Research consultancy

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.0 Introduction

Kumi district in Teso Sub region in North Eastern Uganda is among the districts that have low pass rates in the country.

Teachers and school heads have always been blamed for the failure of Pupils. Nothing or a little has been said about the child’s background as a contributing factor to high failure rate. The people of Kumi community still believe in and practice polygamy. The high rate of polygamy in the area has led the researcher to try to find out whether the polygamous home set up has any contribution in the performance of pupils in the district. This chapter will provide an introduction to the study. It outlines the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose and significance of the study, research questions, assumptions of the study as well as delimitations and limitations of the study.

1.2 Background of the study

Many studies have identified study habits, Pupils’ self-concept, teachers’ qualifications, teaching methods, school environment, family size and government as factors influencing Pupils’ academic performance (Edwa2002, Zsolnai 2002, Gonzalez & Pieda 2002, Arumu & Sokan 2003, Asikhia (2010).

The influence of polygamy on Pupils’ academic performance has not been given adequate attention in research. The present study sought to answer the question: Does polygamy influence the academic performance of pupils in Kumi district.

Studies carried out in Oromia by Feda (2008) established that family size, family type and birth order are among many household characteristics considered both in developing and developed countries as determinants of child schooling performance. Feda (2008) asserts that the early empirical findings from developed countries consistently confirmed the trade-off between family size and child educational achievement.

This confirms that big family size and family type exert a negative effect on children’s schooling due to the dilution effect in developing countries. There is clear consensus on the effects of family size and family type on children’s academic achievement, although a good deal of literature suggests a positive relationship, while others have argued that there is an ambiguous effect (Parfait and Williams 2005).

In my point of view, family size can be determined by family type. Big family sizes are generally linked to polygamy today.

The primary environment of the Pupil is the home and it stands to exert a tremendous impact on Pupils’ achievement (Hoover-Dempsey 2005, Redding 2006). Moreover, the home is the primary agent of education in the child (Nyarko 2010). Akolomolafe (2011) shares the view that the type of family system the child is exposed to could influence his or her academic achievements in school.

Kellaghan (2003) cited in Akolomolafe (2011) affirms that the academic success of a child depends on what parents do at home. He further observed that parent – child interactions are forces that lead to better academic performance.

In a study conducted on the effects of family structure and parenthood on the academic performance of Nigeria University Pupils, Uwaifo (2008) found significant differences between the academic performance of Pupils from single parent families and those from two parent family structures.

Uwaifo (2008) also noted that the school is responsible for the experiences that make up the individual’s life during school periods. Indeed parental involvement and an individual’s experiences at home play a tremendous role in building the personality of the child and making the child what he is.

Family types like nuclear family, extended family and compound family invariably affects the academic performance of a pupil. Whitaker (2006), citing Nwezeh (1988)suggests that parents affect their children’s performance, aspirations, expectations and maturity. The family set up contributes in the motivation and de-motivation of the child to learn. Parents in monogamous marriages have interest in their children’s education and they are interested in the number of children they can cater for.

Salami (2007) is of the idea that monogamous families are always eager to see their children progressing in their education, they do everything possible to encourage them to learn, and one wonders whether it is the same with the polygamous set up. On the other hand, Whitaker (2008) states that the characteristics in a polygamous family influence the type of children that come from that family, especially if the family mothers are jealous of each other and are always quarreling.

A study carried out in Argentina by Anertt (2007) established that the influence of parents and the parental relationships is a main source of children’s downfall in academic performance in Argentina. It is stated that the influence of parents and parental relationship is a main source of children’s academic problems in Argentina. Having a less than satisfactory relationship with the mother or the father matched increased levels of either emotional or behavioral problems including low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior and substance use. In general, parental relationships are passed on to the children. In most cases children are a reflection of the family they come from. This assertion can be a true reflection of some polygamous families where violence is the order of the day.

Anertt(2007) states that the problematic relationship with the parents, either with the mother or the father was equally damaging to the child’s performance. In this research, concern is directed at the influence of polygamy on the children’s academic achievement.

The education in a home environment is carried out in an informal and unstructured manner, (Olopoenia, 2004). No syllabi and timetables are being followed. It is, therefore necessary that the home sends the child to school to receive formal education.

Furthermore, many Pupils have been hindered from reaching their optimum level in academic pursuit due to negative issues emanating from home. These include lack of parental encouragement, lack of a conducive environment, poor finance and housing, poor feeding, ill health and lack of interest on the part of the Pupils. Based on the above, increasing evidence that parental involvement is beneficial for a child’s success in school. This study, therefore seeks to find out the influence of polygamy on Pupils’ academic achievements in Kumi district. Available studies have examined the effects of polygamy on Pupils’ academic performance in Ondo states in Nigeria. No such study has evidently been carried out in Uganda and more so in Kumi district. Filling this gap necessitates the present study.

1.3 Statement of the problem.

In an increasingly demanding and challenging world, pupils’ success in academic achievement is an important aspect of their overall development because it prepares them for the challenges which they are likely to face in their future in general and in their occupations in particular.

