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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Millions of children around the world are growing up without one or both of their parents. Many more are at risk of separation, due to the impact of poverty, disability and such crises as natural disaster and armed conflict. Children without parental care find themselves at a higher risk of discrimination, inadequate care, abuse and exploitation, and their well-being is often insufficiently monitored. Inadequate care environments can impair children’s emotional and social development and leave them vulnerable to exploitation, sexual abuse and physical violence (Gadsden, 2003). The effect of parent care on a child at any given time cannot be over emphasized. The home is very germane and crucial to a child’s well being and development in later life. Family is the primary cell of society where the child's upbringing must begin since his birth, still in cradle.
According to V. Hugo, the person's principles established since childhood are like letters engraved in the bark of a young tree, which grow, enlarge with it making its integral part. Therefore, right beginning makes the most important part of upbringing/education. Nobody ever said that children were easy to raise. They don't come with guidelines or instructions, and they certainly don't come with a pause button. What they do come with is a crucial set of physical and emotional needs that must be met. Failure of the parents to meet these specific needs can have wide-ranging and long-lasting negative effects especially on academic performance. Epistein, (2001). This is because parent in the home are children first teacher. As a child move from infant to toddler and then to a preschooler, he learns how to speak, listen, write and read which latter develop the child to achieve academically. The influence of parents on children school achievement is well documented in numerous studies. Gadsden (2003) says greater parental involvement at early stage in children’s learning, positively affects the child’s school performance including higher academic performance.
Harderves (1998) review that family whose children are doing well in school exhibit the following characters:
1.  Establish a daily family routine by providing time and a quite place to study with the children and assigning responsibility for house hold chores.
2.  Monitor out-of-school activities, for example setting limits on television watching, reduce time of playing, monitor the groups of friends the pupils walk with.
3.  Encourage children’s development and progress in school; that is maintaining a worm and supportive home, showing interest in children’s progress at school, helping him or her with home work, discussing the value of a good education and future career with children.
Izzo et al (1999) studied 1205 US children from kindergarten through to grade 3 in a 3 year longitudinal research programme. Teachers rated four forms of involvement; provision of all the material needs of the child; frequency of parent-teacher contact; quality of parent teacher interaction; participation in educational activities in the home; and participation in school activities. These factors, as well as parental care variables were examined to find any relationship they might have with academic performance of primary school pupils.    
1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Dubois et al (1994) showed that family support and the quality of parental care significantly predicted school adjustment in a sample of 159 young US adolescents (aged 10 –12) followed in a two year longitudinal study. At-home parental care clearly and consistently has significant effects on pupil performance and adjustment which far outweigh other forms of achievement. When a child have caring parent and families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life. In fact the most accurate predictor of a pupil’s performance in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that pupil’s family is able to create a home environment that encourages learning and to express high expectations for their children’s future careers and become involve in their children’s education at schools and in the home. However, the researcher seeks to investigate the effect of parental care on the academic performance of primary school pupils.
1.3   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The following are the objectives of this study:
1.  To examine the effect of parental care on the academic performance of primary school pupils.
2.  To examine the rudiments of parental care.
3.  To determine the factors that can influence the academic performance of primary school pupils.
1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.  What is the effect of parental care on the academic performance of primary school pupils?
2.  What are the rudiments of parental care?
3.  What are the factors that can influence the academic performance of primary school pupils?
1.5   HYPOTHESIS
HO: Parental care does not influences the academic performance of primary school pupils
HA: Parental care does influence the academic performance of primary school pupils
1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The following are the significance of this study: This study will educate the general public on the need for good parental care not only to enhance the pupil academic performance but to prepare the child for the future endeavour with right upbringing so that the child will freely interact with the pairs with better self esteem. This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic
1.7   SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study will cover all the areas that parents need to properly take care of to properly develop the child physically and emotionally, as the effect of these variables will be examined of the pupil’s academic performance
LIMITATION OF STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).  
Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

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