The Influence Of Parenting Style On Academic Performance Of Students With Behavioral Disorder In Secondary Schools In The Buea Municipality

Abstract

The Cameroon Vision 2035 identified education as a major component of the social pillar of the Cameroonian economy. The issue of parenting styles has been highlighted as a major component of academic achievement among adolescents who make up the secondary school population. This is because there is a belief that each parenting style sets its own demands with respect to the conduct of learners and standards that they have to meet.

Moreover, parents play a highly influential role in their children s development. It is generally agreed that parenting style influences self-efficacy, self-esteem, and identity development, which are associated with the academic achievement of students. In addition, the progress in children s achievement is influenced by the decision that is made by both parents and their children to cooperate or confront each other.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of parenting styles on the academic performance of students with the behavioral disorders in secondary schools in the Buea municipality, a survey of Buea municipality. The objectives of the study were to determine how authoritative parenting styles, authoritarian parenting styles, indulgent parenting styles, and neglectful parenting styles affect the academic performance of students in secondary schools. The study employed a descriptive research design.

The target population under study was all the 2089 students in secondary schools in Buea municipality. A stratified random sampling method was applied to select a sample of 200 students who were proportionally distributed in the 50 schools and 26 parents.

This study used a questionnaire for data collection instrument and data were analyzed using descriptive analysis to establish the influence of parenting style on academic performance. The data was presented in tabular form. Finally, the researcher found that the students who performed best experienced authoritative parenting style, and therefore it was the best method of parenting style.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Education is the bedrock of every nation. That’s why different measures are put in place to enhance the standard of education. Though it appears that education seems to be falling in standard, some educationists put the blame on the families. The reason advanced for this is that the family is the first social group the child comes in contact with.

A family is a group of people who are related by blood or kinship. In Cameroon, there are two major types of family, namely nuclear and extended family, the nuclear family is a simple group usually made up of father, mother, and children, the extended family is made up of father, mother, children, grandparents, in-laws, siblings and other relations, the dominant family type is the nuclear family.

In Cameroon, families are finding it difficult to stay connected with their children’s education because of life patterns and the nature of social commitment parents are becoming isolated from their children and finding it difficult to keep a careful watch on what needs to be done to help them succeed in school, which eventually affects their children’s academic performance, some families are not even managed by a parent, but my grandparents, guidance or some other adult.

Parents are not able to monitor their children at home not to think of the school. Due to these changes in family life, schools are now finding it difficult to keep parents informed of and actively engaged them in the day-to-day progress of their children.

Hussain (2006) noted that Secondary school students often come from different socio-economic backgrounds which also affects their performance in school, oftentimes, students from poor and average income families have poor academic performance because of various problems these families face causing emotional disturbance among their children and in turn affect their studies. Parents, therefore, play a role in the development and academic performance of their children; there are various styles that parents adapt in rearing their children which might have a positive or negative effect on their children’s academics.

According to Baumrind (1991), there are three types of parenting styles which include’ Authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative parenting styles. The authoritarian parents according to him are conservative, conformist, or norm abiding, this parent sees and evaluates things they are seeing in the world as good or bad, right or wrong.

Authoritarian parents normally have children who have low self-esteem and are not socially active because of the high-handedness they trained their children with, they some4 times end up raising [robots] instead of children. According to Turner (2009), the authoritarian parenting style is like a system of the military regime.

This is because roles and orders are not to be explained but are to be obeyed instantly and without question, this makes the relationship between children and parents mechanical and artificial, there is no affection and concern for the feelings of such children. The goal is to listen and obey. This could be very tough for such children. The academic performance of children from authoritarian may likely be high because they know their parent expects nothing but the best from them. It is a very common phenomenon to observe that these children may do very well in school; such students may have good results but end up becoming introverted and timid.

The second parenting style is the permissive parents, the permissive parents play the role of a (friend) rather than a (parent), they believe in the autonomy of the individual and are quick to respond to their children’s desires in an accepting and I effective manner.

Baumrind (2003) is of the opinion that children from permissive homes may pose challenges for this present generation. The reason is that the complete lack limits, have no consistent routines, no predictability, causing the child not to adjust well in the school environment. Children of permissive parents may perform poorly academically.

The reason is the permissive parents are very lenient with their children. They rarely monitor them as to the kind of friends they keep and what they spend their day doing, these children have the freedom to decide their own cause of actions without reference to anyone and with the implication of being nonchalant towards their studies.

Kelly (2004), states that children of permissive parents usually have drawbacks and grow up to be juvenile delinquents, she further states that the permissive parenting style is usually an over laid -back approach to parenting.

The third parenting style the Authoritative, this is also referred to as democratic parenting, authoritative parenting is seen as a sort of middle ground between authoritarian parenting and permissive parenting style.

Authoritative parents make an effort to understand their children and teach them how to understand their own feelings, think of ways to solve problems, and encourage them to be independent. According to Turner (2009), authoritative parents are more supportive and are involved in their children’s performance academically. Children of authoritative parents are likely to do well in school.

