SURVEY OF OPINION ON MARITAL CONFLICT AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES STUDENTS IN ISEYIN DISTRICT GRAMMAR SCHOOL, ISEYIN, OYO STATE   ABSTRACT

This study examines a survey on the opinion of marital conflicts as it affects academic performances of Christian Religious Studies Students in Iseyin District Grammar School, Iseyin, Oyo State. The study was specifically designed to determine the rate at which Christian Religious Studies Students academic performance are affected by parental/marital conflict in individual homes. To achieve this, six research questions were quoted from the study, the study was delimited to only 100 Christian Religious Studies Students in Iseyin District Grammar School, Iseyin, Oyo State. Questionnaire was developed as the main instrument for the collection of data; findings established the fact that the marital or parental conflict determines the variation in Christian Religious Studies Students academic performances. It is recommended that the responsibility of solving the problem of parental on Christian Religious Studies Student’s Academic achievement is a collective one, and the burden is majorly on parents.

  CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Iseyin is a city located in the Nigerian state of Oyo. It is approximately 100 kilometers North of Ibadan. The city is estimated to have a population commission of Nigeria (web). The primary industry of the area is cotton-based textiles. Iseyin city is the Third largest city in Oyo State after Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Oyo cities respectively. It is also known as the Home of ‘Aso Oke’. Aso Oke is a popular local fabric material mostly used for ceremonies in Nigeria, Tobacco is grown there and it is a result of this that one of the biggest tobacco owned by the British and Americans had an office in the city. Frieslam Campina (Wamco) also has a milk center in the city. There is Ikere Gorge dam located in the city. It was said to be the second largest dam when it was discovered alongside, Kanji dam during Obasanjo regime(military) Iseyin has a Technical college and the Oyo State NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) permanent orientation camp was also sited in the city. There are massive of land which can be used for industries and school purposes. Iseyin city which is also known as EBEDI City is centrally located with road networks accessible from Ibadan, Oyo, Abeokuta and Ogbomoso. The title of the monarch of Iseyin City is ‘The Aseyin of Iseyin Land’.

• BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Iseyin District Grammar School was established on the 24th of January, (1964), by the Anglican and Methodist mission. The school was later handed over to the Iseyin and its district comprising Ipapo, Ojaja, Otu, Komu, Igbojaye, Okeamu and Baba-ode. The school then was named Iseyin Grammar School later became Iseyin District Grammar School, Iseyin. The Anglican mission produced and pay the principal and staff while the Iseyin Community provided the infrastructure. The pioneer principal is Venerable Adesina G.O. The school now has closed to two thousand students and a staff strength of thirty one. The immediate past principal of the school is Chief Adeniyi Falade who is at present a permanent secretary school administration. Mrs Siyanbola Florence Omoniyi is the incumbent principal and of course the first woman to head the school since inception.

Marital relationships exist between a man and a woman when the two of them agree to live together and to establish their own family and live together until the end of their lives or till death separates them. Horny (1978) said that marriage is a union of man and a woman as husband and wife, most societies establish certain procedure and activities that must be followed before a marital relationship between a man and a woman can take place. These procedures include a period of courtship, the introduction of the man to the woman and vice versa. There will be marital dowry. All these are done to make the marital relationship a lasting and happy one. But all these notwithstanding, one finds that some marital relationships do not go along well with each other. Even though they had made a serious vow to live happily together either by the church or the traditional rite.

Conflict occurs in all human societies but, it occurs in various degrees, marital conflict is that situation between man and woman. This is where husband and wife have different opinion about issues, events or activities which cannot be mutually resolved. Marital conflict usually arises mostly due to lack of understanding between the man and the woman. This comes in different ways such as difference in education and social backgrounds, physical maintenance, love making, extra marital affairs. As people become more educated and society becomes more enlightened, one expects the frequency of marital conflicts to reduce but ironically, the reverse has been the case. The divorce rate has been on the increase, this project work attempts to examine conflicts, and suggest ways of reducing their rate of occurrence.

• STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

One wonders why our society has remained passively perplexed and helpless to the high increase of divorce rate which is a result and effect of marital conflicts in most societies, it was still in the tradition for parents to choose marital partners for their children. This has been one of the major causes of marital conflict and possibly divorce because the spouses are not opportuned to know and understand themselves before getting married. The rate of divorce in our locality is increasing because many get into marriage without been matured enough for it. This again is another factor of marital conflict in the society. In this, they have no experiences that guides them in the marriage institution. This study will look into the influence that marital conflicts seems to have on the academic performances of children (students) in schools.

