Consequences of Single-Parent Household Structures in Anambra State, Nigeria: Implications for Children's Development of Science Process Skills

Abstract

The study sought to examine the effects of single-parent home structures in Anambra state, Nigeria and the specific effects on children's learning of science process skills. Descriptive survey research design was used in the investigation. The population of interest consisted of all the single parents in the entire state of Anambra and using multi-stage sampling technique, a sample of 358 subjects (97 males and 261 females) were selected. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire named "Consequences of Single-Parent Household Structures Questionnaire" (CSHSQ) validated and reliable by Cronbach's alpha internal consistency test. The data were analyzed by computing mean (M) scores and standard deviations (SD) for the research question and testing of the null hypothesis using an independent samples t-test with 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that single-parent household arrangements create strong socioeconomic and psychosocial tensions, such as increased financial difficulties (M=3.11), limited access to instructional resources (M=3.35) and reduced parental supervision (M=3.02). The limitations have important implications for science teaching because of the need for the development of the empirical skills of observation, measurement and experimentation that require constant cognitive scaffolding and interactive materials that can be used at home. The independent samples t-test also confirmed that there was no significant difference between the mean responses of the male and female single parents (t=0.582,df=356,p=.561), so that gender has no significant impact on parental perceptions of these structural vulnerabilities. From this information, it is determined that classroom teaching suffers more due to domestic deficits. In pursuit of this, the study recommends that schools in Anambra State use Adaptive Educational Technologies, Virtual Learning Models and Structured, school-based inquiry frameworks to promote children of single-parent homes to master science process skills which is in the process of being kept exclusive for the privileged few