Educational Status and Mothers’ Child Rearing Practice as a Predictor of Child Delinquency among Primary School Pupils in Borno State, Nigeria
This study investigated the Educational status of mothers as a predictor of child delinquency among primary school pupils in Borno State, Nigeria. The Educational differences of mothers grouped illiterates, pre-post primary and post-secondary groups and the nature of delinquencies associated with them were determined. The populations of the study were all mothers of delinquent pupils in primary schools in Borno State and their delinquent children. Data were collected from eight hundred mothers of various Educational groups and the teachers of their delinquent children for the study. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the sample. Two types of self-made instrument: 55 items questionnaire and 26 items child delinquent rating scale with Alfa reliability index of 0.89 and 0.93 were used to collect data for the study. Data generated were analyzed by the use of descriptive (simple percentage, mean, standard deviation and standard) and step-wise multiple regression statistic. The result indicated that there were differences in the Educational status of mothers of delinquent pupils and the nature of delinquency associated with their children and that Educational status of mothers could be a predictor of a child’s delinquent status. The researcher recommends grass root campaign for girl child education and reality counseling for all mothers on how to help their children. Women with higher educational status raise children with fewer delinquents; Mothers should be counseled to improve on their Educational status.
