Effect Of Child Abuse On The Academic Performance Of Secondary School Students In Oshimili South Local Government Area Of Delta State

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of child abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Three research question guided the study. The research adopted the survey design approach. The population of the study comprised of 112 Secondary School teachers in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State, the entire population was used for the study. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection which consist a 30-item on a 4-point scale. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze data collected. The findings of the study revealed that child abuse such as physical, sexual and psychological abuse affects the academic performance of secondary school students. Based on the findings of the study, the study recommends that In-service training programme such as seminars, conferences, in service courses, training programs and workshop should be organized among teachers and school managements on regular bases about all forms of child abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse e.t.c and also about what constitutes child abuse in school environment.

CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

Child abuse is not a new phenomenon in the history of man. It has been going on right from time immemorial. In Africa/Nigerian 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 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.

The process of acquiring these skills is sometimes stressful for the children to bear. Some parents and care givers make the condition for acquiring these 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 secondary 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 et al., 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 tired hands and feet and locked in a room, for hours and even days. These actions demoralize the child (Falaye, 2013).

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 et al., 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).

The term child abuse is seen as the process by which children are exposed to maltreatments by parents or guardian (Apebende et al., 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. Igbo and Ekoja (2013) defines it as a non-accidental injury inflicted on a child by a parent or guardian.

An abuse according to Isanghedehi (2004) could be seen in three perspectives physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. To Oniyama, Oniyama and Asamaigbo (2004), 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 cognitive, 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, tired 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 or either the abuser or the abused. 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.

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 may include child exploitation, slavery, trafficking and abandonment. 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.

Education is an instrument of social, mental and economic development through which right values and attitude for proper development are inculcated. Child abuse and its consequences which is the unjust treatment given to a child, disturb this development process. It is a practice whereby children are battered, deprived of some basic needs in the home and at school. The saying that the child is the father of the man recognizes the fact that the quality of today’s child will determine the quality of tomorrow’s man.

This study was necessitated by the researchers encounter with dismay the multitude of school age children roaming in the street during school hours. They hawk goods, wash cars, beg for food etc. these activities are deprivation of the children, the right of education. Apart from that, they are sent to hawk on daily basis and warned not to return with the unsold goods. Girls turned to promiscuity and boys will turn to stealing in order to make up the money for their mistress or masters as the case may be. In this process, some are killed and others may run on cars when crossing road.

Truly, the present economic hardship in the country is a fascination or thus child abuse. In this condition, education of the child becomes the victim of economic down turn of the nation. For those that attend school, many are hawking and pushing wheel-barrow, car wash as part time job to raise the school fees. While others feeds and cloth the family through the venture. As a result of this abusing condition, the cumulative influence of these activities may have poor academic performance as its consequences.

The offshoot of this child abuse and the consequences is examination malpractice to make for academic deficiencies resulting from failure to attend school regularly and devotion to class activities. Thus, a child generally is a boy or a girl of any age between infancy and adolescence. But for the convenience of law, a definite age bracket is ascribed to a child. According to Eigbe (2006), a child in the southern states in Nigeria is a person between the age of 0 – 14years and in northern states between 0 – 12years.

Child abuse is a type of physical or mental injury or maltreatment of a person who is regarded as a child. The definition of child abuse has been expanded considerably to include more than just the beaten and sexually abuse child. It extends to any condition injurious to child’s physical or emotional health that has been inflicted by parents, guidance or other caretakers and schoolmates. The situation should be that of intentional infliction of injuries other than accidental means like suffering, harm by reasons of consequences, malnutrition, and sexual abuse of growing up under condition which threaten his or her survival. Definite knowledge as to the nature and scope of child abuse appears to be lacking due to the difficulties associated with the definition of the concept as well as the cross cultural global issue regarding what is and what is not child abuse. In western orientation, child abuse extends to various misuses of children, especially with regards to functions relating to certain responsibilities such as “child labour” either in the form of “farm work “, or street hawking which many children in African cultural content embark upon as an acquired work rule in an extended family system.

Children belong to the defenseless and disadvantaged group. They should not be harmed or maltreated in any way as they are incapable of  appreciating the dangers they face and the adverse effects which ill treatment have on their future development.

Statement of the Problems

Scholars describe a maltreated child as a child under the age of 18 years who has been abandoned by his parents or other persons legally responsible for his care. Schools, government and culture community occurrence as acts of omission and or commission. He further said that neglect would include deprivation of schooling materials care and malnutrition.

Rather than envy Nigerian child because he is force to watch greed, corruption, painlessness, truancy, dishonesty, theft, brutal and hunger as a way of life. This is true because in Nigeria situation for example, you see people so busy chasing money so as its perpetuating force and effect. So that they know where and to start combating it. It will help government to know the forms of child abuse prevalent in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State and the ways of fighting them. Oshimili South Local Government Area has witnessed in human act of child abuse and its consequences and its devastating effect on the child development. This becomes obvious when on view it from treatment meted to the children from broken home and parental neglect.

