ABSTRACT                                  

The research work on the effect of single parent looks at the attitude towards girl child education as a less important to primary education. The gender be Girls or boys have the same rights to get a quality education. But the ‘gender gap’ becomes painfully evident when looking at who is in the classroom. Girls lag behind than boys at all levels of formal education in Alibiri community due to the fact girls education is a waste because the still believe the women education ends in the kitchen when they are married the single father will want to invest on a boy so the he will want to carry the family name. Enrolment, retention, transition and achievement rates for girls are always lower than that of boys. This means that even many of the girls who are enrolled in school do not complete Secondary School education. There is the strong belief that negative single parental attitude must be blamed for the low level education of girls. The purpose of the present study was, therefore, to assessing current single parental attitude towards the education of girls children. The study analyzed the data from 50 parents, who had one or more than one school going children. Out of these, 20 parents belonged to upper caste families, 15 parents belonged to middle caste families and 15 parents belonged to lower caste families. The age range of the sample was 18-50 years, and they all belonged to Bayelsa, Yenagoa, Aliebiri community . 20-item questionnaire schedule was used for collecting data. The findings showed that the overall attitude of the respondents was moderately favorable and positive towards schooling and education of their children. The study reflects that generally parents would want to educate both boys and girls, however when there are other demands on the family's resources that the education of the girl child is considered a secondary issue. Keywords:-Parents Attitude, Gender Gap, Girl Child Education, Family’s Resources.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1             Background of the Study

Parents are the first point of contact of children. When both parents are present, it implies that the child would derive most care (Ortese, 1998). However, when one of the parent is absent in a child’s life, a gap is created as the child would lose the support that would have emanated from that parent. Ortese (1998) and Salami and Alawode (2000) have asserted that single parenting result from divorce, separation of various kinds, having children from wedlock or death of one spouse which leaves the roles in the hands of a single parent which will result to stress and load of paying fees and well been of the family, which now affect the attitude of the single parent.

 According to Aristotle, education means, “Creation of sound mind in a sound body”. Education develops men/women mind so that he or she may be able to enjoy the contemplation of supreme truth, goodness & beauty. There are different views about education from different philosophers & different educationists. Education is the process of becoming critically aware of one’s reality in a manner that leads to effective action upon it.  Educated man/women understand his/her world well enough to deal with it effectively. Such men/women if they existed in sufficient numbers would not leave the absurdities of the present world unchanged. The prosperity of a country depends on the number of its cultivated citizens, education of men & women, enlighten & character. Education is very important to every person. Education is not only the right of men but women as well. Female education is the need of the hour. Without educating the women of the country we can’t hope for a developed nation. Women plays a vital role in the all-round progress of a country. If we want to make democracy successful, women must be educated. They are the real builders of happy homes. It is said that if we educate a man, we educate a man only, but if we educate a woman, we educate the whole family. This highlights the importance of female education. It is a fact that women are the first teachers of their children. Hence, if mothers are well educated, they can play an important role in shaping and molding of their sons and daughters.

It is in this regard that Malotyre and Clarkj (1996) opined that the  attitude of parent determine the quality of  education their children or wards receive in primary and secondary education in school. The positive attitude of parent have a positive impact on their children performance and aspiration, help in raising knowledge and increasing understanding and facilitate academic progress through the involvement of parents in their children academic activities. On the other hand negative attitude of parent towards their children education have a negative effect on their academic progress leading to poor academic performance and consequently the withdrawal of such children from school. This makes such children take to street and become menace to the society later in life.

However, Obodochi (2003)  opined that most parent in the rural areas of Nigeria are careless about the  education of their children as such put up negative attitude towards their education at level. This is so because most rural dwellers in Nigeria are more interested in achieving short term immediate development of their children as such prefer sending their children to learn vocational trade or assist them in farm work but parent in urban areas have a positive attitude to education of their children and wards owing to their perception about education and the value they attach to education and its effect on the future of their children.

It is in this regard that Wilkinson (1997) states that the perception of the value of education to a large extent determines the attitude of parent towards their girl child Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa.

. MEANING OF EDUCATION

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. Education is commonly divided into stages such as preschool, primary school, secondary school, and then college/university or apprenticeship. 2014, RHIMRJ, All Rights Reserved ISSN: 2349-7637

1.2     Statement of Problem

Primary and secondary education is the foundation of education and is very vital to a child’s educational development Okoh (2005).

But in spite of the importance of girl child education to children’s educational development, the attitude of single parents towards their girl child education in unsatisfactory and remains a big impediment to primary education in the area understudy. This is evident in the high rate of street hawking by children of primary school age and enrolment in vocational trade during school hours. This is attributed to myriad of vague problems ranging from poverty to cultural and religious constraints as well as parents lot of faith in Western educational sequel to the declining standard of education and the high rate of unemployed graduate combing the street in search of jobs endlessly. Hence the attitude of most parents towards the education of their children becomes questionable.

It is against this, that the subject matter: the effect of single parents in bayesla that’s looks in the attitude towards the girl child education of their children is seen as a problem worthy of being study. As such the search light is on Alibiri community Area Council bayeisa.

1.3             The Objective Of The Study

The central objective of the study is to examine the effect of single  parents towards the girl child education of their children in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa. The specific objectives are:

·                    To find out the perception of single parent about the value of girl child education on their children educational development in  Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa

·                    To evaluate single parents involvement in their children academic work in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa.

·                    To determine whether the declining standard of primary ans secondary education affect parent attitude towards their children education.

·                    To identify the single parental attitude that is militating against girl child education in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa. 1. To make recommendation for practice, policy and future research on the subject matter.

1.4     Significance of the Study

The significance of a study of this magnitude cannot be overemphasized. Parents, local government education department, state and federal ministries of education involved in policy formulation and implementation, would find this study really useful especially as they utilize the findings of the study.

The study will equally add to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter. Students undergoing research work similar to the present study who may wish to use this work as a reference material or a spring board for their own work will find this work really useful.

1.5     Research Questions

1.       What is the perception of single parents about the value of primary and secondary education in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa?

2.       How involved are  single parents in their children academic work in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa Primary and secondary schools?

3.       Does the declining standard of girl child education has any effect on parent attitude towards their children education?

4.       What are those single parental attitude that militate against the primary education of children in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa

1.6     Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study covers the empirical examination of the effect of single  parents in bayesla looking at the attitude  towards the girl child education of their children in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa. The study equally covers the perception of single parent about the value of girl child education as well as their involvement in their children academic work. The study also seek to find out whether the declining standard of education has any effect on the attitude of parent toward their children education as well as those single parental attitude that militate against primary and secondary education in Alibiri community Area Council Bayelsa

The research is limited by inaccessibility of  research subjects resulting in using less than a fair representative sample, low return rate of questionnaires, inability to use correct data gathering instrument due to ignorance between the  researcher’s institution and the study area.

1.7     Definition of Terms

All the terms will be defined as they were used in the context of this research.

·                    Parental Attitude: The way parent behave toward their children primary school.

·                    Parents/Single parent: This refers to a father, mother or guardian responsibility for the educational training of wards or their children in primary school. Single parent is a father or mother as a guardian in a home.

·                    School Management: This is an act of getting things done through teachers or the day to day running and administration of primary school.

·                    Educational Policy: This is the statement of government on education.

·                    Educational leadership: This is the process of formulating and implementing educational polices in primary schools.

·                    Head teacher: A teacher who is in charge  of primary school.

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