COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE ATTITUDE OF PARENTS IN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS TOWARDS WESTERN EDUCATION IN YOLA METROPOLIS, ADAMAWA STATE

ABSTRACT

This study is a comparative analysis on the attitude of parents in urban and rural area in yola metropolis 0f adamawa state. Aimed at assessing the attitude of parents towards western education. Ten (10) wards were sampled Six (6) wards were use in which (3) are urban and (3) are rural, 200 parents were randomly selected for the research, 100 parents were selected in urban areas and 100 parents were also selected in rural area to compare their attitude towards western education. A 20-item questionnaire was used for collecting data along with personal interview. The respondents were required to indicate their agreement or disagreement with each of the statements about children’s education in a five-point Likert type scale, where 1 denotes strong disagreement and 5 denotes strong agreement. The data collected was analyzed using statistical analysis of mean and standard deviation, chi-square statistic was also use to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance of both rural and urban parent differently. The findings showed that the overall attitude of the respondents was moderately favorable and positive towards schooling and education of their children. The results also indicated that there was no significant difference in the attitude of urban and rural parents. The difference between urban and rural respondents was evident in their future plans to provide higher studies for their children. They research also shows that culture, poverty, socio-economic factor and religion have a central role in the attitude of both urban and rural parent towards western education in yola metropolis. The study suggested that, although government endeavors at universalizing education has resulted in creating mass awareness and positive response towards schooling and education, there is a lot of scope for improvement in this regard. Future implications of the present study for policy formulation as well as for further researc

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION 

1.1  Background of the Study

    Western education is regarded as a formal system of education, Western education can also be seen as knowledge acquired by Nigeria’s through the coming of the missionaries and the western elites (Fafunwa 1982). Before the western education there was a system of education which was referred to as indigenous (traditional) system of education which focuses on the teaching of indigenous knowledge, models, morals, methods and contents in a non formal system of education.

      The rural parents are referred to as parents who lives in the rural areas which are socially homogenous, which have or are with the same culture, language and believes. There major activities are farming, fishing and lumbering. They have less social amenities such as hospitals, schools etc.

While the urban parents are does parents who lives in the urban centres they are socially heterogeneous people, they are people with different cultures, languages and believes, with abundant social amenities such as schools of different type from nursery to tertiary, the exhibit impersonal or individualistic behaviour (Fafunwa 1982).

     Parents’ attitude in urban and rural areas towards western education can be positive or negative. The parent attitude is important in determine academic achievement and school attendance of the child (Warnock 2008). Parents favourable attitude towards western education enhances the children’s present and future studies.

     Parents attitude towards western education may be affected by low socio-economic status and the culture (Dahiru 2009), it may be expected that the parents in rural area will have negative (unfavourable) attitude than does in the urban areas, towards western education while it may be expected that the parents in urban areas may have a positive (favourable) attitude towards western education.

     The history of western education in yola metropolis can be traced back to the then Gongola state. Western education came into yola around the 19^th century, yola is an ancient city established in 1841, it was taken over by the British in 1901, the people in yola north LGA are known for their traditional type of education that is the indigenous education (Adamu 1996). The ethnic group found in yola north are the laka people which form the majority.

     The people of yola may look at western education as a white man’s religion and an agent of upsetting their culture with an evil to be copied from the white man, but it can also be said that western education is an agent of socialization and a vehicle for transmission of vital values (ukege 2002). However, people have often expressing astonishment as to why the number of schools are open in the area (Usman 2007), but it is apparently obvious that some parent may show negative/ positive attitude towards western, this study is design to find out the parents attitude towards western education since the rural parent lives in remote area with less social amenities and in the urban they are in abundant.

 However this present study is aim at examining whether the parent in rural and urban area exhibit a positive or negative (favourable or unfavourable) attitude towards western education as a result of the increasing awareness of the values of education through government endeavours and initiatives.

