Effect Of Child Abuse On Academic Performance In Social Study Of Primary School Children In Warri South Local Government Area
Effect Of Child Abuse On Academic Performance In Social Study Of Primary School Children In Warri South Local Government Area
Abstract
This study was carried out to examine the effect of child abuse on academic performance in social study of primary school children in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State. The study was specifically carried out to investigate the prevalence of child abuse in Warri South Local Government Area, investigate the forms of child abuse prevalent in Warri South Local Government Area, ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area, and find out the implications of child abuse on the performance of primary school pupils in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of teachers some selected primary schools in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 53 respondents and 50 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables and mean scores. While the hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation statistical tool, SPSS v23. The result of the findings reveals that the prevalence of child abuse in Warri South Local Government Area is high. The study also revealed that the forms of child abuse prevalent in Warri South Local Government Area includes: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, and economic abuse. Therefore, it is recommended that the effects of child abuse on children‘s classroom behaviour and later academic performance should receive attention in education policy forums; and that parents should always relate to their children with love and affection and provide for their needs. To mention but few.
Table of Content
- Title Page
- Certification
- Dedication
- Acknowledgement
- Table of Content
- List of Tables
- Abstract
Chapter One:
Introduction
- 1.1 Background of the Study
- 1.2 Statement of the Problem
- 1.3 Objective of the Study
- 1.4 Research Questions
- 1.5 Research Hypothesis
- 1.6 Significance of the Study
- 1.7 Scope of the Study
- 1.8 Limitation of the Study
- 1.9 Definition of Terms
- 1.10 Organisations of the Study
Chapter Two:
Review of Literature
- 2.1 Conceptual Framework
- 2.2 Theoretical Framework
- 2.3 Empirical Review
Chapter Three:
Research Methodology
- 3.1 Research Design
- 3.2 Population of the Study
- 3.3 Sample Size Determination
- 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
- 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
- 3.6 Method of Data Collection
- 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
- 3.8 Validity of the Study
- 3.9 Reliability of the Study
- 3.10 Ethical Consideration
Chapter Four:
Data Presentation and Analysis
- 4.1 Data Presentation
- 4.2 Analysis of Data
- 4.3 Answering Research Questions
- 4.4 Test of Hypotheses
Chapter Five:
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
- 5.1 Summary
- 5.2 Conclusion
- 5.3 Recommendation
- References
- APPENDIX
- QUESTIONNAIRE
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
The role schools play as agents of socialization is to inculcate the right knowledge, attitude, values and skills to learners. However, the level at which each pupil performs in school especially within the classroom differs. Anderson (2007) defined academic performance as the level of attainment an individual acquires on a given learning task under uniform teaching and learning conditions. Okorie (2014) defined academic performance as the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate one’s knowledge verbally or written on paper. Academic performance, therefore, can be defined as what learners have grasped after their exposure to teaching and learning as well as extra-curricular activities within the school. Learners’ performance could be influenced by a host of factors outside the classroom, including home environments (Ramez, Widom, Browne, Fergusson, Webb & Sinow 2009). This is to say that positive home environments may enrich children’s school experiences, while negative environments could have detrimental influence on both learners’ academic performance and classroom behaviours. This means that pupils’ home environment, either positive or negative, could have bearing on their academic performance. According to Ramez et al (2009), the most devastating of the environmental factors is child abuse.
Child abuse refers to any condition injurious to physical or emotional health that is inflicted by parents, guardian or other caretakers (Obekpa, 2001). According to Taylor and Steward (2011), child abuse is any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm. McCoy and Keen (2013) view child abuse as action or inaction of parent or caregiver that causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. Child abuse, therefore, can be defined as any act, either deliberate or not, taken by parents or guardians that can lead to loss of life, physical or psychological torture, sexual molestation and others to an innocent child. The alarming rate of child abuse in our contemporary time is a thing of concern to the researchers as parents and educationists. However, in Africa societies such as Nigeria, children have roles to play in the survival of their families; they farm, and hawk goods, cook, wash and engage in other house chores. In the view of Onyango (2013), children always work in the traditional African societies and that the notion of child abuse as a social problem, is a recent development. Nonetheless, child abuse is not peculiar to Nigeria or the study area. According to UNICEF (2013), every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse were reported in America.
