WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECTS OF FAMILY CONFLICTS ON CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN PANKSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

The family is a group of human beings who live together. In a strict sense, it is composed of a man and a woman who are married, and their children. All live together in the same house and help each other to achieve common projects. The word “family” can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, global village, and humanism. The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineage through history. The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics. This can occur through the sharing of material resources (such as food); the giving and receiving of care and nature (nurture Kinship); obligations, and moral sentimental ties. According to Anikpo and Ezegbe (2013) family is the basic unit of a social organization. It is the primary group of greatest importance to the individual and society. The family consists of the people who are closely related by blood and marriage.  In most societies the family is the principal institution for the socialization of children. As the basic unit for raising children, anthropologists generally classify most family organizations as multifocal (a wife, her children); conjugal (a wife, her husband, and children, also called the nuclear family); avuncular (for example, a grandparent, a brother, his sister); or extended (parents and children co-reside with other members of one parents family). However, the daily life of the family is a complex situation affected by different daily stressors (Haruna, 2020). The family is the first environment of the child; it therefore determines whether its affective evolution will be normal or pathological.

Conflict refers to lack of peace in an environment. In the context of family, it refers to a situation whereby the smooth interaction and relation among members of a family is disrupted because of one thing or another (Holahan & Moos, 2009). Conflict is a disagreement between people. It usually occurs primarily as a result of a clash of interest in the relationship between parties, groups or state either because they are pursuing or opposing divergent goals. Conflict is inevitable in human existence. It is part of the dynamics of life that drives us into the future. But it needs to be managed constructively. When conflict is associated with violence, destructions and killings, it is no longer a healthy part of living. Violent conflict solves few problems, creates many and breeds more unhealthy conflict to come. Conflict is part of social interaction; it might be at the class level, local government level, state or even international level. Alabi (2015) sees conflict as a struggle involving people with opposing needs, ideals, beliefs, values or goals. Alabi goes on to consider conflict as being an existing opportunity for personal growth which people try to use it to their best advantage. This conceptualization presupposes that it is when people’s ideals and beliefs collide as they pursue their goals and needs that conflict can be said to have erupted.

Gerald, Krishnnakumar and Buehler (2006) highlighted that parents play a central role in shaping the child’s development through their influence. They also opined that, studies carried out have found that children’s health and social development is most effectively promoted by love and at least some moderate parental control. According to Adamson and Thomson (2008) children who live in marital conflict situations suffer severe stress and this negative affects their academic achievement. Gerald, Krishnakumar and Buehler (2006) argue that, witnessing conflicts and violence is not different from being a victim. They reported that, witnessing conflict is more significant than being a target, and that, children who grow up in conflict- ridden homes are more involved in delinquency than children in low- level conflict. Onuoha (2015) says that parental conflict is significantly related to students’ academic performance. Thus, parental conflict is linked with children poor academic and externalizing problem behaviors. Iliya (2018) found out that parental conflict resulted in school dropout, poor academic performance, punitive discipline, parental disengagement and negative parent-children relationship. Further, Jaffe, Wilson and Wolfe (2016) reported that broken marriages affect children’s academic performance negatively due to truancy, failure to concentrate, and development of low self-esteem.

When children experience their parents going through conflicts, their actions affect the children all throughout their childhood, and eventually may affect their academic performance. Other studies by Fomby and Cherlin, (2007) have shown heightened anxiety, intense anger, loneliness, and somatic complaints to children and along with sadness, fear, and depression and eventually affect their school academic achievement and behavior. When children experience their parents going through conflicts, their actions affect the children all throughout their childhood, and eventually may affect their academic performance.

It is in the light of the above discussion that this study seeks to examine the effects of family conflicts on children’s academic performance in selected secondary schools in Pankshin Metropolis.

• Statement of the Problem

The problem of family conflict is a universal phenomenon which affect both developed as well as the under developed country. Yet the causes and effects still persist with varying degree in different parts of the world. In an ideal atmosphere, children should happily live with their parents and appreciate the love of their parents for healthier and prosperous growth. One of the tasks that should be fulfilled by parents is to educate their children because the education of the children does not start from school, rather the live schooling of students starts from home (Akinkumi, 2017).

