Child Neglect as Predictor of Academic Performance among Senior Secondary School Students in Edo State, Nigeria

The study examined child neglect as the predictor of academic performance of senior secondary school students in Edo State. Specifically, the study determined the extent to which child neglect (Educational and social neglect) individually and jointly predicts the academic performance of students in senior secondary schools in the state. The ex-post facto research design was adopted. The multistage sampling technique was used to draw a total sample of 1,505 senior secondary schools, one (SS1) students in the 311 secondary schools in the three senatorial districts of Edo State. Two instruments titled child neglect questionnaire (CNQ) and the academic performance Proforma in English and Mathematics were used for the study. The result showed that child neglect (educational and social neglect) combined significantly predicted students' academic performance in senior secondary schools in Edo State (P<0.05). However, only educational neglect individually predicted students' academic performance while social neglect did not. It was therefore recommended that in compliance with the federal government's goal of providing compulsory, basic and qualitative education for every Nigerian child, the State government should declare house-to-house campaign on the evils of child neglect. This will help to bring to the awareness of parents, teachers and significant others the consequences of their actions on children in their academic pursuit.