ABSTRACT: This study was to assess the Perception of Girl Child Education and Academic Achievement of Students in Biology. Three (3) research questions and hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to guide the study. The population of the study was made up of all the natives of Ikono people of child-bearing ages, as well as the female Biology students (SS2) in all the eleven (11) public secondary schools in the area. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample out 60 respondents as the sample size. The instruments used for data collection were the research questionnaire named: Perception of Girl Child Education (PGCE) questionnaire and Biology Achievement Test (BAT).
Perception of Girl Child Education and Academic Achievement of Students in Biology
Chi-square was used in analyzed of data. Also Biology terminal results were obtained from their Biology teacher so as to ascertain the academic performance of the respondent. The result of the findings indicated significant influence of the perception of Ikono, poor parents, as well as educated parents on the academic performance of girl-children in the study area. The study therefore recommended others that parents should not discriminate their children whether male or female but gives them equal educational opportunity. The study concludes that girl-child education is as significant as a male child education.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
In typical African communities, men and women have their own roles to play for the benefit of the society. Men are the head of the family, while the women take care of the children and house. This practice has been on for generations. It thereby stands as a draw-back to girls in many fields especially education.
Education of boys is considered more important because they are made to look after their parents and family, while the girls would be married out (Blurtyouropinion, 2011). This attitude of parents towards the girl child’s education was very common in native parts of Nigeria (Osiki, 2012). Some parents still believe that secondary school education is the highest they can offer their female children because they see them as temporal members of the family.
All efforts made by parents are to ensure their male children attend school to place them in better position than girls in the society. Training of girls in the past was regarded as a waste to the family in the sense that the money spent on their education can never be regained, they are unlike the boys who will in return care for the family and also continue with the family name (Abdusalami, 2005). Most African countries believed that women are in the home for domestic chores, therefore the girls are seen to be future home careers. When they get married, they tend to forget their parents and focus on their new home (Osiki, 2012).
Parents especially fathers are often concerned about the continuation of their name, because in cases where a wealthy man dies his property and assets are only shared among his male offspring. The females are not recognized ever in case where there is no male child, which in the event wives or the children are not educated can cause the family both children and wives to be homeless and the child forced into a loveless marriage (Abdusalami, 2005; Osiki, 2012).
Recent studies have shown that the backwardness of female education in Nigeria is mostly caused by the inability of the parents to fund the education due to financial problems among other factors (Mkpa, 2006; Bluntyouropinion, 2011). But thanks to the government of the day which has enforced free education on primary and secondary schools in some areas, enabling both males and females should not be denied the opportunity of education but should be considered as a positive step in building a healthy society. In the present study, the researcher hopes to assess the ways in which people the community considers the education of the girl-child, and specifically how this consideration affects the academic performance of the girl-child.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The problem is that, in most African societies, it is clearly seen that most positions in politics, administrations both in government and the organized private sectors, and in social organizations, are variously occupied mostly by the males. The teaching profession for instance, until recently has been dominated by the male teachers. Equally still, certain professional careers are dominated by the males in basically all cultures within the country, Nigeria.
However, a careful observation of the problem indicates that within the African societies, all the children within a family are not given equal educational opportunities. The sex disparity in child education still holds sway. This study therefore seeks to identify ways in which the society perceives the education of a girl-child, and how this common perception affects the academic performance (and by extension, the future achievement) of female students studying biology.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of girl child education and their academic performance. Specifically, the study sought to find out the following:
(a) To assess the ways in the community people think, about the education of the female children, and how such thinking influence the academic performance of the female students.
(b) To examine the perception of poor parents concerning girl child education and how this impacts on the academic performance of the female students in biology.
(c) To examine the reasoning of educated parents about female children education and how this impacts on the academic performance of the female children.
Perception of Girl Child Education and Academic Achievement of Students in Biology
1.4 Significance of the study
This study shall be significant to numerous set of people including the parents, the school, as well as the government agencies.
Parents most importantly shall benefit from the report of this work from this report; parents shall be intimated to know that the refusal of education (indeed quality education) to the girl child is a great harm to the family, the society, the state as well as the nation at large.
The school will have a lot to learn from the work. For instance it is the place of the teachers and the head teacher to recognize the level of sex disparity and thereby try to make a balance within the society by encouraging school enrollment of girl-children inside the classes by removing the sex stereotype effect against the female children.
The government will from this study carry out sanctification campaign towards the abolition of the obnoxious cultural beliefs and traditions which do not favour the treatment and the education of girl-children within the society.
