Table of Content

Content Page

Acknowledgement………………………………………………..1

Introduction………………………………………………………2

Topic…..............................................................................................3

Statement of problem……………………………………………..4

Research Questions……………………………………………….5

Reason for selecting the area of research…………………………6

Method of investigation…………………………………………..7

Instrument used to collect data……………………………………8

Copy of resident’s questionnaire…………………………………9

Procedures for data collection….....................................................10

Presentation of data………………………………………………11

Analysis and Interpretation of data………………………………12

Findings………………………………………………………….13

Recommendations and implementation….......................................14

Bibliography……………………………………………………..15

Appendix….....................................................................................16

Acknowledgement

The researcher acknowledges the major participants in this research who have helped in compiling the data obtained. This research would not have been completed without the contribution of the residents of Canaan Heights who gave their time to complete the relevant questionnaires to collect the data. Sincere gratitude is also extended to the Canaan Heights Development Committee who gave their support in providing the facility and relevant statistical data for the researcher to conduct this study. The researcher also wishes to thank her friends and family for the support and motivation they provided from the conception to the end of this study.

Introduction

According to Kerby T. Alvy, founder of the National Effective Parenting Initiative, effective parenting refers to carrying out the responsibilities of raising and relating to children in such a manner that the child is well prepared to realize his or her potential as a human being. It is a style of raising children that increases the chances of a child becoming the most capable person and adult he or she can be.

There is no one way or recipe to raise a child since they are human beings who have a mind of their own. However, children can be guided into becoming well rounded adults. The researcher has observed that majority of children in Canaan Heights are not being given the opportunity to become well rounded adults because of the effectiveness of their parents in rearing them.

This research seeks therefore to explore the cause and effects of ineffective parenting in the community of Canaan Heights and to explore how the impacts can be stemmed or remedied.

Topic

An investigation into the causes and effects of ineffective parenting in the community of Canaan Heights

Statement of problem

What +are the effects and causes of ineffective parenting in the community of Canaan Heights?

Research Questions

What causes ineffective parenting in Canaan Heights?

What are the effects of ineffective parenting in Canaan Heights?

How can the problem of ineffective parenting in Canaan Heights be stemmed or reduced?

Reason for selecting the area of research

While effective provides a child with positive discipline, parental support, and respect for themselves and others, ineffective parenting has been linked to behavioral problems such as delinquency, criminality and academic problems for children. Over the years the community of Canaan Heights has been one of the main garrisons around the May Pen area Clarendon Jamaica. The residents have come a long way to reduce this negative image, but problem of ineffective parenting is still evident in the community. The researcher believes that the solution lies in proper parental practices and in parents dealing with children positively concerning any issues.

This researcher has observed that many families who reside in this community are from the poorer socio-economic background where they involve themselves in many ‘odd jobs’ to make ends meet. This has left children in this community to be on the streets regularly and unsupervised at questionable hours at nights. They are left to hazards of the community, to where they often fall victims to gang related crimes, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, high school drop outs among other delinquent or deviant behaviors.

Method of investigation

In order to collect the necessary data for this study, the researcher decided to use questionnaires.

A questionnaire is a research instrument containing a list of questions to be answered by people to collect information. In relation to other research instruments, a questionnaire has several advantages.

It requires a small amount of time to be completedIt is convenient as it can be done in the respondent own time and spaceIt is confidential because respondents are not required to state or attach their names.

Instrument used to collect data Survey of the main effect and causes of ineffective parenting in the community of Canaan Heights

Dear Community Members, I am hereby seeking your help investigate the main causes and effects of ineffective parenting in the community of Canaan Heights. This is to assist me with a research which is required for my Social studies School Base Assessment (SBA).

I am requesting that you answer the questions honestly as the information that you give will be kept confidential. You are not required to state your name. Remember there is no right or wrong answer, so please answer to the best of your knowledge. Please answer the questions by placing a tick where necessary. Thank you for your help.

Your truly,

Natasha Daley

Copy of resident questionnaire Please answer the following question honestly, by placing a tick in the appropriate box like this ( )

1, What gender are you?

( ) Male ( ) Female

2.To which age group do you belong?

( ) 15- 20yrs ( ) 21-26yrs ( ) 27-32yrs ( ) over 33yrs

3.How long have you been a member of the community?

( ) under 1yr ( ) 1-5yrs ( ) 6-10yrs ( ) over 10yrs

4. Are you a parent?

( ) yes ( ) no

5. If yes, how you rate your effectiveness as a parent in dealing with your child/ children?

( ) Unsatisfactory ( ) satisfactory ( ) Good ( ) Excellent

6. How would you rate the effectiveness as a parenting within the community?

( ) Unsatisfactory ( ) satisfactory ( ) Good ( ) Excellent

7. How prevalent do you think the problem of ineffective parenting is within the community?

( ) uncommon ( ) common ( ) non-existent

8. In which structure do you think ineffective parenting is more prevent within the community? ( ) Nuclear ( ) Single mother ( ) Single father ( ) Extended Family

9. What do you think are the main causes of ineffective parenting within the community/

( ) Poverty ( ) Lack of education ( ) Immaturity/inexperience ( ) Socialization

10. Which of the following signs of ineffective ways of parenting do you think is most prevalent within the community of Canaan Heights?

( ) Parental neglect ( ) Physical and emotional child abuse ( ) Lack of discipline ( ) All of the above

11. Which of the effects do you think ineffective parenting has on the community?

( ) increases juvenile delinquency ( ) increase high school dropout ( ) increase gang violence ( ) increase teenage pregnancy ( ) all of the above

12. How do you think ineffective parenting affect children within the community? it makes them

( ) prone to engage in sexual activities at an early age ( ) have low self esteem

( ) more prone to negative peer influence ( ) perform poorly in school

( ) all of the above

13. What do you think parent can do to be more effective parents within the community for their children?

( ) consistency in discipline ( ) create an environment of love and trust ( ) set boundaries ( ) lead by example

14. What are some things that you think can be done to stem the problem of poor parenting in the community?

( ) increase literacy or educate parents

( ) re-socialized with parenting training programs

( ) increase parenting support from relevant authorities

( ) all of the above

Procedures for data collection

Canaan Heights, which is situated in the parish of Clarendon, have a population of approximately four thousand five hundred. Therefore the researcher only sampled a smaller division of the community called Gully Back, which consisted of 400 residents. For accuracy the researcher used 40 questionnaires which accounted for 10% of the population.

A total of 50 questionnaires were prepared for distribution to the community members, 40 of which were returned. Though that particular section of the district was targeted, the researcher decided to choose the members in that section of the community by a process of random selection. Community gatherings and home visits were done to distribute the questionnaires to respondents. The respondents were given one week to complete the questionnaires, after which they were collected by the researcher at the given locations.

Presentation of data

A total of 50 questionnaires were prepared for distribution to the community members, 40 which were returned. A total of 20 (50%) were male and the remaining 20 (50%) were females. Hence the researcher should receive a balance view from both genders. The ages of the respondents were also recorded showing that 12.5% of the respondents were within the age group 15-20 years, 30% were in age groups 21-26 years, 32.5% were in age groups 27-32 years and 25% were over 33 years old. The researcher also tried to find out how long residents had been living in the area. It was revealed that 2.5% of the respondents had been residing in the community for less than a year, 20% between 1-5 years, 32.5% 6-10 years and another 45% for over 10 years.

Figure 1 shows how respondents rated the effectiveness of parents in the community in response to question 6

Figure 2 is a table showing the prevalence of ineffective parenting in various family structures within the community in relation to question 8

Type of family structure Percentage (%) of ineffective parents

Nuclear 5

Single mother 65

Single father 7.5

Extended family 22.5

Figure 3 column graphs showing the main causes of ineffective parenting in response to question 9

Figure 4 is showing the effects of ineffective parenting within the community in response to question 11

Analysis and Interpretation of data

Ineffective parenting is an area of concern within the community of Canaan Heights. This is confirmed by 90% of the respondents who believed that the issue is very common and 65% of the respondents further showed that it is most prevalent in single mother households.

The majority of respondents (30%) strongly believed that the main cause of ineffective parenting were due to lack of education. This explains the researcher’s observations that a vast amount of the community residents were parents who were illiterate and this may affect their judgments in how they rear their children. In addition a total of 45% of the respondents believe that poverty and immaturity of the parents have also further expanded the ratio of ineffective parenting within the community. Many parents in the community cannot acquire skilled or white collar jobs because of their illiteracy. As such most have to contend with doing odd jobs and leaving their children unsupervised or with other relatives who are immature or do not qualify to be suitable parents.

In addition the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy within the community has left a large amount of parents who are too immature to handle the demands of parenthood.

This hypothesis was confirmed by 25% of the respondents who identified that one of the main causes of ineffective parenting is socialization.

Ineffective parenting has a devasting effect on a child. It is the researcher’s belief that children are born with basic needs and if they are not met then it will have some form of psychological effect on the child.

This idea was confirmed by 52.2% of the respondents who identified that children of ineffective parenting are more likely to be engage in early sexual activities, have low self esteem, have poor academic performance and prone to negative peer influences as was very evident within the community of Canaan Heights.

