Family Environment As A Predictor Of Schooling: A Case Study Of “Out Of School” Children

Abstract

The family is the most powerful agent among the several social elements that greatly influences the growth and development of any child. Family is a powerful socializing agent and researches have confirmed that the quality of the attachment and bonding processes between parents and their child is very important (Basson, 2008). Creating a conducive environment for excellent education is a moral responsibility of families and society, since it is an important factor. Unfortunately, in India and many other developing nations, a huge number of students drop out before finishing their primary education. The present study is descriptive study which aims to study the different factors of family environment that contributes to the dropping of the children from school in the age group of 6-14 of Jammu district of UT- J&K.  300 samples were taken for the study which include children in the age group 6-14 years. Family environment scale by Dr. Harpreet Bhatia and Dr. N. K. Chadha was used to study the family environment of the sample. Results of the study showed that majority of the “Out of School” children have low cohesion, acceptance and caring, active and recreational, organization and control in their family and also a contributory factor for children to be “Out of School”.