TEACHERS’ PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF DIVORCE ON PUPILS’ MENTAL HEALTH IN ASA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KWARA STATE

Abstract

The study examined teachers’ perceived influence of divorce on pupils’ mental health in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study.The population of the study comprised 1,167 primary school teachers across 205 public primary schools in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State. Specifically, the study involved only public primary school teachers in the study area. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 30 primary schools and 300 primary school teachers as the sample size for the study. One research question was raised, and two research hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significant. An instrument tagged Questionnaire on Teachers Perceived Influence of Divorce on the Pupils’ Mental Health” (QTPIDPMH)was used to elicit pertinent information for the study. The instrument was validated and subjected to reliability study using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC)with reliability coefficient of 0.76. The data collected were analysed using percentage, mean, and independent sample t-test statistics. The result of the study showed that teachers’ perceived influence of divorce on the pupils’ mental health in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State was negative with a mean score of 2.83; there was no significant difference in the perceived influence of divorce on the pupils’ mental health based on gender (t-value 1.94; p > 0.05); and based on marital status (t-value = 1.62; p > 0.05). Based on the findings, it was concluded that teachers’ perceived influence of divorce on pupils’ mental health in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State was negative. It was recommended among others that Government should implement teacher training and retraining programs for teachers that focus on identifying and managing the mental health, challenges faced by children from divorced families.