This is affirmed by the researcher when the data revealed that these effects included increased juvenile delinquency, increased gang violence, increased high school drop outs, and increased rate of teenage pregnancy. Majority of the respondents (50%) believed that all these effects are directly linked to ineffective parenting within the community.

The researcher affirms this finding as most if not all of these behavior are not shunned upon by the community since most of these parents are aware of their children involvement.

The problem of ineffective parenting is not hopeless and can be helped. The researcher believes that children look to adults for protection and trust. This was confirmed by 35% of the respondents who identified that parents need to create an environment of love and trust. In the same light children need boundaries or guidelines so that they can become conscientious adults. This was confirmed by 25% of the respondents. The researcher contends that children need positive discipline and persons in their lives to emulate. 40% of the respondents agreed that leading by example, being consistency in discipline and consistency in disciplining children is essential to their upbringing and makes parents more effective.

It is no doubt that illiteracy, immaturity, lack of education and poverty plays a key role in ineffective parenting within the community of Canaan Heights. It is believed by the researcher that for this problem to be stemmed many of the behavior and norms have to be re-taught. This was agreed upon by 20% of the respondents who recognized that the problem can be stemmed by raising the literacy levels of parents within the community. Additionally, it is generally accepted by 17.55 of the respondents that parents need to be re-socialized as to the present acceptable standards of parenting, and relevant organizations need to lend parenting support for parents who are willing to embrace this challenge. It is the researcher’s view that some parents are willing to change their ways if they are given the support that they need.

Findings

The prevalence ineffective parenting within the community of Canaan Heights has been a menace to the community.

The data obtain by the researcher revealed that this problem is mainly rooted in the socio-economic background of the residents. I.e. poverty, literacy, socialization and immaturity or their inexperience in parenthood due to their ages.

The information gleaned also uncovered that the main effects of ineffective parenting are increased gang violence, increased teenage pregnancy, increased high school dropouts and increased juvenile delinquency.

The data further shows that the problem of ineffective parenting can be stemmed through formal education of parents, re-socialization and increased parenting support from relevant organizations.

Recommendation and implementation

According to the researchers observation, the community of Canaan Heights enriched with many resources, among which is a community center. With the findings from this research, the researcher therefore believes that the following recommendations could improve and eventually stem the problems of ineffective parenting within the community.

1. Implementation of trained parenting groups through organization such as rural family support (rufamso) and citizen’s security and Justice Program (CSJP). These parenting groups will train and provide support to other parents within the community who need assistance in rearing their children. These support parents will in turn mentor others in the community after they have graduated from the program.

2. Implementing and maintaining evening classes by train volunteer teachers to teach adults and high school dropouts which will consequently increase the literacy levels of the residents of the community. With education it is hoped that the mindset of the residents will be altered and hence their lifestyles. In the same light, the opportunity to do C.X.C

subjects will afford some residents the opportunity to seek careers that they long believed were for from their grasp hence, providing a sense of hope.

3. Regular parenting and family oriented seminars which teach life skills can be undertaken by health personnel assigned to the community. These personal included, the police youth club, the church, outstanding parents within and from other volatile communities and other bodies that are located within and outside of the community.

Implementation of parenting and family oriented seminar

Step 1: To perform this function the researcher believes that the community center would ideal spot to have the events.

Step 2: The researcher will solicit sponsorship from various organization such as the church, community development association (CDA), citizens’ security and justice program (CSJP), the crime prevention and other established community based group to proved food make the venue conducive for the function, and provide token for parents who attend the event among others.

Step 3: Once the sponsorship has been obtained, the researcher will also seek relevant personnel to speak on various aspects of parenting. The researcher will also use be community members such as the youth clubs and churches to perform skits that depict parenting strategies in dealing with matters pertinent to their reality.

Step 4: The researcher would seek participants by handing out personal invitations to parents of the various household at Gully Back, Canaan Heights. Posters will also be placed at strategic points such as shops, churches and at the community center in the community to allow residents to be aware of the promotion. Furthermore the researchers will be sure to include refreshments on the personal invitation and posters as these residents’ people tend to support events when refreshment is provided.

Step 5: To ensure that this is an ongoing event the researcher will encourage stakeholders (church, school, youth clubs etc) in and outside of the community to adopt this event as an

ongoing project.

Bibliography

Buckle-Scott Lena. Al Social studies for CSEC. Nelson Throne. 2013

Ampersand Ransawak. Al Module in Social Studies with SBA Guide and CXC question’s 4th edition Caribbean Educational Publishers. 2005.

Internet

The Nemours Foundation. Nine steps to effective parenting: http://kidshealth.org.© 1995 2014. All rights reserved.

Kerby T. Alvy Kerby. Become the best parents you can be .www.EffectiveParenting|USA.org