INFLUENCE OF BROKEN HOME ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Family is the child‟s first place of social organization. The children as a result acquire initial education and socialization from the parents and other significant persons in the family. Family lays the psychological, moral and spiritual foundation in the overall development of the child. Where and when there is harmony within the family, it translates to a happy home for the child. In happy homes, healthy and peaceful coexistence prevail amongst family members, which in turn breed healthy and happy children. Very often, chances are that some homes are broken that is the members are not living/staying together either as a result of death, separation, divorce or the like. A broken home in this context, refers to a home that is characterized with single parent, as result of divorce, separation, death of one of the parents.

Hammond as cited by Alhassan, (2008) discovered that pupils of broken homes exhibit much negative measures such as distractibility, acting out, with time received from others, these go a long way to influence their academic performance in the schools. Kenkel as cited by Alhassan, (2008) indicated that a child in the incomplete family is socially and psychologically deprived of a father-figure either to emulate directly or to look for a model of the opposite sex. “In terms of other long-term consequences for children, parental disruption has been shown to be associated with lower socio-economic and academic attainment”. Wiseman, as cited by Abbas (2010), It can be deduced/inferred that broken homes may affect the development of the children in all aspects of their life. Thus, children of broken homes may be emotionally imbalance and psychologically depressed.

INFLUENCE OF BROKEN HOME ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS