INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL OBLIGATION ON CHILDREN OF ANGLICAN COMMUNION IN SOUTHERN SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA  

Abstract

This study is set out to examine the “Influence of Parental Responsibility on Children of Anglican Communion in Southern Senatorial Zone, in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study include: examining the influence of parental responsibility on the moral upbringing of their children; evaluating the influence of parental responsibility on the social live of their children; measuring the influence of parental responsibility on the educational live of their children. Descriptive research design was used in this study. The target population was on all registered members of Anglican Communion in Southern Senatorial Zone. Cluster Random Sampling was adopted. Two instruments were used namely: structured questionnaire and oral interview. The questionnaire was framed based on Modified Likert scale of four-points. Interview method was adopted in order to reach other respondents who were not privileged to be sampled. The researcher used face content validity in this study to ascertain the validity of the instruments. Pilot study was carried out to assess the efficiency and the appropriateness of the research instrument. This is to give an opportunity for testing the validity and reliability of the research instruments. Data obtained from the pilot study was statistically analyzed for the purpose of reliability, through the use of Statistical Package for Social Science

(SPSS). The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient was used to test the questionnaire at 0.05. The reliability co-efficient for children was 0.728 and that of parents is 0.879. All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of this study were: it revealed that, parents have higher perception of their influence on the moral development of their children. Similarly, most parents have higher perception of their influence on the social development of their children. One also revealed that parents and children do not differ significantly in their opinion on parental influence on the academic life of children. It is concluded that Parents have high moral influence on their children, and children rely much on the moral influence of their parents. Lastly, children have much reliance on their parents‟ educational influence. It is recommended that: parents should not relent in their effort of inculcating moral standard in their children and children should always be encouraged to follow the standard of moral behaviour of the society. Parents should be proactive in their care of children in the choice of friends, guidance in their behaviuor. Parents should have positive attitudes in their children‟s education and children should have positive attitude in pursuing their educational career. Parents should encourage children to follow the standard of moral moral behaviour in the society. Parents should advice children to stay away from evil association that leads to drug addiction, smoking, alcoholism and other social ill behaviour. Children should be advice on the need to have positive attitude towards educational pursuits. The community should have a collective responsibility to discipline and assist children when they need help. The Church should take it upon itself in daily activities in shaping the moral/religious, social and academic life of children by organizing workshops, seminars and symposiums.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The advent of Anglican Church in Southern Kaduna could be traced back to1929, through the efforts of some Railway Workers, and travelers notably, Mr. Onuga and Mr. Joseph who established the Anglican Church in Kafanchan. When these people came to Kafanchan, they found out that there was no Anglican Church in area. Therefore, they established a prayer meeting in Mr. Onuga‟s house, they meet every Sunday. Their number increased as new converts into the Anglican Church, joined them. Mallam Toro Yashim from Kanem area was the first convert into the Anglican Church, though he first worshipped with the United Native African Church (UNAC). He had his Evangelical Training in Kafanchan and became an evangelist through the activities of some Igbo missionaries.

The Emir of Jama‟a gave them a piece of land at the second request, where they built a Church which was named Holy Trinity Church Kafanchan, which later became the Headquarters. Later, the Anglican Church spread among the major tribes in Southern Kaduna through their indigenous Children. The general synod of the Anglican Communion held in Lagos, on 4^th -8^th of January 1989, in the speech of Most Rev. Joseph Abiodun Adetiloye, the Archbishop of Anglican Communion then, announced the inauguration of a diocese for Southern Kaduna. On the 5^th September 1990, Kafanchan finally became a diocese with Rt. Rev. William W. Diya as the first consecrated Bishop of Kafanchan Diocese (Diya, 2000). From Kafanchan Diocese, Zonkwa and Kwoi Dioceses were inaugurated. Later Zonkwa diocese was inaugurated from Kafanchan with its Cathedral at St. Andrew Cathedral Church Zonkwa on the 19^th March 2005 with The Rt. Rev. Duke Akamisoko as the first Bishop. This was followed by Kwoi Diocese on 23^rd May 2008 with its Cathedral in Sambang with The Rt. Rev. Paul Samuel Zamani as the first Bishop.

Southern Senatorial Zone of Kaduna State is an area that covers the southern part of Kaduna State with the population of 777,250 (2006 population Census). Politically this area has eight (8) Local Government Areas which include: Jema‟a, Jaba, Kaura, Kauru,

Zangon Kataf, Kagarko, Kachia, and Sanga, with over 50 ethnics groups (Aruwa,

2013). Part of Lere Local Government in northern Senatorial Zone forms part of Zonkwa Diocese.

Children are believed to be born into the environment without any form of defilement of mind. Their minds are innocent and empty of any culture and tradition, norms and values of the society in which they were born into. As they grow up, certain existing factors shape and influence their lives such as parents/family, environment, peer groups, and religion. These factors existed before these children were born into their homes and society. Children are seen as the carriers of norms and values from parents to other generations. Where children are rightly brought up, they become models for future generation. They bring positive growth and development in their homes and in the society at large. Children display what they are through the orientation they have been given, either at home by their parents, or extended family.

Parents, most especially are always proud of their children when they are positively influenced; good friends and the entire society also feel pleased with such. They hardly drift from what they have been taught by their parents. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6 KJV). It is very rare to erase an orientation or experience a child has at his infancy. This emphasis the need for parents to teach their children correct lifestyle, right from their early age so that they live correctly and happily through their old age. It is obvious that children can be influenced negatively by their parents, to a level that they (children) become a nuisance in the society. Influence of parental responsibility is so powerful that it can totally change the behavior of children.

Unhealthy upbringing of children produces negative outcomes in their lives, especially where a society is morally decayed, full of delinquency, deviants and all kind of social vices. Parents can also influence children within the family if the development of criminal tendencies is found in child‟s rearing and parenting process (Smyth, 2012). Smyth view here is some criminal acts of children in the society, start from their homes in parental process. Parents that have careless attitudes toward the upbringing of their children may not have time to put them through correct habits.

Parents play a vital role on child‟s development right from birth to when the child reaches the age of decision- making. All what is at parents disposal is disseminated to their children. From birth, children are hopeless, vulnerable to the society; it is the duty or responsibility of the parents to take care of the children in all aspects of their life. (Albert, 2007).

Parents are seen as a major determinant of children‟s behavior in their lives, through the medium of carrying out their responsibilities. They seek to inculcate sound moral values in the lives of their children.  That is what the children will grow up with in the society. Childhood is the phase of the life cycle when parents-provide experiences which are believed to exert their most significant and salient influences. Childhood is the time when human beings are particularly vulnerable and receptive to external experiences. Even when they are grown up they still obey their parents as such, the influence of the society, peer groups and other factors will not erode completely from the parental upbringing, they have received on them. Children sometimes are duplicates of their parents in all spheres of life because in the way they respond to their parents right from birth.

Parenting is considered to be one of the most influential factors on children, especially in early infancy, as it is thought to have helped directly the gifted performance of children (Wu, 2008). Wu, (2008) emphasis is on how parents influence the lives of their children on academic performance. Where the parents are naturally gifted intellectually, they have it in mind that their genes are also in the children. They ensure that the children are trained academically for. They take them to good and competitive schools, and make some major decisions for them.

There is an abundance of research on culture/traditions and parenting styles and their influence on children‟s academic outcomes in different parts of the world (Chan & Moore, 2006). With regards to diet, right from childhood, parents determine how and what a child should eat. In feeding, parents determine their children‟s eating environment or culture in different ways through the selection of an infant feeding method. Parents‟ practices can exert a major influence on children‟s food preferences and on developing control of children‟s food intake. Some parents influence their children with the habit of giving attention when eating while others do not.

The most important and continuing task of parents in their parenting is that, each generation is to prepare for children for the next generation in the physical, economic, psychological, and social aspects of life in which those children must survive and flourish in the society. Many factors influence the development of children, but parenting is very crucial in child upbringing.

