HOUSEHOLD AND SOCIAL CULTURAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO STUDENTS TRUANCY AND DROPOUT IN SELECTED SECONDARY

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     INTRODUCTION        

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY     

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.5     RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1.6     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1.7     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

1.8     DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

1.9     DEFINITION OF TERMS     

CHAPTER TWO

2.0     LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1     THE CONCEPT OF TRUANCY

2.2     CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS FOR TRUANCY

2.3     SCHOOL RELATED FACTORS ON INFLUENCING TRUANCY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

2.4     TRENDS OF STUDENTS DROPOUT IN SCHOOLS AT GLOBAL LEVELS

2.5     EDUCATION BACKGROUND OF THE FAMILY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL

2.6     SOCIAL CULTURAL ECONOMIC FACTORS

2.7     THE RITES OF PASSAGE AS RELATED TO SCHOOL DROPOUT

2.8     TRUANCY IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

2.9     THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.10   EMPIRICAL REVIEW

CHAPTER THREE

3.0     RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1     RESEARCH DESIGN

3.2     AREA OF STUDY

3.3     POPULATION OF THE STUDY

3.4     RESEARCH SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

3.5     INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION

3.6     VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT

3.7     METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

3.8     METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0     DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0     SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION5.1     SUMMARY

5.2     CONCLUSION

5.3     RECOMMENDATIONS

REFRENCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

The problem of school dropout has generated increased interest among researchers, policy makers and educators in recent years (Rumberger, 1987). This is particularly important when the problems relate to truancy. Some truancy is reactive and some is proactive, which means that the underlying and motivation differ considerably and so should be the interactions (Mgalo, 2005). It seems evident that school attendance problems provide another indication of the need and opportunity for moving forward in new directions for students support. The complexity of such problems demand comprehensive and integrated approaches policy and proactive initiative must now involve schools, families and communities who are working together to develop what is needed (HakiElimu, 2010).

In Nigeria, majority of secondary school across the country have a dangerous high percentage of students who disappear from schools before the end of the secondary education circle. Graduation rates are even lower for girls than for boys and for urban schools than for rural schools (Mungai, 2006).

The problem of truancy among students is even becoming bigger every day. It is the act of deliberately missing one or more classes. Globally, truancy has been regarded as a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the educational programmes and has caused a lot of setbacks for secondary school students in their educational pursuits (Stoll, 1993; Gesinde, 2004; Adeyemi, 2006; Animasahun, 2007b). It leads to potential delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension, expulsion, or dropping out (Huizinga, Loeber, Thornberry & Cothern, 2000; Huizinga, Loeber & Thornberry, 1994; Morris, Ehren & Lenz, 1991). Truancy is any intentional unauthorized or illegal absence from compulsory schooling. It may also refer to students who attend school but do not go to classes. Truancy is non-school attendance behaviour. It is an irregular attendance of school. Truancy is a delinquent and antisocial behaviour (Animasahun, 2009). Animasahun (2007a) suggested truancy to be an act of staying off school, which is one of the several kinds of antisocial behaviours. Truancy has been conceptualized as unjustified intentional absence from school (Petegem, 1994). Fogelman and Hibbett (1995) opined that any absence from school without an acceptable reason is truancy.

Causes and levels of the contributing factors of truancy are numerous and diverse. Truancy results from several factors. Truancy is a four-fold problem which stems from the student, student’s family background, the school and the community. Rohrman (1993) and Kinder, Harland, Wilkin & Wakefield (1995) submitted that child (personality), family, school and community are the causes of truancy. In the same vein, Osarenren (1996) see the home, school environment, peer group culture and society as causes of truancy among students.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

Poverty has been known to force most parents to withdraw their children from school UNICEF, (2004). This UNICEF report also indicates that some 121 million children in the world are out of school for various reasons and that 65 million of them are girls. The rate of students drop out in school is Nigeria is high most especially the rural areas, other research shows that cultural and religious belief most times is the cause of students drop out most especially in Northern Nigeria.

The level of among secondary students is also and leads to negative consequences like potential criminal activities, social segregation, or academic failure through suspension, dismissal, or dropping out. Truancy obstructs effective learning and causes poor academic achievement of truant children, continuous absenteeism from school lead to serious undesirable consequences both for children exhibiting truancy and for communities which causes deformation in the society. Similarly, Mac Gillivary & Mann-Erickson, (2006) found that children exhibiting truant behavior contribute to day time criminalities. Baker & Jansen (2000) believe that truant children exhibit lower academic performance while opined that truancy lead to criminal and delinquent activities. Investigating the impacts of absenteeism and truancy on the academic performance of secondary school students, this research therefore aims at investigating the household and social cultural factors contributing to students truancy and drop in selected secondary schools in Oyo state.

1.3     Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to find out the household and social cultural factors contributing to student’s truancy and drop in secondary school, specifically the study intends to:

1.     To find out the social and cultural factors that influence truancy among secondary school students

2.     To analyze parents/guardians social economic factors contributing to student truancy and school dropping.

3.     To find out social cultural issues among families that relate to students truancy and school dropping.

1.4     Research Question

1.     What are the social and cultural factors that influence truancy among secondary school students?

2.     What are the parents/guardians social economic factors that contributes to student truancy and school dropping?

3.     What are the social cultural issues among families that relate to students truancy and school dropping?

1.5     Research Hypothesis

Ho: there is no parents/guardians social economic factors that contributes to student truancy and school dropping

Hi: there is no parents/guardians social economic factors that contributes to student truancy and school dropping

1.6     Significance of the Study

The study will provide a detailed description on how factors which influence students truancy and dropout rate in secondary schools, act as barriers to schooling. The findings will create awareness for parents and all members of the community on the benefits of investing in the education of children. Also, the findings are expected to contribute knowledge to the existing literature about factors contributing to students’ truancy and school dropping especially in secondary levels in Nigeria. In addition, the study findings may motivate researchers to conduct further research on factors contributing to student truancy and dropout rates at secondary levels.  And finally the findings will help educators and educational administrators to formulate appropriate strategies to improve internal efficiency of secondary education in Nigeria, to promote retention and completion rate of students.

1.7     Scope of the Study

This research work will focus mainly on social and cultural causes of truancy and drop out among secondary schools students, the research will be conducted in secondary schools in Oyo west LGA.

1.8     Delimitation of the Study

Finance for the general research work will be a challenge during the course of study. Correspondents also might not be able to complete or willing to submit the questionnaires given to them.

However, it is believed that these constraints will be worked on by making the best use of the available materials and spending more than the necessary time in the rese