Effects of Divorce on Children's Achievements in School Research Proposal

Effects of Divorce on Children's Achievements in School - Research Proposal Example The present study makes an attempt to study the consequences of divorce on the child's education and academic achievement as compared to their previous academic records. The present study is a descriptive study because it involves comparison of previous existing academic records about the students and comparing the same with the latest records which will help to analyze the effect of divorce on their academic brilliance. The development of society has led to many changes in the lives of people. The new age of information has resulted in changing attitudes with regard to their approach towards life and relationship which was earlier a bonding of different lives. The approach, the present paper highlights is about divorce which is ever increasing in developed countries, but developing nations are not left behind as the trend is followed over there too. Divorce is technically the formal dissolution of marriage which is more often conceived as the catalyst for the increasing family fragmentation characterizing contemporary western societies. It is further important to mention that divorce reflects the changing societal values and norms concerning marriage, gender, children, parenting and care giving (David Clarke, 2007). According to Bane (cited in Hetherington, Cox and Cox, 1982) high rate of divorce per se is not a matter for concern in a society that values individual choice, even though some of the consequences may warrant societal attention. Divorce, in legal terms, is an end to marriage but the separation has greater impact on various factors which also includes children's welfare, education and their academic and social development. According to Bumpass (cited in Keith and Finlay, 1988), the increasing prevalence of divorce involving children is an important topic which needs to be studied over the period of time so as to ascertain the effects of divorce on their academic achievements. Some of the previous studies with regard to effects of divorce on children's education have led to a conclusion that there is no significant effect once adequate controls for social class are introduced. In a longitudinal study carried out by Cherlin, Furstenberg, Chase-Lansdale, Kiernan, Robins, Morrison and Teitler (1991) it was revealed that the academic performance of the children, both boys and girls, has reduced as compared to their previous performance when their parents didn't separat ed. However it is pertinent to mention here that the effect of divorce in girls was minimal as compared to that of boys. An early research into the effects of divorce on young minds by Judith Wallerstein and her colleagues which included 60 divorced couples and their 131 children, it was revealed that almost half of the participants were characterized as worried, underachieving, self deprecating and sometimes angry young man and women (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn and Hammer, 2008). Research Methodology Research is a way of thinking, critically examining the various aspects of the subject being studied, understanding and formulating guiding principles that govern a particular procedure; and developing and testing new theories (Kumar, 2005).