1.2  Statement of the Problem

     In spite the benefit of western education as way of job supply, means of awareness and objectives some parent still have not seen reason to send their children to school some still want them to be used as economic tools  there by sending them to hawk on the street to get money( Audu 2005). 

     Probably the parent saw that by sending their children to school the children will be Christians since the western education was brought by the missionaries that were sent by the European church to spread the gospel. When the elementary schools were established many parent may feel reluctant to send their children to school because parents want to train their children in their occupation for example a farmer may want their children to be great farmers as they are as such they may not willingly send their children to school.

      It may also be view that some parent where not capable of sending their children to school due to poverty, or they have no money to pay for their children school fees and buy or saw uniform for them or the basic requirement for school. The distance of the school from their community also matters may be the schools close by are too expensive for them to afford (Laurence 2000), due to this the parent in rural and urban areas of yola north may develop different attitude towards western education. There are still lapses in both the rural and urban area due to the attitude of parent. Hence this research will look into the problems as to why the people in the urban and rural areas may show less or much concern towards western education. Such problems may be religious, socio-economic, and cultural aspect

1.3  Purpose of the Study

     The main purpose of this study is comparative analysis of the attitude of parents in rural and urban areas of yola metropolis towards western education, therefore they specific objectives are:

1.     To examine the attitude of urban parents towards western education.

2.     To examine the attitude of rural parents towards western education.

3.     To examine whether the parents in rural areas have similar or different attitude with those in the urban areas towards western education.

4.    To examine whether religion, culture, poverty, socio-economic factors determine the attitude of urban and rural parent towards western education.

   1.4 Research Question

1.     What is the attitude of urban parents towards western education?

2.     What is the attitude of rural parents towards western education?

3.     Do parents in rural and urban areas of yola metropolis have similar or different attitude towards western education?

4.     Do religion, culture, poverty and socio-economic factors determine the attitude of urban and rural parent towards western education?

1.5            Hypothesis

1.     Urban parents have a positive attitude towards western education.

2.     Rural parents have a negative attitude towards western education.

3.     There is no significant difference or similarity in the attitude of parents in urban and rural areas western education

4.     Religion, culture, poverty and socio-economic factors determine the attitude of urban and rural parent towards western education.

1.6            Significant of the Study

     The significant of the study is aimed at examine whether the parents in rural and urban areas of metropolis exhibit a positive and favourable attitude towards western education, as a result of increasing awareness of values of education through government endeavour and initiatives .

 It will provide information about the attitude of parents towards western education to the educationist.

       This study is important not only to the area studied but to all intending researchers, policy makers, educationist, curriculum designers and the government and also to the community at large in lifting the standards of education of its citizens.

      Therefore it is expected that, the finding of the study would enable parent to be more enlighten as to the importance of western education and the government would take measures in tackling the problem of education in the country at large.

    Finally the finding will help into deep study on the change of attitude of parents towards western education and to enable its citizen achieve the qualitative and quantitative education and it may lead to an attitude change either positive or negative towards western education.

    1.7   The scope of the study

   The study is delimited only to some parts of yola metropolis, few rural areas which include Nyakore, Namtari, Samunake and choose few urban areas which include bekaji, karewa, 80 unit

   The study is purposely designed to look at the attitude of parents towards             western education due to the difference in the phase of the other part of the    country.

1.8            Operational Definitions of terms

ATTITUDE

Attitude is a mental position or emotion, feelings about issues it is also a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and disposition to act in certain ways.

It is the way a person view something or tend to behave towards it often in an evolutionary way

PARENT

It is a biological descend of a child in which the child is formally given birth by.

RURAL/URBAN AREA

Rural area is the name given to all villages and dispersed settlement whose inhabitants are mainly engaged in agriculture, fishing. They are socially homogenous

Urban area are called town and nucleated settlement.  They are town with centres for administration, banking, commerce and education. They are socially heterogeneous.

WESTERN EDUCATION

  Western education is a formal system of education that involve formal learning and teaching system, this type of education that takes place in a well articulated, organized formal school.

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