In the past, students’ performance was very encouraging irrespective of family background, married or unmarried, because marital conflicts were controlled through the intervention of relatives. This is due to the fact that most couples were living in close proximity with their relatives, they were checkmated whenever they do something wrong. But in recent years due to increase in acquisition of knowledge urbanization and struggling to make ends meets by spouse, they no longer live in close proximity with relations and as such no relation seem to know when spouse are having any form of marital conflict, hence, they cannot be cautioned (Onuoha, 2015). This situation has impact on children academic performance.

Children who come from conflicted families are more likely to pass their thinking about their families, so they do not find the time to play with their friends. Family conflict has been found to pass from one generation to another. This intergenerational communication of family conflict is explained by family environmental factors such as conflict between parents and the role of childcare practices, which affect children’s psychological development, whether parents and children are genetically correlated or not (Reynolds et al., 2014). Conflict is normally necessary and part of family life. It is these that has triggered the interest of the researcher to examine effects of family conflicts on children’s academic performance in selected secondary schools in Pankshin Metropolis.

• Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of family conflicts on children’s academic performance in selected secondary schools in Pankshin Local government Area.

1.4. Research Question

The following research questions were raised to guide the study:

1. What are the major causes of family conflicts among parents?
2. What are the psychological effects of these family conflicts on the children?
3. What are the effects of these family conflicts on the academic performance of the children in school?
4. How is the relationship between students from conflicting families and their teachers?

1.5. Research Objectives

Other specific objectives of the study include:

1. To determine major causes of family conflicts among parents.
2. To examine the psychological effects of these family conflicts on the children.
3. To find out the effects of these family conflicts on the academic performance of the children in school.
4. To find out the relationship between students from conflicting families and their teachers.

1.6. Statement of Hypothesis

H₁: There is a significant relationship between family conflicts and academic performance of secondary school students in Pankshin.

H_o: There is no significant relationship between family conflicts and academic performance of secondary school students in Pankshin.

1.7 Significance of the Study

Some students in the conflict family perform poorly academically. Therefore, this study shall be of benefit to teachers, parents, government and future researchers.

• This study will be of importance to teachers as they would be in the position to act as counsellors to the students in conflict families.
• This work will make parents in conflict families to be aware of various factors responsible for family conflicts and how it influences student’s poor performance in school.
• Finally, the study when completed will serve as reference material for future researchers who would want to carry out a similar research.

1.8 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study covers effects of family conflicts on children’s academic performance in selected secondary schools. The study shall be restricted to selected secondary schools in Pankshin Metropolis. However, even though the study is restricted to the selected secondary schools in the local government area, its findings will be generalized to other local government areas within the state and the country at large.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Academic Performance: This is how pupils are ranked in terms of educational achievement. In this study, academic performance means how the pupils fair on in their studies as compared to others in the same class.

Conflict: In this study, conflict means the disagreements or oppositions that students under study face in their families, either directly from their parents or indirectly when they witness their parents’ arguments.

Family: It is a social unit made up of people related to each other by blood, birth or marriage. In this study, family is a social unit made up of public primary school pupils and their parents or guardians.

Family Conflict: This refers to problems, oppositions or differences that occur within the family set up. In this study, it refers to problems, oppositions or differences students face within their families.

Family Violence: Physical force that is intended to hurt or kill within the family set up. It is characterized by serious physical injury, profound psychological trauma or sexual violation. In this study, family violence means physical or psychological injury that pupils experience within their families.

Effect: This means to have a powerful impact on something or someone. It can also refer to a force that drives someone into behaving in a certain way. In this study, it means the force that drives students to act in a certain way.

Students: This is anybody, children or adult, who is enrolled in school or who is pursuing the certificate in Education. In this study, the students include those who come from families where there is conflict and those whose families do not experience conflict.