They tend to be academically sound and are goal orientated. Children of authoritative parents are so close to their parents that if they face any difficulties with their schoolwork, they will discuss it with their parents for a way out. It is in the light of the above background that there is a need to investigate parenting in relation to the academic performance in secondary school students

From the foregoing, it is becoming obvious that a person’s upbringing has a profound influence on how such an individual sees the world and processes information. Stevenson (1998), observed that different students view education as having different goals, this implies that the way a child is brought up and the information that is available to such a child in the forms of the values and ways of behaving can shape the disposition of such a child towards the educational outcome.

Recent developments in the field of parenting and family studies have led to the interest in the relationship between children’s school achievements and parenting style. These developments have heightened the need for the study on children’s school achievement.

Bowman (2005) noted that since the family is the window of the child, parenting and its influence on children could greatly affect their understanding, attitude, and school achievement. Bullock (2000), shares the view that some researchers have observed unique situations where secondary school learners from some family backgrounds attain significantly high grades than others.

Accordingly, there are several research works done on a parent-child relationship and children’s school achievement and behaviors that are required for a successful adaptation to society and the family. Most of the studies on parenting style as an influence on the children’s school achievement are done in developed countries where characteristics and experiences differ to some extent; the attempt in this paper is to examine the role of parenting style on the academic performances on the secondary school students.

1.1 Background of the Study

Education has been highlighted as one of the main Millennium Development Goals that African countries including Cameroon need to achieve by the year 2035. In fact, education achievement has been pointed out as an instrument for eradication of poverty and inequality and as a tool for economic development (World Bank 2002.

The Cameroon Vision 2035 has further echoed this by identifying education as a major component of the social pillar of the vision. In the past 25 years, numerous studies on the family and school connection have examined the influence of distinct types of parenting styles on student school-based outcomes. Darling and Steinberg (1993) defined a parenting style as the emotional climate in which parents raise their children and it is characterized by dimensions of parental responsiveness and demandingness.

1.2 Historical background

Parents play a highly influential role in their children’s development. Baumrind (2012) in his study identified that pre-school children raised by parents with differing parenting styles varied in their degree of social competence. Parenting styles can be categorized according to the levels of parental demandingness that is control, supervision and maturity demand, and responsiveness that is warmth, acceptance & involvement (Maccoby & Martin, 2003).

Parenting styles have often been presented as a three-category structure which is; authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles Dornbusch et al. (1997). An authoritarian parent demands obedience from the child and tries to shape and control the child’s behaviors with an absolute set of standards. In contrast, a permissive parent tends to offer as much freedom as the child wants, not demanding any form of conformity as long as the child’s physical safety is not at risk.

An authoritative parent, on the other hand, values both the child’s autonomy and open communication with the child. An authoritative parent enforces rules and standards using commands and sanctions when necessary (Baumrind, 1993).

Theories about how parental values, goals, skills, and attitudes are passed from one generation to the next to have been debated by several scholars since the seventeenth century. Recent attention has been given to examining linkages between the child’s home environment and the child’s school environment (Scaringello, 2002.

The disability here to be precise is a behavioral disability also known as a disruptive behavioral disorder, this type of disorder are the most common reasons that parents are told to take their children for mental health assessment and treatment and this disorder are also common in adults, if left untreated in childhood, this disorder can negatively affect a person’s ability to hold a job and maintain relationships.

There are various types of behavioral disorders like Anxiety disorder, disruptive disorder, and emotional disorder as well as pervasive developmental disorder Anxiety disorder is a normal emotion and all people have anxiety at some point in time in their lives.

For some people anxiety may get to a point where it interferes with the daily lives, causing insomnia and negatively affecting performance at work or school according to the Mayo Clinic, Anxiety disorder involve more than regular anxiety, they are serious mental health conditions that requires treatment examples include post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder A study carried out by Park, Chiang and M. Ju (2010) on why Asian children performed better academically in American schools revealed that Asian American parents who adhere to traditional Asian values usually utilized parenting behaviors that are incongruent with their children’s level of acculturation which is the process of adaption to the attitudes, values, and behaviors of the dominant culture of the host country (Berry, Olmedo & Trimble, 1996).

In addition, the study found out that traditional Asian parents reinforced the value of unquestioning obedience to parents. The concept suggested that children should prioritize family obligations over personal interests. Another study conducted on the importance of parenting styles and academic achievement in schools in Hong Kong, The United States, and Australia by Leung, Lau, and Lam (1998) Some studies conducted in Ethiopia have also shown that the most commonly practiced parenting style in Ethiopian families differs as a function of children’s sex.

For instance, studies with a sample of junior secondary school students demonstrated that parents were authoritative for their daughters but authoritarian for their sons (Seleshi & Sentayehu, 19982). Another study with a sample of high revealed that Australian parents were lower than both Chinese and American parents in academic authoritarianism. Chinese parents were higher in general authoritarianism but lower in academic and general authoritativeness.