The search for potential factors affecting the academic achievements of pupils has long been a search theme because of its theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically the identification of these factors would shed light on pupils’ behavior in schools and practically. These factors will assist schools to reduce both the academic and persistent risk for potential pupils by focusing on key areas for development intervention.

Research shows that both cognitive and non-cognitive factors predict the academic performance of pupils at different levels of education. While considerable research has been done internationally to examine the potential factors accounting for academic achievements of pupils, owing to bad results in Kumi district almost every year, the researcher wants to out find whether polygamy, that is prevalent in the district, is one of the contributing factors to the appalling results or not.

1.4 Research questions

1.4.1 Guiding question

How are children from polygamous families affected academically by the state of their families?

1.4.2 Sub questions

Which conditions from polygamous families contribute to poor academic performance of their children?

What learning problems are associated with children from polygamous families?

1.5 Significance of the study

Studies on the influence of polygamy to academic achievements are not only significant to teachers but also relevant to parents, government and pupils.

Since there is paucity of empirical studies of this nature in Uganda, it is believed that the findings and implications of this study will help teachers improve their instructional delivery. Understanding the factors that affect pupils’ academic achievement in schools will enable teachers to develop strategies and techniques for intervention to maximize pupils’ academic success. The teachers may advice parents about aspects of the home which influence positively or negatively the pupils’ academic achievements.

The findings of this study will have implications for theories in the field of socialization to understand the parenting style predominantly practiced in Kumi, which will expand our knowledge of the socialization of adolescents in our cultural context. Parents will realize that they are not by standers in the education of their children. It is further hoped that the findings and implications will help identify their roles in the education of their children.

It is hoped that the findings and implications of this study will contribute to debate concerning the different types of parenting styles and their effects on children’s academic achievement in different cultural context.

It is thought that the findings and implications of the current study will be important to build and extend previous research in the area and fill the gap in empirical work since studies in this area mainly focus on Asian and some western countries and only a few African countries excluding Uganda. It is hoped that the government will come up with policies of improving home environment to be conducive for good education. Finally the results of this study will ascertain directions for future researchers in this area.

It is also believed that the findings and implications of this study will benefit pupils highly, as teachers improve their understanding of the effect of home environment on performance. With this knowledge teachers are likely to improve on instructional delivery and their strategies on lesson delivery. Parents having noted the importance of home on academic achievement, it is hoped that they would strive to improve home conditions for good education to prevail.

It is thought that all these improvements would be to the benefit of the child. Fullard (2005) maintains that the knowledge of the families’ influences can help parents to assist their children by improving the home as an education enhancing environment

1.6 Scope of the study

The study will be carried out in Nyero Subcounty, located in the West of Kumi district. There are four secondary schools and Twenty-Five primary schools including annexes. Only 5 selected primary schools will participate in the research because of the distance involved between the schools.

Data will be collected from Form One, Four and Five in each school so as to limit the time to be taken in collecting data. At Form One and Five reference will be also made to their previous year’s public examination performance.

The study will look into the influence of polygamy on academic achievement at selected levels in participating schools. The family background will be looked at as consisting of parent’s encouragement, care, facilities, parent’s educational level, parent relationship and conditions at home.

The pupils’ academic performance will be conceptualized as at current year’s marks.

The area under study is characterized by stone quarrying activities as the source of income and assumed to fuel polygamy in the area. The area is amixture cultural beliefs, African tradition and the   who view polygamy as a sign of prestige, wealth and source of labor.

1.7 Limitations

In carrying out research work of this nature, constraints are very likely to be encountered. These include, time, transport problems, cooperation of the school authority and the parents and pupils’ attitudes when completing the questionnaires. Pupils might not sincerely respond to the questionnaires.

Generalization of results to other regions such as urban and farming setups will be difficult because the study will be carried out in a rural stone quarrying areas and it only involves a few selected schools and participants. The questionnaire, interviews and document analysis are the instruments used for this research. Use of these three will be limited to teachers and pupils. The research will be only limited to pupils and teachers. In future research, the researcher will employ other methods to gather as much information as possible. Parents will also be involved so as to get detailed background information of the child.

1.8 Definition of terms

Polygamy: the custom of having more than one husband or wife at the same time. Alkrenawi (2002)defines polygamy as the relationship between either one husbands multiple wives (polygyny) or one wife multiple husbands (polyandry). Today polygamy almost exclusively takes the form of polygyny.

For the sake of this research, polygamy referred to a situation whereby a man has more than one wife.

Monogamy: refers to a situation of having one partner. It was used in this research; to refer to a situation whereby a man is married to one wife.

Performance: an action or achievement considered in relation to how successful it is.

1.9 Summary

This chapters’ main objective is to give a comprehensive background to the research problem. After the statement of the problem, research questions are formulated to give direction and focus to the study. This chapter will be on to state the significance to the study to pupils, teachers, heads, and parents.

Delimitations and limitations to its implementation are discussed. Definition of terms from the research topic follow. It will be from this chapter that the actual research programme is to be conducted. The subsequent chapter will focus on the literature review which reveals the systematic exploration of issues related to how polygamy influences children’s academic performance.