Parental Background and Pupils Moral Development in Primary Schools

Parental Background and Pupils Moral Development in Primary Schools

Abstract

This research was carried out to examine parental background and pupils’ moral development in primary schools in Ukanafun Local Government Area. The population of the study was 100 pupils randomly selected from 5 primary schools. Two research questions were develop for the study with a 10 items questionnaire divided into section A and B; which was used to obtain responses from the respondents. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. The study showed that parental background influence pupils moral development in primary schools in Ukanafun Local Government Area

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Developmental and family researchers have been studying many aspects of family functions since the 1920. One general aspect of their studies that had been on parental background and its effect on the development of their children, Constituting the background of one’s parent are educational level, well as their parenting style or skills determine one’s socio-economic status but parenting style is based on individual.

Morality means learning the difference between right and wrong or good and bad behavior toward others. It is associated with concepts such as values, conscience and legality. Parents and other close family members are typically essential in its development, because they are the primary social contacts during a person’s childhood and adolescence. Teaching your child moral principles and setting a good example will help facilitate your child’s moral development.

A child effects as well is affected by the settings in which she spends time.(Brenner, 2012) Family is the most important setting for children. There, they spend the most time and they form their most emotional bonds. Parents are the primary adults in children’s lives. They provide children with emotional and physical bonds. They are the main role models who influence children’s physical, social, mental, spiritual and moral development.

When children are two to four years old many are sent to pre-school. Children start their formal education in kindergarten when they are 4-6 years old.  Children’s primary relationships need to be with those who can love them fully from the heart and provide a sense of long-lasting care. The most destructive force to a child’s development is when the interactions between child and parents and other important adults are few and far between or when the family life is not stable and not predictable. When children grow up, their interactions grow. Schools and teachers fulfill vital secondary roles.

The primary adults are parents and other important adults in the family who can provide them with complex arid deep interactions that stay forever. However, support from secondary adults is also vital to positive development. Schools and teachers must support the primary relationships by creating an environment that welcomes and nurtures families. Parents, teachers, extended family, work; supervisors and legislators can raise children together by fostering societal attitudes (Bassey, 2012). Our children will be profound if we work in harmony, hand-in-hand, and provide them with a community that cares and supports one another.

Parental Background and Pupils Moral Development in Primary Schools

Apart from the general care expected of a parent, it is believed that parents should direct the children’s development socially intellectually and morally. While social development has to do with one’s interaction with persons in his or her society, intellectual development has to do with learning in various capacity, moral development which is a variable in this study deals with the knowledge of good and evil in a child as it is obtainable in his or her society.

According to killer and Roland (2011), moral development focuses on the emergence, charge and understanding of morality front infancy through adult heads Abraims (2010) defined moral development as a principle for how individual ought to treat one another with respect to justice, other’s welfare and rights.

Since all parental background are not the same and each parent has his parenting style, how children are brought of morally then depends on which parenting style the parent uses: in schools pupils are seen to behave differently depending on their backgrounds, cases at behavioral disorders are recorded in school’s the morally up-right children are observed others deviate no matter the low and discipline in the schools. This has raised interest in the researcher to investigate the parental background and pupil’s moral development in primary schools in Ukanafun Local government Area.

Parental Background and Pupils Moral Development in Primary Schools

 1.2 Statement of problem

 In Nigeria today, the standard of education has fallen thus leading to lots of arguments among scholars, traders, stake holders, educationalist, civil servants etc as to the immediate and the remote cause of the fallen standard and the factors hindering high standard of education, while we blame government. This is based on either the family background which is either polygamous or monogamous in nature social economic status of the parents or level of education of parents may also be involved. It is therefore on the basis of those issues that the researchers wish to find out whether parental background could affect pupils moral development.

1.3 Objectives Of The Study 

The main objective of the study is to investigate parental background and pupils moral development in primary schools in Ukanafun Local Government Area. Specifically the study also aims at:

1. Finding out the extent to which parental socio-economic status affect pupils’ moral development.
2. Finding out the extent to which parental educational background affect pupil’s moral development.

 1.4   Significance of the study

This study would be of immense benefit to pupils, parents teachers, research students as well as the general public in the following ways.

• Pupils would from the knowledge gain from this study work towards having good morals as expected by the society.
• It will help in sensitizing governments on the need to provide adequate laboratory equipment for the teaching and learning of science subjects.
• It will help parents to be aware and serious about giving their children the best education they can irrespective of their own shortcomings.
• The study will assist parents to have an insight into the behaviour needs of their children.
• It will help sensitizing educational stakeholders on the need to organize seminars for parents so as to equip them with new innovative development in the area of education.
• It will serve as a reference material to other pupil and researchers who may want to carry out a reference on the same or related topic.

1.5 Research Questions

The following research questions were postulated to guide the study:

1. Is there any significant relationship between parental socio-economic status and pupil’s moral development in primary school?
2. Is there any significant relation between parental education status and pupil’s moral development in primary school?

1.6 Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses will be formulated to guide the study:

1. There is any significant relationship between parental socio-economic status and pupil’s moral development in primary school.
2. There is any significant relationship between parental socio-economic status and pupil’s moral development in primary school.

 1.7 Limitation of the study

       Financial constraint exerted a great influence on the study as the researcher would handle gathered enough money to cover the whole Local Government Area and period given for the completion of the study is short.

1.8 Delimitation of the study

This study is delimited to parental background could affect pupils moral development in primary school in Ukanafun Local Government Area.

1.9 Definition of terms

Parental background: This involves the condition I the home created by parents these included educational background, home status, and family structure in terms of monogamy and polygamy and provision of education materials.

Moral development: this can be referred to as the development of right conduct, not only in our immediate social relations, but also in our dealings with our fellow citizens and with the whole of human race.