence of one parent for any unfortunate reason, including prolonged illness, incarceration, or extreme poverty.

PERSONALITY: Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The study of personality focuses on two broad areas: One understands individual differences in particular personality characteristics, such as sociability or irritability.

DEVELOPMENT: The process of developing or being developed.

STUDENT: A student is a learner or someone who attends an educational institution. In the United Kingdom, those attending university are termed “students”

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study

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