Single parenting and academic performances of students in Senior High Schools in the Mfantsiman Municipality

Abstract

The future success of children depends on the household they grow up in, and parents are the first point of contact for children. Evidently, when one parent is absent, a gap is created as the child loses the support that would have emanated from both parents. Education is a great equalizer in Ghanaian society and is seen as a tool for national development. The role of parents is to support and enrich the educational processes, safety and health of their children. The interest of this study is to examine single parenting and the academic performances of senior high schools students from single parents family in the Mfantsiman Municipality of the Central Region of Ghana. Specifically, the study investigated levels of single parental involvement in students’ academic work, the influence the gender of students from single parents family have on their academic performances and ultimately, the effect of single parenting on students’ academic performances in the Municipality. A quantitative research approach and a social survey design were employed in the study, sampling 200 students from single parents’ family from four selected senior high schools in the Municipality using a purposive sampling technique. The researcher used a questionnaire and students’ academic record for the primary sources of data for the study. Results show that single parents of sampled students were mostly involved in the academic work of their wards, though mostly at the school rather than in the home environment. Secondly, single parents were generally more involved with the Girl than the Boy in relation to their academic work. Finally, results revealed that there is no statistically significant relationship between single parenting and students’ academic performances. These results signify that the absence of a parent does not necessarily have influence on students’ academic performances. Therefore, it is recommended that single parents should be more involved in their male wards academic work both at home and at school.