Influence of Parenting Model on Social Adjustment of Adolescents in Senior Secondary Schools in Calabar, Cross Rivers State
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
- To examine the relationship between different parenting models and social adjustment among students and adolescents in secondary school in Cross Rivers State.
- To establish the relationship between social adjustment and students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in Calabar, Cross Rivers State
- To assess the relationship between the different parenting model and academic achievement in secondary schools in Calabar, Cross Rivers State
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
There have been many studies on the considerable knowledge gaps on the subject in Nigeria and available literature will be reviewed on parenting model and social adjustment among adolescents. It is in this light that this study will be carried out to explore the effect of parenting model and social adjustment on students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
Parenting model and social adjustment
Alsheikh (2010) noted that parenting model is a way to categorize and measure the quality and type of interaction between parents and children. Social adjustment concept according to Drew (1996) is a psychological construct which refers to what an individual thinks about himself. Measures of social adjustment include self-confidence, sense of self-worth, self-respect, self-regard, self-assurance and pride as aspects of personal description (Drew, 1996). According to (Bandura, 1997), social adjustment is the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to produce given attainments.
Parents strive to protect and prepare their children for life in the world and how that goal is approached varies (Goodnow, 1998). Parents vary in their interactions with children along dimensions of warmth and demandingness (Goodnow, 1998). Baumrind, (1988) classified parent-child interactions into authoritarian characterized by lack of warmth and high demandingness, authoritative characterized by high warmth and high demandingness and permissive interaction characterized by high warmth and low demandingness. Social adjustment has been found to be influential in the actions and success of individuals in many different areas, including overcoming fears, success in the workplace, hard life transitions and academic performance ( (Bandura, 1986; Chemers, Hu&Garcia, (2001). For example, Kansiime (2015) in his study on parenting perspectives, trajectories and influences among migrant Nigerian mothers in Sweden found out that, mothers remained protective and strict on shaping children’s behaviour through denial of materials because physical punishment was abolished in Sweden. The Nigerian-migrant mothers also understood parenting as role modelling, creating friendship with the child, loving the child, teaching and guiding to develop good character traits including social adjustment.
Deshpande and Chabiriya (2014) in their study found that parenting model affects adolescents’ social adjustment. The study examined acceptance, concentration and avoidance attitudes among parents and results showed that adolescents who perceive parental acceptance attitudes have a higher social adjustment than the adolescents who perceive concentration and avoidance attitudes among parents.
Rudy (2006) noted that one of the classic measures of adolescent adjustment in parenting studies is the social adjustment. Isabel et al (2007) posit that social adjustment is categorized into four dimensions, that is, academic, social, family and physical social adjustment. Deshpande and Chabiriya (2014) hold that parenting model affect adolescents’ social adjustment. Under parenting model, adolescents who perceive parental acceptance attitudes have a higher social adjustment than the adolescents perceive concentration and avoidance attitudes among parents Deshpande and Chabiriya (2014). Martinez and Garcia (2007) found that adolescents of indulgent parents show highest scores in social adjustment whereas adolescents from authoritarian parents obtain the worst results.
Social contexts of the home environment are characterized in terms of the degree of parenting model that enhances or diminishes child motivation, extrinsic or intrinsic motivation. According to Erlanger, Chandler and Heffer (2013), the more autonomy, demand, and support parents provide, the more students are confident and persistent academically. A family environment created by a particular parenting model may influence one’s general sense of social adjustment (Bandura, 1997). Deshpande and Chabiriya (2014) examined acceptance, concentration and avoidance attitudes among parents and results showed that adolescents who perceive parental acceptance and attitudes have a higher social adjustment than the adolescents who perceive concentration and avoidance attitudes among parents. According to Deshpande and Chabiriya (2014), affection or support from parents is a key builder of adolescent’s social adjustment. Grusec and Goodnow (1994) indicated a persistent, significant relationship between self-concept and many aspects of human behavior. Dehyadegary, Yaacob, Juhari and Talib (2012) examined the relationships between parenting model, social adjustment and school achievement and found that authoritative parenting model had a positive significant correlation with adolescents’ social adjustment and academic achievement. However none of these studies was conducted in the context of Nigeria or a developing country like Nigeria but in the developed countries with different cultural dimensions and therefore it is not sufficient material to draw conclusion in the African setting of varying socio-economic status and cultural diversity. This study was to establish facts on parenting model and how they correlate with social adjustment in the African setting of varying socio-economic status and cultural diversity and how it was applicable in Cross Rivers State secondary schools.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter presents the methodology that was used to conduct the study in relation to the research design, study population, sample size and selection procedure, sampling technique, data collection methods, data collection instruments, validity and reliability of instruments, procedure for data collection, data analysis strategy and ethical consideration and anticipated limitations of the study.
Study design
The researcher adopted a correlation design and under this design, a quantitative method was used. The design was useful at identifying relationships between study variables. It was also good in describing the magnitude of the problem and was appropriate in generalizability (Amin, 2005). The design was quick to collect primary data over a short period of time.
Study population
The study was conducted in four communities of in Cross Rivers State. The population for this study was students and the study concentrated on 4 schools. These schools are under USE programme and had a high failure rate yet the government was injecting a lot of funding to all USE schools including the four used in this study. The USE schools absorbed the majority of the students, constituted the largest number of schools in that locality and their findings could be easily generalized to other contexts. Only senior four students from these schools were required to participate in the study since they had index numbers which were used to tag their performance. The senior four students from the four schools also did the same mock examinations and their results were used as the basis to determine their level of achievement. The secondary school students were preferred for this study since they were mature and literate enough to provide responses in the self-administered questionnaires used as the main data collection tool in this study.
