Opinions of Nigerian students in tertiary institutions on family size

Abstract

The study examined the opinions of Nigerian students in tertiary institutions on their ideal family size. It was conducted among students in four tertiary institutions in Edo State of Nigeria. A sample size of 454 final year students was randomly drawn from the halls of residence in the institutions using the stratified sampling technique. A 34-item questionnaire was the main instrument used for the study. A reliability of 0.78 was reported for the instrument using Kudder-Richardson Coefficient (20) in a pilot study with a group of students outside those used for the study. The study reveals that male and female students in tertiary institutions have negative opinion on large family size. A high percentage of Nigerian students (49.6%) desired four children. It was also found that there is no significant difference in the opinions of male and female students on family size.

KEY WORD: Family Size, Nigerian students, tertiary institutions