In all groups, academic achievement was negatively related to academic authoritarianism but showed no relationship with academic authoritativeness. Academic achievement was positively related to general authoritarianism in Hong Kong and among children from the United States and Australia whose parents did not have any college education while Academic achievement was positively related to general authoritativeness only among the two English-speaking groups. school students reported that an authoritative parenting style was the most commonly employed parenting style for daughters whereas neglectful parenting style was the most predominantly adopted parenting style for sons (Kassahun, 2005).

On the other hand, this researcher, in the same study, with a sample of elementary school students revealed that irrespective of children’s sex, an authoritative parenting style was the most commonly employed parenting style in the families of Ethiopia.

A study conducted by Changalwa et.al (2012) in Kaimosi Kenya, revealed that there was a significant relationship between authoritative parenting style and academic performance of college students with behavioral disabilities. Students with behavioral disabilities or disorders are not easily handled in the classroom.

The majority of them have difficulty in establishing a goal, cordial, and lasting interpersonal relationships with peers, teachers, parents, and authority figures and if the behavior goes unchecked it can lead to school dropout, lack of gainful employment, and adults with criminality and the societal beliefs and attitude of children with behavioral disability are not normal and as such should be killed or thrown somewhere to die that is where they can end up their life slowly but painful with the introduction of Christianity by the western missionary, African societies attitude towards persons with disabilities began to change for the better.

The passing of laws in favors of persons with disabilities in countries like the united states and the United Kingdom greatly influence the work of missionaries in Africa, many countries today in Africa are in favored by special schools like the Bosta institute in Buea. parents who have children with behavioral disabilities are shy and thus, do not want to be identified in any gathering and this makes the children feel uncomfortable.

The Buea municipality comprises of about 30 Public Secondary schools which are categorized as either private or government schools has been faced with one of the poorest academic performances among secondary school students in the past 4 years (Ministry of Education, 2016) This is because since the location is within the Buea city which is as well the headquarters environs, the students are more vulnerable to urban influence which has seen most of them get involved in unruly behavior which has a tickle influence on the academic performance of this student especially those with behavioral disability.

1.3.1 Statement of the problem

It has been realized that a person’s upbringing has a profound influence on how they see the world and how they process information (Bowman, 2008). Stevenson (1998) observed that different students view education as having different goals. This means that parenting can create a pool of informed citizens with a developed ability to think and reason and it can be used to establish students who share a common body of knowledge and who share socialization into the way things are done in a particular society.

Bowman (2008) and Stevenson (1998) fail to relate the parenting styles and academic performance of students. This, therefore, creates a gap that this study aims to fill. Recent developments in the field of parenting and family studies have led to a renewed interest in the relationship between children’s school achievements and parenting style. These developments have heightened the need for the study of children’s school achievements. Since the family is the first window of the child, parenting style and its influence on children could greatly affect their understanding, attitude, and school achievements.

Accordingly, there are several research works done on the parent-child relationship and children’s school achievements and behaviors that are required for a successful adaptation to society and the family (Ladd & Pettit, 2002). However, few scholars have focused on the parenting style as an influence on the children’s school achievement, more so, most of the studies have focused on developed countries which have different characteristics and experiences.

Therefore, this study investigated the influence of parenting styles on the academic performance of students with behavioral disabilities in Secondary schools in the Buea municipality in GHS Bokwaongo.

Some researchers have observed unique situations where secondary school learners from some family backgrounds attain significantly high grades than others (Bullock, 2000). However, another study conducted by Willetto (1999) among students and it was found out that there was no relationship between academic achievement and parenting styles. He, therefore, suggested that the role of parenting styles in education deserved thorough studies.

Therefore, it is based on this suggestion by Willeto (1999) and the above background that this study sought to find out the influence of parenting styles on the academic performance of students with behavioral disabilities in secondary schools in the Buea municipality. Further, the study sought to find out whether there was any relationship between parenting styles and academic performance so as to deduce which observation between Bullock (2000); and that of Willeto (1999) would be generalized in the Buea municipality at G.H.S Bokwaongo.

In addition, the academic performance of secondary school students in the Buea municipality has been dwindling in the past four years, making them lag behind their counterparts in other regions of the country Many scholars have sought to find out the factors contributing to this poor academic performance. However, none of the scholars has studied the contribution of parenting styles on the academic performance of students with behavioral disabilities in secondary school in the Buea municipality.

1.3.2 Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of parenting styles on the academic performance of students with behavioral disabilities in secondary schools in the Buea municipality

1.4 Objectives of the study

This study was guided by the following objectives

1.4.1 Main objective;

To find out if parenting styles have an effect on students with disability academic Performance

14.2. Specific objectives;

By the end of the study, the following specific objectives were to be achieved

1. To establish the influence of authoritarian parenting style on the academic.
2. Performance of students with behavioral disability in secondary schools.
3. To investigate the influence of authoritative parenting style on academics.
4. Performance of students with behavioral disability in secondary schools.
5. To establish the influence of indulgent parenting style on academic performance of students with behavioral disability in secondary schools.
6. To assess the influence of neglectful parenting style on academic performance of students with behavioral disability in secondary schools in the Buea municipality.

Further Reading

THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS IN THE BUEA MUNICIPALITY