In Nigeria, people hardly spare the thought for the role of parents on effective influence in the child academic performance. For instance, most parents are observed to rarely bother about their children’s progress at school. They feel they have fulfilled their responsibilities by paying their children school fees and providing them with school materials. They seems quite obvious of the fact that their children’s performance at school will contribute a lot to the achievement of their children. Most parents now-a-days are too pre-occupied to take interest in their children academic progress. They now feel it is the duty of the teacher to ensure that the children do well in the school. After all, that is what they are paid for. Consequently, it cannot be over emphasized in this study that parents of a child(student) must play the greatest role and impact in the process of influencing the child’s / student’s high academic performance in the school particularly at the first stage of development.

• PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this study are:

1. To examine the influence of social influence, taste and competitive living
2. To find out the serve consequences of early marriage as it leads to divorce and separation (man and woman going into it unprepared).
3. To find out whether pressure from family members can lead to marital conflict
4. To find out the effect of marital conflicts on the child academic performance
5. To investigate into the areas of conflicts among married couple or people to be able to solve its sources of conflict.

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of this study is that the society as a whole will stand to benefit greatly in the sense that, it will aim at bringing out the effects, marital conflict people in the society will have less marital and psychological problems and as such, they will be able to contribute their maximum potential to the benefit of the community. This research will help the members of the society to know those things that bring about marital conflicts between married people so as to avoid divorce and also quest to keep a simple eye and avoid competitive living. The exposure in this area of study would serve as a pointer towards remediating poor academic performance. This would pave way for Nigeria’s technological development and social harmony and stability of student’s concept.

The findings of this study would also add to the relationship between marital conflicts and academic achievement of Christian religious studies students in Iseyin, Oyo State since their attitude to learning determines their success or failure. It is also hoped that this study would be of great value to other researchers who would live to manipulate other variables affecting academic achievement of their students in schools. Above all, it would assist teacher’s educational psychologists, school administrators and guidance counselors to affect a positive and dynamic change in them when their parental influence as a result of marital conflict are understood.

• RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions are therefore formulated

1. Do marital conflicts bring about broken homes?
2. Does inability of family head to meet up with assumed social status may affect the child’s academic performance?
3. Does immaturity of couple’s cause marital conflict?
4. Do students from divorced home often isolate themselves from children of stable home?
5. Does marital conflict has any effect in families?
6. Does marital conflict expose the children to bad influence?

• SCOPE OF STUDY

The study focuses on a survey of opinion on marital conflicts and academic achievement of Christian religious studies students in Iseyin District Grammar School, Oyo State. However, for the purpose of simplicity and effectiveness, this study was limited to Christian religious studies students in Iseyin and specifically, Iseyin District Grammar School, Oyo State is put into consideration. In like manner, Christian religious studies students in the school shall be considered alongside since their impacts towards the effect of marital conflict cannot be over emphasize. Consequently, questionnaire aires bothering on the earlier stated research question were developed to elicit responses from the students under study. The same were administered to the students and collected for analysis

• DEFINITION OF TERMS

These are some terms used in the report which needs to be explained so that readers will not be at sea when reading it. Such terms are hereby defined connotatively:

Marital: Connected with marriage or with the relationship between a husband and wife.

Marriage: Coming together of a man and a woman to become husband and the legal relationship between a husband and a wife.

Conflict: This refers to a disagreement or argument or lack of cooperation.

Information: Facts of details about somebody or something.

Divorce: A separation, the ending of a relationship.

Society: People in general living together in communities.

Couple: Two people who are seen together especially if they are married or in a romantic or sexual relationship.

Academic: Connected with education especially studying in school and universities.

Performance: How well or badly you do something or work.

Family: a group consisting of one or two parents their children and close relatives. (relations)

Achievement: It means what someone has succeeded in doing especially after a lot of efforts and skills have been added.

Polygamous family: This is a type of family where a man married more than one wife at a time and they all live together under one roof and give directive over the household.

Literate or Educate Home: This is a home where most members cannot read and write. Most parents in this category show negative attitude towards literacy.

School: this is an institution where learning takes place. It is a place where students are taught how to read and write.

• LIMITATION

There is limitation to this study in the sense that the study is carried out in Iseyin due to the following factors:

Time: The researcher has limited time to go to many places to do the research for the study.

Finance: The financial background of the researcher is not good enough to purchase books or travel to other parts of the country for the study. And lastly, transportation to different people who wrote books on the importance of academic achievement to Christian religious studies students is impossible for the researcher is not mobile.