IMPACT OF WOMEN EDUCATION ON HEALTH AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDEN OF PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE IN OBIO-AKPOR L.G.A OF RIVERS STATE.

Abstract

The study examined the impact of women education on health and academic development of children of primary school age in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State. The study which adopted descriptive survey design was guided by two research questions and two hypotheses. The population consisted of 1, 816 teachers in the 36 public primary schools in Obio/Akpor L.G.A. A sample of 363 teachers representing 20% of the population was selected via stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire entitled: “Impact of Women Education on Health and Academic Development of Children of Primary School Age Questionnaire (IWEHADCPSA)” developed by the researcher was used for data collection. The instrument which had 17 items was well validated and tested for reliability which yielded 0.84 through Cronbach Alpha Method. Mean, standard deviation, mean set and rank order were used to analyze the research questions while z-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results indicated that the health development impacts of women education on children of primary school age in Obio/Akpor LGA include among others ensuring that children are adequately immunized and inculcating personal hygiene practices in their children. While the academic development impacts of women education on children of primary school age in the study area include assisting the children in doing their school home works, providing necessary school materials and ensuring that their children are regular and punctual at school. Based on the findings conclusion was drawn and the following recommendations were made: more efforts should be made by parents, community leaders, government and stakeholders in education to encourage women education; and educated mothers should invest more time and resources on the health and academic development of their children.