CHAPTER ONE

                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

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 ad warned not to return with the unsold goods. Girls turned to promiscuity ad 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 ad 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 (1996), 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.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

Scholars describes 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 Oredo Local Government Area and the ways of fighting them.  Oredo 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.

The following are some abuse and consequences meted on a child;

a. Inadequate care for the children by parents and guardians in terms of providing basic needs.

b. Deprivation of certain children’s right both in the home and at school.

c. Child prostitution through hawking

d. Child kidnapping or death through hawking

e. Exposure to danger of death or harm through kidnapping

f. Misuse of children in various working areas.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The finding of this study will enable parents and guardians to have alternative way a child rearing with abuse of children. There will be improvement on children enrolment in the school as the findings of the study will be known to the society at large.

The study will also help educational personnel to understand what constitute child abuse and its consequences (like working on the teacher’s farm during school hours, sex abuse by senior students, lack of teaching materials etc its perpetuating force and effect so that they know where and how to start combating it. This study will also help the government to know the various forms of child abuse prevalent in Oredo Local Government Area and the ways for fighting them.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions guided the study:

1. What constitute child abuse?

2. What are the causes of child abuse?

3. How does child abuse affect the academic performance of the children involved?

4. Are most families in Oredo Local Government Area involved in child abuse?

5. Is there relationship between physical abuse and academic achievement among secondary school female students?

6. In what ways can child abuse be controlled?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 

Specially, the following hypotheses will be tested to guide the study

H0: There is no significant relationship between child abuse and children‘s attention span in the class. 

H1: There is a significant relationship between child abuse and children‘s attention span in the class.

H0: There is no significant relationship between child‘s active involvement in parent‘s business and his/her attitude to classwork.

H2: There is a significant relationship between child‘s active involvement in parent‘s business and his/her attitude to classwork.

SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

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 Oredo Local Government Area. 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.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to the effect of child abuse and its consequences on educational performance of students in some selected secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. During the course of carrying out this research work, the research is confronted with many problems among which are;

Financial constraints: It stand as a big constraints during the course of exercise which almost threatened the success of this work.

Attitude of the respondents: Lack of cooperation of some respondents who were to supervise or give relevant information in most case, they decided thereby making the whole process a complex exercise.

Time constraints: Lack of time have also made all the activities to become default to be embarked upon by the researcher.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

This study is limited to findings out the effect of child abuse and on academic performance of secondary school student in some selected secondary schools in Nigeria.

The following terms were used during this study.

Definition of child abuse neglect: this is because a social concept like child abuse always reflects the value which boarders on human nature and value. 

Child abuse: is the maltreatment of a child’s which interferes with the child development, him by parents, guardians which makes the child to suffer harm, neglect through without necessary basic physical care. Child abuse is the deprivation of child care to a young person which distorts his development sequence.

Truancy is a problem today in many place, truancy is caused in some of the cases that are listed below. Child who become truancy can easily dropout of school.

Academic performance: Academic achievement or (academic) performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals. Cumulative GPA and completion of educational degrees such as High School and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement.

Secondary school: United States: High school (North America) (usually grades 9–12 but sometimes 10–12, it is also called senior high school) is always considered secondary education; junior high school or intermediate school or middle school (6–8, 7–8, 6–9, 7–9, or other variations) are sometimes considered secondary education. 

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.