CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

          The home is the first and immediate entity of every child. He or she is born into and regarded as a full member of the home. By its nature the home is a recognized group of people who are joined together either by marriage or birth.

          According to G.W. Davidson et al (Edo) marriage is the ceremony, act or contract by which a man a woman who becomes a kind of a agreement on fixed terms, a bond which is expected to be respected and adhered to by both parties to the agreement. Hence, it is customary or common to hear the new family can’t in registries and churches in taking the marriage vow, both the bride and the bride groom usually promise to live together for better for worse for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do them part.

          This vow is interesting to hear when it is being reacted by couples, but sooner or later, one would hear that such a marriage has hit the rock for reasons as numerous as there is broken marriage. Naturally, the ultimate aim of any marriage is the bearing of children which regarded as a divine blessing from God. To appreciate Gods kind gestures both parents and expected to adequately take care of and bring up such children faithfully nature provides the child through the union of two people of the opposite sex the husband and wife. Each normally perform functions that the other can not take on so well and the two joining in functions that can be done better when together,

          A woman maybe able to teach the daughters to be as femininely charming as she is but her sons need a man in their life. A boy does not learn to be a man in their life. A boy does not learn to be a man from his mother rather does a girl learns the principles of woman hood from her father. So it should be born in mind that children require both genders for their emotional psychological and social development. Parents should realize that they are their children is “Idols” who they look up to.

          Any thoughtful parent should be able to recognize the tragedy broken home or marriage brings to the children one of the evil consequences of broken home or marriage in most cases, is that the children are deprived of the influence of other parents since they are in the custody of one parents just as plants must have both sunshine and rain for their growth and the productivity, so also the children require both masculine and feminine components in their development in life. The absence of such a balance may later cause all kind of personality and academic distresses in the children

          There fore it is pertinent to state here that a decision break up a marriage or home is a risk in itself and detrimental to the academic performance of the children whether it is initiated by the woman or man it is therefore necessary for couples who are contemplating divorce to ask themselves these questions. Why much there by a divorce? Why taking this step? What effect is to going to have on our children? In order to curtail the risk of broken home, Couples intending to separate must seek genuine answers to these questions because the consequences of broken home can be grievous for the couples, their children, families indeed, the entire society. Excellence is attributed to some prevailing factors; it is worth while therefore to carryout some useful researches in order to unveil the negative effects of broken homes or marriage have on the academic performance of students with particular reference to college of education Ekiadolor.