Parental influence shapes the behavior of children in homes leading to different outcome in the lives of the children depending on the lifestyle and training they received from their parents, whether good or bad. What children experience from their parents in terms of family responsibility affects. Children imitate their parents‟ behaviour, whether positively or negatively. Parental responsibility influences the lives of children from childhood to adulthood morally, socially, emotionally, educationally and religiously. Parents are seen as a vehicle that is use to lead children from childhood to adulthood through their care in carrying out their responsibility on their children. This also helps children to grow and pass this responsibility to their own children to ensure its continuity from one generation to another.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

When a child is born into a family, it comes with responsibilities on the parts of the parents. Parents do all within their power to fulfill their obligation of caring and providing for them. There are children who have good and sound moral lifestyle while others a bad lifestyle. Some children are unruly and have become a nuisance in the society, despite their going to Sunday worship, attending prayer meetings, crusades, deliverance sessions, and bible study. For some children it is difficult for the church to change their lifestyle which they copied from their parents because it has a very strong tendency to influence their behaviour (Fowler & Biekart, 2008).

There are children that do not lack, anything pertaining to life, everything is available for them. However, they cannot carry out some domestic activity like cooking, washing, cleaning of the compound, washing of plates, clothes and ironing. Those children also specialize in spending most of their time watching movies, chatting on social media. Even among the middle and lower class parents are not left out as a result of excessive petting. These domestic activities help them in exercising themselves for physical and body fitness and becoming responsible parents in future. Physical activities have positive outcome in human health. For children, physical activities are relevant to improve the development of motor skill that is needed in the academic performance of children (Zecevic, Tremblay, Lovsin, & Michel, 2010).

With regards to marriage many young women and men from poor and

rich/wealthy parents end up marrying those that were suggested by their parents, and not their choices, or those they really love. These marriages sometimes end up in serious crises or divorce. Some children eventually have happy homes despite the parental choice of their partner. In the choice of career, some children often end up regret of their parents‟ choice of career, because it was not their initial choice or dream. Some do appreciate the effort of their parents for their positive influence, while some regret it. Some children have good cultural pattern of greetings, with respect some are not. Where either couple or one is always nagging, when their children grow up with such experience, they assumed, that is how marital life is because they grew up seeing their parents living such life.

It is believed that children whose parents frequently teach them to attend religious services, and other religious values are seen as being self-control, than children with ungodly parents (Wenner, 2008). In Christian homes, it is obvious that parents are responsible for bringing up their children. Some children have a dual behaviuor, the way they behave in school or at home in the absence of their parents is different from the way they behave in the presence of their parents.  

Parents expect their children to behave based on the training giving to them, but they are disappointed when some children exhibit strange behaiours; in spite the effort of parents in carrying out their moral, religious/spiritual, social, and educational responsibilities. This is the problem that this study on “influence of Parental responsibility on children of Anglican Communion” set out to investigate in Southern

Senatorial Zone of Kaduna State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main goal/aim of the study is to investigate the Influence of parental responsibility on Children of Anglican Communion in Southern Senatorial Zone of Kaduna State, Nigeria and the specific objectives are:

1. to examine the parental influence on the religious and moral life of their children in Southern Senatorial Zone in Kaduna State.
2. to evaluate the parental influence on the social life of their children Southern

Senatorial Zone in Kaduna State.

• to determine the parental influence on the academic life of their children in

Southern Senatorial Zone in Kaduna State.

1.4       Research Questions

The study seeks to answer the following questions.

1. What is the parental influence on the religious and moral life of their children in Kaduna State?
2. What is the parental influence on the social life of their children in Kaduna

State? iii.  What is the parental influence on the academic life of their children in Kaduna

State?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated to test the responses of parents and children within the Anglican Communion in Southern Senatorial Zone in Kaduna State at 0.05 level of significance.