Some abuse and consequences meted on a child;

Inadequate care for the children by parents and guardians in terms of providing basic needs: Most times Parents and guardian find it difficult to provide the basic needs for their children. These basic needs include food, shelter, study materials like note books, text books, schools bags e.t.c. and due to this, the children may start to look for greener pasture in a wrong way for them to be able to take care of themselves and may end up been abuse by wicked elder or older people.

Child prostitution through hawking: most times, many female children are forced into prostitution from hawking. For instance female children that hawk in car park at y time, in the night are forced to prostitute by their masters or guardians. Others include, deprivation of certain children’s right both in the home and at school, Child kidnapping or death through hawking, Exposure to danger of death or harm through kidnapping, Misuse of children in various working areas.

Research Questions

The following research questions were set to guide the study

• To what extent does physical abuse affect the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
• To what extent does sexual abuse affect the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
• To what extent does psychological abuse affect the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?

Purpose of the study

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of child abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Specifically the study sought to;

1. assess the extent to which physical abuse affect the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
2. ascertain the extent to which sexual abuse affect the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
3. determine the extent to which psychological abuse affect the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is centered on the students, parents, educational planners, guardians’ and the general public. It is believed that the findings of this study will enable parents and guardians to have the knowledge and skills to study their children very well to know their right from their left. There will be improvement on children enrolment in the schools as the findings of the study will be known to the society at large. The study will also help educational personnel’s to understand what constitute child abuse and neglects (like working on the teachers farm during schools hours, sex abuse by senior students, lack of teaching materials etc). Specifically the study will create an awareness of the various forms of child abuse that is prevalent in Oshimili south Local Government Area of Delta state. It will help to have a critical look at family background of the abused child to know how it has influenced the child’s experience. This study will also help to determine the extent of abuse on male and female children respectively. And it’s effect on their academic performances in the primary school level. It is also hoped that the government will realizes the implications of this social malady and formulate appropriate policies which will ultimately help to reduce the problem of child abuse and highlight the right of the child.

The findings of this study will also provide information on the extent of effect of child abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. It is hoped that the research work will be of immense benefit to policy makers, curriculum planners, school management and teachers of secondary schools, Delta State and other tertiary institutions in Delta State. Thus, it could help in providing fundamental information required by policy makers in formulating child abuse policies as it could help in the development of the educational industry.

Finally, the findings 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.

Scope/Delimitation of the Study

The study is delimited to the investigation of the effect of child abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. The content of the study was delimited to the effect of physical and sexual abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State, it also covers the effect of psychological abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta.

Limitations of the Study

The major limitation of this study is that the researcher could not use the entire secondary school in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, thus the sample for the study included only few entire secondary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State that is within his reach.

This means that, generalization of the results should therefore be applied across the state with caution because the secondary schools and secondary school teachers’ use for the study may have a peculiar tenet that might be shared in other secondary schools not used for the study.

Also, it was difficult to carry out the work extensively and secondly some secondary school teachers’ denied me access to information and this constitute the major limitation of the study.

Definition of Terms

The following words and phrases are been defined or given explanations as used in this work. Thus, they are put to the scale of contextual meaning. However, the researcher strives as much as possible not to deviate totally from their conceptual meanings.

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.

Physical Abuse:

Generally, child physical abuse refers to the non-accidental use of physical force against a child that can or results in harm to the child. A parent does not have to intend to physically harm his child to have physically abused on him (e.g., shoving, hitting, slapping, shaking, throwing, punching, kicking biting, burning, strangling and poisoning, physical punishment that results in bruising would generally be considered physical abuse). Depending on the age and the nature of the behaviour, physical force that is likely to cause physical harm to the child may also be considered abusive (e.g., a situation in which a baby is shaken but not injured would still be considered physically abusive).

Emotional Abuse:

Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that can seriously interfere with a child’s positive development, psyche and self-concept. It is any act on the part of a parents or caregiver that has the potential for or has actually caused serious emotional cognitive, mental or behavioral disorders. Actions that can constitute an emotional abuse may include 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:

A child sexual abuse is the use of a child for sexual gratification by an adult or significantly older child/adolescent. Thus; any act which exposes a child to, or involves a child in, sexual processes beyond his or her understanding or contrary to accepted community standards. Sexually abusive behaviours can include the fondling of genitals, masturbation, oral sex, vaginal or anal penetration by a penis, finger or any other object, fondling of breasts, voyeurism and exhibitionism, and exposing the child to or involving the child in pornography.

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.

Emotional Child Neglect:

Emotional (or psychological) child neglect is characterized by a lack of parent, guardian or caregiver warmth, nurturance, encouragement and support (note that emotional neglect is sometimes considered a form of emotional maltreatment).

Maltreatment:

Child maltreatment refers to any non-accidental behaviour by parents, caregivers, other adults or older adolescents that is outside the norms of conduct and entails a substantial risk of causing physical or emotional harm to a child or young person. Such behaviours may be intentional or unintentional and can include acts of omission (i.e., neglect) and commission (i.e., abuse).

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.

Pages:  91

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.