Sampling strategy and sample size
Purposive sampling was used to select one school from each of the communities. Selection of respondents involved simple random sampling since they were likely to be many. The main benefit of the simple random sample was that each member of the population had an equal chance of being chosen and it guaranteed that the sample chosen was representative of the population and was an effective way of avoiding bias of respondents according to Sekaran (2000).
Using a simple random sampling technique, a sample size of 210 respondents comprising of only senior four students from the population of 472 who were targeted by the study took part in the study. The sample size was determined basing on Krejcie & Morgan’s (1970) table for determining sample size.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
Introduction
This chapter presents findings from data analysis in two sections. Section 1 presents results in demographic information while section 2 presents inferential statistics results of the following hypotheses:
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
The study focused on establishing the relationships between parenting model, social adjustment and academic achievement. This chapter presents discussions about results of inferential data analysis in relation to the objectives of the study which provided the basis for conclusions, recommendations and suggestions on areas for further research.
The objectives that guided the discussions in this sub-section were as follows; to examine the relationship between different parenting model and social adjustment among students adolescents in secondary schools, to establish the relationship between social adjustment and students’ academic achievement and to assess the relationship between the different parenting model and academic achievement in secondary schools in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
The parenting model that this study measured were authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. Each of these parenting model was correlated with social adjustment and academic achievement respectively and the following are the discussions on findings.
Conclusions
The following conclusions were derived from the findings based on the three research objectives: Authoritarian parenting model had a significant negative relationship with students’ social adjustment. This means that the low social adjustment among secondary school students in Cross Rivers State is greatly contributed by the authoritarian parenting model practiced by the parents there.
Permissive parenting model had a significant negative relationship with students’ social adjustment. In other words, the permissive parenting model is one of the strong contributing factors to low social adjustment among secondary school students in Cross Rivers State.
This study concludes that there was no significant relationship between social adjustment and academic achievement among secondary school students in Cross Rivers State. This implied that social adjustment among students neither increased nor decreased their academic achievement. Social adjustment was sometimes associated with over confidence which was detrimental to academic achievement.
This study concludes that authoritative parenting model had no significant relationship with Students academic achievement in Cross Rivers State. This meant that authoritative parenting model neither improved students’ academic achievement nor made it to decline.
From the findings of this study, the conclusion was drawn that authoritarian parenting model had a significant positive relationship with academic achievement among the secondary school students in Cross Rivers State. This meant that the more authoritarian parents were the higher the students’ academic achievements were.
This study concluded that permissive parenting model had no significant relationship with students’ academic achievement in Cross Rivers State. This meant that permissive parenting model was not a predictor of academic achievement.
Recommendations
This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by making the following recommendations:
The parents in Cross Rivers State should encourage their children to: talk about their feelings and problems, explain their expectations to their children, consider their children’s preferences in family planning and treat their children as equal members of the family; these sub components of authoritative parenting model were rated fair as compared to the rest which were rated good. They should practice authoritative parenting model alongside other strategies like school based activities including boosting their socio-economic status, debates, Music dance and Drama, co-curricular activities and involving students in talk shows among others as control variables. This was drawn from the finding that, authoritative parenting model had no significant positive relationship with students’ social adjustment in Cross Rivers State.
This study recommends that the stakeholders in Cross Rivers State consider urgent strategies to address the negative effects of authoritarian parenting model on social adjustment among secondary school students there. Parents should be made aware of the negative effects of authoritarian parenting model and be discouraged from its practice through sensitization spearheaded by school administrators and managers.
This study recommends that the stakeholders work towards mitigating the negative effects of permissive parenting model since it had a significant negative relationship with students’ social adjustment. In other words, the permissive parenting model is one of the strong contributing factors to low social adjustment among secondary school students in Cross Rivers State. Parents should be made to realize that this permissive parenting model destroys their children’s’ social adjustment to a greater extent.
This study recommends that parents in Cross Rivers State should not attach much emphasis on social adjustment as a strong determinant of academic achievement based on the finding that there was no significant relationship between social adjustment and academic achievement among secondary school students in Cross Rivers State. Social adjustment was not a strong determinant of academic achievement.
This study recommends that authoritative parenting model should not be given much attention as one of the factors that enhance academic achievement among secondary school students in Cross Rivers State. Authoritative parenting model had no significant relationship with Students academic achievement in Cross Rivers State. This meant that authoritative parenting model neither resulted to high academic achievement nor decreased it.
The stake holders in Cross Rivers should critically examine and attach much emphasis on authoritarian parenting model as a strategy to boost academic achievement among secondary school students since it had a significant positive relationship with academic achievement among the secondary school students in Cross Rivers State. This meant that the more authoritarian parents were the higher the students’ academic achievements were.
The stakeholders in Cross Rivers State should not attach much emphasis on permissive parenting model as one of the ways to enhance academic achievement among secondary school students since it had no significant relationship with academic achievement, other factors should be considered. This study concluded that permissive parenting model had no significant relationship with students’ academic achievement in Cross Rivers State. This meant that permissive parenting model neither boosted academic achievement nor decreased it.
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