INVESTIGATE THE PARENTAL ROLES ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SAFETY OF CHILDREN (6-11 YEARS) IN TIMES OF INSECURITY IN THE SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate parental roles in the academic achievement and safety of primary school children in times of insecurity in South Eastern State, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose two research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey research design for the study. The population of the study comprised of all the 861,935 parents and teachers (made up of 47,969 primary school teachers and 813966 parents of pupils) in South-East, Nigeria. The sample of the study was 800 parents and teachers (made up of 550 parents and 250 teachers) in South-East, Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was developed and titled “Parental Roles in Academic Achievement and Safety of Children in Times of Insecurity Questionnaire” (PRAASCTIQ). The instrument, PRAASCTIQ is in two sections, A and B. Section A focused on demographic information while Section B contained eight clusters. The instruments were rated on 4-point scale and comprised of 108 items. Estimate of internal consistency was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. Specifically, Cronbach’s Alpha was used and the coefficient of 0.88, and 0.94, were obtained for clusters A-H as well as overall reliability, respectively. The data collected from the study were analyzed using SPSS V. 25. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer all the research questions, while independent sample t test was used to test all the null hypotheses. The findings from the study include among others that both parents and teachers agree that they are involved in performing their social, physical, psychological and emotional roles in the academic achievement and safety of children in times of insecurity in South-East, Nigeria. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends among others that parents and teachers should pay close attention to the academic work of their children so as to be able to assist them especially during times of insecurity.