Examining Students' perceptions of the impact of marital breakdown on academic performance in Sierra Leone. Case Study: Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Families are a student's first point of contact with the world. Parents and other influential family members ensure young people's early training and socialization. Families lay the psychological, moral, and spiritual foundations for a child's holistic development. Structurally, marriages and families are either destroyed or together. In this circumstance, a broken marriage is not structurally stable due to divorce or other reasons such as separation, death outside of marriage, or only one parent. The purpose of this study is to examine students' perceptions of the impact of marital failure on their academic performance. This study used a descriptive research design using quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. This approach was chosen because it is applicable across the population, time-saving, and cost-effective. Data collection included primary and secondary sources, with primary data allowing for personal contact and interviews with respondents, while secondary data focused on theoretical insights and literature from other authors. This study was carried out at the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology in the Northern Region of Sierra Leone. One thousand participants were selected for the study, including students, faculty, staff, and residents of both sexes around the university. Random and purposive sampling methods were used to select the respondents. A sample of 200 participants of both sexes was selected, out of which 100 students, 50 lecturers from the Faculty of Education, and 50 residents of the university area were selected to express their opinions