There are different forms of child abuse ranging from physical, sexual, emotional, mental and neglect (Crosson, 2008). Physical abuse in the context of this study means any touch on the child’s body such as pushing, hitting, beating and others which might result in an injury. Emotional abuse refers to the use of abusive words such as bastard, good for nothing, blocked head, constant condemnation by parent or caregiver which might be capable of causing the child serious cognitive, mental or behavioural disorders. Emotional abuse means constantly blaming the child, belittling or berating the child, being unconcerned about the child’s welfare and overtly rejection of the child by parents or caretakers or caregivers (Mba, 2003).
Child abuse has become a global problem and it has been established that many children in the developed world, especially in America, are abused annually. This has extended to African countries like Nigeria (UNICEF, 2012). The researchers observed that most children in Makurdi metropolis are being used by parents/guardians in hawking goods like groundnuts, oranges, mangoes among others on the streets during school hours instead of being in school. Some of these children are seen looking pale, exhausted with scars on their bodies resulting from beatings meted on them by parents /guardians. However, violation of children’s rights in form of child abuse is under-reported and underpunished; this leads to high prevalence of child abuse. More so, the researchers observed that -studies have not been carried out on child abuse and academic performance in the public primary schools in the study area. Hence, this study is aimed at filling this research gap.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Despite the signing of the documents on child rights and the convention for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women by Nigeria, yet, violation of the child right, child abuse and discrimination against women continued in Nigeria. Child abuse is a serious public health problem and occurs in varying proportions or magnitudes, resulting in a burden imposed on children by parents or adults. Most adults often impose their wishes on children without any recourse to their feelings. This flagrant imposition more often than not instilled so much fear in the minds of children. Children are faced with devastating consequences of child abuse in the homes, school and society in general.
Some children in the study area were given activities to do at home by their parents or guardians where some of the activities may beyond the pupils capacity and some may even hawk early in the morning before preparing for school. Some pupils become less active in the class due to using some of their energy on home activities or morning hawking before going to school and some continue hawking immediately they came back from school. Consequently, the home activities and hawking designed for some pupils in the study area by their parents or guardians put them at risk of a road accident, sexual abuse and also responsible for their low performance on their academic programme. At the heart of every educational system lays the desire for the students, teachers and the institutions to achieve their educational goals; however, the extent to which this desire is achieved in the study period of a student varies based on individual differences. Individual differences in academic performance have been linked to differences in intelligence and personality. Students with higher mental ability as demonstrated by IQ tests and those who are higher in conscientiousness (linked to effort and achievement motivation) tend to perform highly in academic settings. A recent meta-analysis suggested that mental curiosity (as measured by typical intellectual engagement) has an important influence on academic performance in addition to intelligence and conscientiousness.
Despite high mental abilities, conscientiousness and intellectual engagement demonstrated by some children, it has been observed that the academic performance of children in public primary schools in Delta State, particularly, in Warri South Local Government Area is becoming low due to the problem of child abuse. This became the motivation to investigate the effect of child abuse on the academic performance of primary school pupils in social studies.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of child abuse on academic performance in social study of primary school children in Warri South Local Government Area. Other objectives of this study are:
- Investigate the prevalence of child abuse in Warri South Local Government Area.
- Investigate the forms of child abuse prevalent in Warri South Local Government Area.
- Ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area
- Find out the implications of child abuse on the performance of primary school pupils in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions will be answered in this study:
- What is the prevalence of child abuse in Warri South Local Government Area?
- What are the forms of child abuse prevalent in Warri South Local Government Area?
- Is there a significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area?
- What are the implications of child abuse on the performance of primary school pupils in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
- Ho: There is no significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies.
- Ha: There is a significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies.