1. There is no significant difference in the opinions of parents and children on the parental responsibility towards the religious and moral life of their children.
2. There is no significant difference in the opinions of parents and children on parental responsibility towards the social life of their children. There is no significant difference in the opinions of parents and children on parental responsibility on the academic life of their children.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This research has great at the benefits of parents, children, clergy, counselors, community, Ministry of Education and proprietors of schools. These groups of people will be equipped with more knowledge on the responsibility that is upon them in different aspects. This will help them to take steps to improve in their sole responsibility to ensure that children are well guided. It will help them to formulate and inculcate the right values in children and also provide their basic needs in order that they might not to be influence negatively by their peers.

This research work will help parents to know how their responsibility has the capacity to influence the lives of their children from infancy to adulthood. It will serve as a guide to parents on the influence of parental responsibility on children. Parents will discover some character traits in their children. It will also help parents to understand more how children have dual identity in their presence and in their absence. This is particularly the case in homes where parents do not have quality time and intimate relationship with their children. It will help parents to improve in carrying out their responsibility whether it is convenient to both parents and children or not. Parents will be able to monitor who their children keep as friends, what they watch and read on the social media.

Children also will benefit from this study in the sense that they will learn to respect the teachings of their parents. They will also learn to be contented with what they get from their parents, and this will keep them away from engaging in unhealthy means of meeting their needs. This study will serve as a guide for children to correct their lives from negative influence whether within or outside their homes. They will learn to disassociate themselves from bad friends that cause social unrest in their communities.

The Clergy in their pastoral work will benefit from this work. Also it will give them more insight on the attitude of children in different situations in order, so that parents can be instructed on how some children pretend in their presence and become something else in their absence.  They can also organize seminar on parental

responsibility on children in different aspects of life in their various Churches.

The Community will benefit in this study in improving the level of corporate discipline among children especially in the absence of their parents when they misbehaving and causing social unrest in the society. They will also serve as watchdog and report any misbehavior of a child to the appropriate authority for disciplinary measure where an individual cannot handle the case.

For Counselors, whether professionals or not, this will be a manual that will enlighten them on parental role in the lives of children and to improve or stand firm on the principles of good parenting. They will also know how to relate with parents that neglect their responsibility on children. Counselors also will have an insight on the needs and behaviour of children at different stages of life so as to guide them appropriately, especially where they observe strange behaviour in them.

Ministry of Education will benefit from this work in taking measures to encourage children by providing schools uniforms, textbooks and reduction of school fees. The Ministry will consider the provision of scholarship to the less privilege in order to help them shun bad friends. It will help the ministry to encourage guidance and counseling units in every school.

It will help proprietors of private schools to instill discipline and setting counseling units in their schools for children with negative parental influence. Also, those children discovered to have strange behaviour like truancy, bullying, stealing and the like can be properly counseled, as they (counselors) investigate children background.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This research investigated the Influence of Parental Responsibility on Children of Anglican Communion, in Southern Senatorial Zone in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The reason of selecting Anglican Communion is because the researcher is a member of the denomination and this, the researcher is aware of the existing problems. Southern Senatorial Zone in Kaduna State covers the entire southern part of Kaduna (the NorthCentral States of Nigeria). It is located at the north-central highland of Nigeria, with different indigenous and non indigenous ethnic groups of Nigeria. Southern Senatorial Zone comprises three dioceses with twenty seven (27) archdeaconries, 236 churches with the population of 23,710 members. The study is been limited to evaluating parental influence the moral, social and academic lives of their children.

The focus of this work is the Influence of Parental Responsibility on children within the Anglican Communion. The reason for selecting this topic is that, children most often imitate their parents‟ character in most aspects of life. Years back, majority of children hardly disobeyed their parents, because, they live conformity to the norms and values of the society. In this twenty-first Century, however, the behaviour is very contrary to most of their parents‟ behaviours. The interest in this study within the Anglican Communion was engendered by the above observation in addition to information gathered from older people.

INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL OBLIGATION ON CHILDREN OF ANGLICAN COMMUNION IN SOUTHERN SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA