WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
INFLUENCE OF CHILD ABUSE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPIL IN LANGTANG NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

CHAPTER ONE:

INTODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

Unprecedented attention to young children has created concerns on parents about their children’s learning, and readiness for school. Parents are more concerned than ever before about their children’s: learning, care, protection and readiness for school and values for life challenges and others.

Child abuse is not a new phenomenon in the history of man. It has been going on right from time immemorial. In Africa, Nigerian and in Plateau State society what constitute abuse today has never been regarded as abuse. It has been seen as a way of training the child to become a well behaved, disciplined and self-actualized person in the society. It is a normal process that children from birth be exposed to a variety of experiences from parents, caregivers and other adults in the society. This is to enable the children acquire the necessary basic norms and skills for effective participation in the society where they belong and for their personal growth and development.

            A child is the biological offspring from birth to 18 years of age. This is the age before one becomes young adult. This period covers the crèche, nursery or early childhood (0–5years), primary (6–12years) and secondary school (12– 18years). During this period, the child is totally under the care of the adult who may be the parents or guardians and older siblings. At this stage, the child is malleable, builds, and develops personality and character. The child is very dependent on the significant others, those on whom behaviour is modelled, through observation, repetition, and imitation. The child’s physical, mental, social, spiritual, and emotional developments start and progress to get to the peak at the young adult stage (Offorma, 2009). The position of the child in the family and the society at large has biological and historical antecedents.

Abuse is any form of behaviour or act that is intentional to have authority over, intimidate, force, or hurt another person. It is a mishandling of an authority which uses the connections of closeness, faith and reliance to make the sufferer vulnerable. Abuse can be affective, mental, monetary, sexual, and bodily, but abuse is not restricted to any one of these. An abuse according to Isanghedehi (2004) could be seen in three perspectives physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Therefore, any exploitation, mishandling, or misuse of control for the intention of conniving the behaviours, events, opinions, or thoughts of another person is abuse.

The term child abuse is seen as the process by which children are exposed to maltreatments by parents or guardian (Apebende, Umoren, Ukpepi and Ndifon, 2010). Axmaher (2010) defined child abuse as any mistreatment or neglect of the child that result in non-accidental harm or injury and which cannot be reasonably explained. Obekpa (2011) view child abuse as any condition injurious to physical or emotional health that has been inflicted by parents, guardian or other caretakers. Therefore, child abuse as a non-accidental injury inflicted on a child by a parent or guardian.

Some parents and care givers make the condition for acquiring skills so difficult that the children may find it difficult to cope. The condition in which children are exposed to as they try to acquire the skills to become disciplined and hardworking individuals is where the problems lie. When these conditions become over-stretched it becomes an abuse. For instance, when a child is taught the skills of becoming a farmer, he is taken to the farm, he practice these skills and he is kept in the farm doing that same work from dawn to dusk, without any rest, or having a good meal, this becomes an abuse (Apebende, Umoren, Ukpepi and Ndifon, 2010). Also it may be normal if a child is asked to hawk from morning to evening or before going to school he sales and immediately after school he continues until dusk. This becomes an abuse. Orere-Clifferd (2011) states that children suffer from child abuse because their parents and guardian demand a great deal from them for more than the children would bear. Most children in our public primary schools find themselves in such situation most often.

Child abuse is found in all societies and social class. It is found in the rich or poor home, as well as illiterate or literate homes. The parents abuse their children by frequently using them in their farm work, trade and businesses. This is to help support the income of the home and sometimes to provide for children needs. They are sometime asked by their parents to do some menial jobs such as house helps, cooks, baby sitters, and gardeners to help improve the income of the home (Apebende, Umoren, Ukpepi and Ndifon, 2010).

The rich on the other hand have enough to care for their children but they exploit the children they employ as house helps and cooks. This they do by over working the servants in the daily house chores, while their own children are over pampered. The servants or house helps work 24 hours a day, without any rest. Others do not have good food, clothes and sometimes no good place to lay their heads. Some are treated like animals, they are beaten, kicked pushed, and sometimes, hot oil, water and even acid is used on them. (Falaye, 2013).

Many more, caregivers called abusive names such as; good for nothing, block head, etc. sometimes some are tied hands and feet and locked in a room, for hours and even days. These actions demoralize the child. Those who go to school may not be attentive in class because of the work they do at home. The classroom may be the only place where they have a rest from such home activities so they may fall asleep in the class. They may therefore not partake in classroom activities and so may not acquire any learning (Apebende, Umoren, Ukpepi and Ndifon, 2010).

The children of the rich parents may not be allowed to take part in the general activities in the home. They may therefore not know how to cook, wash or care generally for the home. This constitutes an abuse because the child needs to be exposed to such activities because it is certain that the child may need such knowledge in future (Falaye, 2013).

Similarly, Oniyama, Oniyama and Asamaigbo (2004), states that child abuse manifest in four main categories viz; physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Physical abuse refers to any contact with the body of the child, which may result in an injury. Such contact may involve beating, hitting, kicking, shaking, punching, biting or any act or omission that is not an accident but that which brings some injuries to the child’s body.

Emotional abuse is any act on the part of a parents or caregiver that has the potential for or has actually caused serious emotional, mental or behavioral disorders. Emotional abuse is evident when a parent or care giver uses abusive words such as blockhead, good for nothing, a mistake, on the child or when the child is locked up in a room, tied both hands and feet, or not allowed to make friends. Mba (2013) maintained that emotional abuse implies constantly blaming the child, belittling and or berating the child, being unconcerned about the child’s welfare and overtly rejection of the child by parents or caretakers or caregivers.

Sexual abuse occurs when a parent or care giver engages in inappropriate sexual behaviours with the child. This may take the form of actual sexual intercourse, kissing, or foundling or genitals. According to Uzoezie (2004) sexual abuse occurs when an adult or older person uses his or her power over a child. The abuse may trick, bribe, threaten and if possible, force a child to take part in sexual activity.

Child neglect according to Okpara (2001) include inadequate feeding, shelter and lack of supervision, inadequate body care, poor clothing, poor and denial of medicinal attention and inadequate provision of educational materials and supervision. Other aspects of neglect may include letting the child live in a filthy environment and non-provision of proper nourishment.

Other aspects of child abuse include, child exploitation; this is when a child or young person is exploited, they’re groomed by being given things, like gifts, drugs, money, status and affection. Child exploitation often referred to as child labour or child trafficking involves the use of a child in work or other activities for the benefit of others. Child exploitation is a systematic process of using children to work with little or no compensation and consideration for their health and safety (Newton, 2001). These children are used to do hard works in the farms that are above their ages and some are made to hawk wares for long hours without food. Such children rarely benefit from education and will eventually drop out of school. By the time these children reach adulthood, they are physically, emotionally, morally and intellectually damaged (Mfonobong, 2013). Child neglect is a failure to provide basic needed care for the child such as shelter, food, clothing, education, supervision, medical care and other basic necessities needed for the child physical, intellectual and emotional development. It is a situation where the guardians or parents fail to perform tasks that are necessary for the well being of the child which invariably can lead to the child’s health and safety being endangered.

Child neglect indicators include: Poor hygiene, including lice, scabies, severe or untreated diaper rash, bedsores, body odor; Squinting; Unsuitable clothing; missing key articles of clothing (underwear, socks, shoes); overdressed or underdressed for climate conditions; Untreated injury or illness; Lack of immunizations; Indicators of prolonged exposure to elements (excessive sunburn, insect bites, colds); Height and weight significantly below age level etc.

Slavery is the condition in which one human being was owned by another. A slave was considered by law as property, or chattel, and was deprived of most of the rights ordinarily held by free persons. letter to a freed slave. Trafficking the act of buying or selling goods illegally: arms/drug trafficking. He was wanted on charges of trafficking in stolen property. the act of buying or selling people, or of making money from work they are forced to do, such as sex work. The different forms of abuse affect the child in all spheres of life including academic attainment. Conversely, a child is said to be abused when the parents, care givers or any human action leads to physical, emotional and sexual abuse of the child. It also involves failure of the parents to provide the necessary love and care for the child.

Child abuse and neglect can affect all domains of child development; physical, psychological, cognitive, behavioral and social which are often interrelated. The possible consequences of child abuse and neglect identified in literature included high-quality systematic reviews and primary studies with large representative samples in Cross River State and others in the Europe and America. Adverse consequences are broadly linked to all abuse types; however, where appropriate, associations are made between specific types of abuse/neglect and negative outcomes.

Academic performance of children in public primary schools in the State, particularly, in Langtang North Local government Area is becoming low. One wonders if such low academic performance is as a result of the maltreatment children are exposed to. The study therefore seeks to find out if child abuse has any influence on the academic performance of primary school pupils. Specially, the big question is; does physical, emotional and sexual abuse affects the academic performance of primary school pupils?

1.2       Statement of the Problem

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. Despite high mental abilities, conscientiousness and intellectual engagement demonstrated by most children it has been observed of late that the academic performance of children in public primary schools in the State, particularly, in Langtang North Local Government Area is becoming low. In this recent times issues of child abuse and neglect is on the rise in the local government due to economic depression caused by the global economic backdrop and incessant social/civil unrests. One wonders if such low academic performance is as a result of the abuse/maltreatment children are exposed to. This became the motivation to investigate the effect of child abuse on academic performance of primary school pupils in Langtang North Local Government.

1.3       Purpose of the Study

The broad objective of the study is to investigate the effect of child abuse on academic performance of primary school pupil in Langtang North Local Government Area.

Specifically, the study seeks to investigate;

1. Determine the type of abuse children are exposed to in the home and in school in Langtang North Local Government Area
2. Determine the influence of child abuse on primary school pupils’ academic performance in Langtang North Local government Area.

• Determine the influence of high socio-economic status of parents on child abuse and neglect in Langtang North Local government Area

1. Find out whether child abuse is based on gender on the child
2. Find out whether child abuse is related to occupation of parents

1.4       Research Questions

In order to achieve the objectives, the following questions are hereby posed;

1. What are the types of abuse children are exposed to in the home and in school in Langtang North Local Government Area?
2. What is the influence of child abuse on primary school pupils’ academic performance in Langtang North Local government Area?
3. To what extent does socio-economic status of parents influence child abuse in Langtang North Local government Area?
4. To what extent is gender responsible for child abuse?
5. To what extent does parents’ occupation contribute to child abuse?

1.5       Research Hypotheses

In furtherance of the objectives the following hypotheses are hereby projected;

H₀₁                Child abuse does not significantly influence primary school pupils academic performance in Langtang North Local government Area.

H₀₂            Socio-economic status of parents do not significantly influence child abuse and neglect in Langtang North Local government Area

H₀₃             Parents occupation does not significantly contribute to child abuse

1.6       Significance of the Study

The findings of the study will be useful to a number of people such as parents, guardians, caregivers, teachers, law makers, researchers and guidance counsellors and the society in various ways.

Specifically, parents, guardians and caregivers will now be able to know the type of work to give to children and where to draw the line while training them. It will be significant to parents as it will arm them with knowledge about the dangers of child abuse and neglect and the impact of socio-economic compulsions on the general well-being of their children.

The study will also be significant to teachers, Lawmakers, researchers, psychologist and many more as they will find it useful in monitoring the forms of child abuse and neglect.

The curriculum planners will find it useful in that it will help them see the need to include the teaching of children’s rights in the curriculum while reviewing the curriculum. If the rights are included in the curriculum children will be favoured and know when their rights have been violated.

The findings of the study will serve as reference materials to other researchers, trained professionals like guidance councellors, early childhood experts to monitor the influence of socio-economic status on the incidence of child abuse and neglect.

The society will also benefits from the study as the society will also contribute towards safe-guarding children from abuse of all kind. Finally, it will also supply relevant data that will help reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect in the society

1.7       Scope/Delimitation of the Study

The study is intended to cover all the 195 public primary schools in Langtang North Local Government Area. The study is also centered on the issue of child abuse and academic performance of primary school pupils since it will be too cumbersome to study all the factors that deter academic performance of school children in the area.

1.8       Definition of Terms

The following words and phrases are been defined or given explanations as used in this work.

A Child: A child is any person under the age of 18 years.

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.

Physical Child Neglect: Physical child neglect is characterized by the parent, guardian or caregiver’s failure to provide basic physical necessities, such as safe, clean and adequate clothing, housing, food and health care.

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.