1.6 Significance of the Study
In a society where children’s academic performance in most public schools is getting lower, any study which will discover some of the causes will be very relevant. Many research studies have been carried out outside of Delta State on child abuse and its effect on pupils’ academic performance. There is need therefore for such a study to be carried out in our locality with different cultural settings. The result of this study will be an added advantage to governments stand on child’s right act and care, if it shows a significant influence. Parents, Guardians, Teachers, other caregivers and the general public will find the result of this study useful, as it will reveal to them the need for effective care and protection of their children, especially the importance of providing educational needs for a higher academic performance. The research will also be a resource of value to other researchers carrying out research on the topic or similar subject matter.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study focuses on the examination of the effect of child abuse on academic performance in social study of primary school children.
Geographically, the study will be carried out in some selected primary schools in Warri South Local Government Area.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The researcher encountered minor obstacles when conducting the study, as with any human endeavor. The significant constraint was the scarcity of literature on the subject due to the nature of the discourse, so the researcher incurred more financial expenses and spent more time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information and in the data collection process, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Furthermore, the researcher did this investigation alongside other academic activities. Furthermore, the sample size was limited because only a few respondents were chosen to answer the research instrument, therefore the results cannot be generalized to other secondary schools outside the state. Despite the constraints encountered during the research, all elements were minimized in order to provide the best results and make the research effective.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Child Abuse:
Child is said to be abused when the parents, care givers or any human action leads to physical, emotional, spiritual and sexual abuse of the child. It also involves failure of the parents to provide the necessary love and care for the child.
Child Neglect:
Child neglect refers to the failure by a parent or caregiver to provide a child (where they are in a position to do so) with the conditions that are culturally accepted as being essential for their physical and emotional development and wellbeing.
Academic Performance:
Academic performance is the outcome of education; the extent to which a student has achieved his/her educational goals. It may also refer to a person’s strong achievements in a given academic arena. Thus, it is sometimes called proficiency and may be quantified in several ways, such as exams and tests. In a given term or session, high academic performance may mean a student is on the honor roll.
1.10 Organization of the Studies
The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study, sample size determination, sample size, and selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter(chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations:
5.1 Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings on the effect of child abuse on academic performance in social study of primary school children in Warri South Local Government Area,Delta State. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
5.2 Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was to examine the effect of child abuse on academic performance in social study of primary school children in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State. The study was specifically carried out investigate the prevalence of child abuse in Warri South Local Government Area, investigate the forms of child abuse prevalent in Warri South Local Government Area, ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area, and find out the implications of child abuse on the performance of primary school pupils in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 50 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent were teachers some selected primary schools in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State.
5.3 Conclusions
Based on the findings of this study, the researcher concluded that;
- The prevalence of child abuse in Warri South Local Government Area is high.
- The forms of child abuse prevalent in Warri South Local Government Area includes: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, and economic abuse.
- There is a significant relationship between child abuse and pupils academic attainment in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area.
- The implications of child abuse on the performance of primary school pupils in social studies in Warri South Local Government Area includes: child abuse deprives pupils access to education, child abuse leads to pupils loss of interest in learning, child abuse leads to truancy among pupils, child abuse affects pupils participation and comment to learning social studies, and child abuse leads to poor academic performance.
5.4 Recommendation
Based on the responses obtained, the researcher proffers the following recommendations:
- The effects of child abuse on children‘s classroom behaviour and later academic performance should receive attention in education policy forums; and that parents should always relate to their children with love and affection and provide for their needs.
- There should be public enlightenment programs to combat mass ignorance and public awareness on the right to freedom from all forms of child abuse.
- As much as possible, teachers/caregivers should avoid the use of corporal punishment because it only teaches children that violence is the best way of maintaining control and it encourages them to hit other children.
- There should be provision of nurturing and supportive child friendly school, learning environment free from noise, distractions, discrimination and abuse of any kind.
- A child should not be disciplined when the adult’s anger is out of control.
- Intense awareness should be created among teachers and school managers using seminars, workshops and training programs about what constitutes child abuse.
- All forms of abuse should be exposed to this class of caregivers so as to draw their attention to some of the unintentional acts that bother on child abuse.
- Teaching profession should be professionalized to ensure that there is no one teaching as a second best option, this would ensure that people in this profession really see it as their contribution to society’s development.
- Penalty for teachers’ who commit sexual abuse with their students should be severe enough to deter other perpetrators.
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