Influence of Broken Homes on Academic Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students in Three Education Zones of Taraba State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to examine the influence of broken homes on academic achievement of Senior Secondary School Students in Jalingo, Zing and Karim Lamido Education Zones of Taraba State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the causes of broken homes in these Education Zones, examine the influence of broken homes on academic achievement of students, and ascertain the roles of the school counselor in assisting students from broken homes to cope with academic activities. In carrying out this study, three (3) research questions were answered. Survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study was seven thousand, and ninety-four (7,094) senior secondary school two (SSS II) students and all school counselors in senior secondary schools in above mentioned three Education Zones of Taraba State. The sample for the study was four hundred and fifty (450) senior secondary school two (SSS II) students and fifteen (15) school counselors of senior secondary schools in the three Education Zone of Taraba State. Face and content validity of the instrument was done by three experts from the Faculty of Education, Taraba State University, Jalingo. The reliability coefficient value of the instrument was .87 obtained using Cronbach Alpha reliability methods. The findings of the study revealed that some causes of broken homes include; maltreatment from the man, lack of proper care for the family by the man, engagement in adultery by both parties, charges of witchcraft against wife, broken home due to death and husband dislike for wife. Furthermore, some influence of broken homes on a child academic achievement includes truancy, poor level of concentration in class activities and inferiority complex. It was concluded that broken home has negative consequences on the academic achievement of a child. It is therefore recommended that Stakeholders such as Social Workers, Clergymen and Marriage Counselors should educate intending couples and couples on the causes of broken homes.