EFFECT OF DIVORCE ON PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN SOMOLU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE




EFFECT OF DIVORCE ON PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN SOMOLU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Divorce is legal dissolution of marriage bond. Once the couple decides to divorce, they are free to remarry again. In Nigeria, there has been the increase in the rate of divorce. There are two factors influencing the rising divorce  rates in the Nigeria. The first factor is both men and women are relying less on one another for economic survival. As women gain status in their work place or on their businesses, they often want to stand on their ownvand prefer to control their lives’ affair which enabling them to be less dependent on their husbands, the heads of household. Women who are gainfully employed and self-sufficient may be more willing to dissolve a marriage because they are not perceived as a financially dependent spouse. Financial stability allows for the female head of household to have more flexibility to exit a broken marriage. Secondly, when both male and female parents gain political status in the society, one seems to be superior over the over due to political gain. They seem not have chance to look after the family, especially the female ones which more likelihood be the victims of divorce.
 in a nutshell,  divorce is a legal termination of valid marriage. If a marriage is not valid when contracted, there cannot be a divorce because there cannot be a divorce because there was not really a marriage. Martial unhappiness is only as a result of the various factors that predispose martial instability. Marital conflict is inevitable in any society as long as husband and wife are different individuals and their actions are important to each other. With such view divorce is a mechanism for dealing with the pressure and problem inevitably caused by marriage because without marriage there would be no divorce. The negative effects of parental divorce upon children depend upon factors, including the age and sex of the child at the time, it occurs, the amount of conflict within the family unity, and the degree of co-operation between the divorced or separated parents. Each of these factors, alone or interaction with each other influences the psychological health of the child and the ability of the child to do well at school.    
                The manner by which parents, interact with each other, both begin and after the divorce, may have a far reaching impact on the child than the actual divorce itself. Indeed, it is often difficult to separate the effects of divorce from the effects of a conflictual family relationship in this manner, the negative effects of divorce may stem from per-existing differences in the family unit, prior to the divorce itself, and these negative effects may be more related to the emotional separation that precedes the legal divorce.
                In general, children who have recently experienced a family dissolution have a more difficult time with education and academic expectations at school than children from a stable family or “happy family”. This is visible in the children’s ability to adjust to the reality of their parents’ divorce, most circumstances, children of divorce homes, are only disposed to the negative effect of their current family situation such children show resilience in adjusting to the effects of parental divorce. Indeed, children who thrive of their current family situation such children show resilience in adjusting to the effects of parental divorce. Indeed, children who thrive well in family dissolution are more likely to live in homes characterized by other family members support.
According to Hargreaves (2011), student's resilience in a one-parent household is believed to be a significant indication of success in other areas of their lives, including academics. Similar to a domino effect, students under
emotional heartache and stress at home often have emotions that interfere with concentration during the school day. Poor school performance often agitates the parent and the dominos continue to fall as the student loses selfconfidence and experiences decreased performance in school. Students may have a difficult time concentrating on school work from divorce-related stress occurring at home. Students may face unique challenges of completing homework assignments when organizing their homework, backpack, and paperwork between multiple homes.
According to Smith (2009), some students are flexible and adapt well to change largely due to implementing effective coping strategies, while other students may react in the opposite way. Students may lose confidence, blame themselves for the break-up, and see their parent's separation or divorce in a complicated way.
The range of feelings that a student may encounter include: disbelief and denial, sadness, loss, loneliness, depression, anger, anxiety, fear, relief, and hope. Response to these feelings often results in different levels of intensity (Smith, 2009). While some students may experience mild anxiety and sadness, others may feel more intense emotions. Smith (2009) also found that students’ reaction to their parent's divorce varies based on the student's age.
Carlson and Hines (cited in Dykeman, 2013) determined that parents can help make a smooth transition for their children during a divorce. Parents can present a reliable and cooperative parenting style when providing their children with discipline and behaviour expectations. Putting the child in the middle and asking them to "spy" on the other parent or report back information regarding dating, finances, and life styles may hurt the student trying to cope with life in two different residences. Students tend to be more resilient when their parents
offer strategies such as joint-parenting, similar discipline styles and not competing for child-loyalty with gifts and presents. Hargreaves (2011) documented behavioural issues and emotional problems exhibited by students proceeding their parents' separation or divorce. Parents may also have different expectations and rules for their child presenting inconsistencies which may confuse the child. Research suggests that a child's adaption to successful transition depends on each parent maintaining a healthy relationship between one another and with the
Statement of the Problem
There is a global awareness of the Importance of the home environment on students’ academic achievement. In Somolu Local Government Area of Lagos State, most homes are not intact as a result of issues of incompatibility of the couples and the quest for the oversea trips to make more money, and at times marital infidelity. This has resulted in the separation of couples and children. Chador (2008) notes that the environment in which the students come from can greatly influence his performance in school. The effects of divorce may impact greatly on the internal organization of the family and by extension; effect a child’s emotion, personality and academic achievement.
Bearing in mind the role of the family in a child’s education, the failure of the family to perform its duties could hinder the child’s academic achievement. Any nation that is desirous of advancing technologically will no doubt ensure that the future of her future leaders (the students) is well guided, protected and guaranteed.
A divorced parent faces doubled responsibilities requiring time, attention and money of the parent. Hence, less attention is paid to the education of the child. The teachers commonly describe children from divorced parent as more hostile, aggressive, anxious, fearful, hyperactive and distractive than children from intact family. Thus, this study is set out to find out the effect of divioice on pupils in primary school in Somolu local government area of Lagos State.  
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of devoice percept, on puplis in primary school in Somolu local government area of Lagos State. 
 The specific objectives were to:
1.     examine the effect of divorce of pupils in primary school
2.      identify the various reasons for divorce in the society
3.     Examine primary school teachers’ perceptions on the effects Divoice on children’s academic performance.
4.     Explore the perception of children in devoice and the effects of their status on their academic performance
5.     Explore community members’ views on their role in the effects of divoice on pupils’ academic performance.
Research Questions
This study was guided by the following research questions:
1.     to what extend does divorce affect primary school pupils?
2.     What are the reasons for divorce in the society?  
3.     What are the teachers’ perceptions on the effects of  divorce on children’s academic performance?
4.     What are children’s perceptions    on the effects of divorce  to their academic performance?
5.     What are the perceptions of the community members on their role in minimizing the effects of divorce  on children’s academic performance?
Research Hypothesis
The following research null hypothesis will be test at 0.05 level of significant
1.     There is no significant relationship between divorce and students academic performance in primary schools in Somolu local government area
2.     there is no significant relationship on the causes of divorce on pupils in primary schools.
Significance of the Study
The study intended to: Provide a thick description of the effects of  divorce on the academic performance of school-going children and teachers and community members’ role in minimizing those affects. The study will  Contribute knowledge to the existing literature about the effects of divorce  on pupils’ academic performance in primary school pupils in Lagos State.  Stimulate research on divoice and their effect on academic performance in primary school children.  As known by all educators, home plays a very significant role in formation of a child’s personality and socialization, broken homes are identified as one of the factor that undermine the socialization process at home, which consequently affect the performance of the child in school. If the concern of education, in particular - is to look after socialization process of the child as well as his intellectual development, then this research work shall be of great importance to parents and educators that absence of one or both of the parent affect children educational carrier
Scope of the study
This research work is design to investigate the effect of divioce on pupils in primary school in Somolu local government area of Lagos State. The study covers ten secondary schools in Somolu Local government area.  



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