STREET HAWKING AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GIRL CHILD IN CALABAR MUNICIPAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

The study looked into the connection between street hawking and girl child's academic 
performance in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. The 
study primarily investigated the association between street hawking and a girl child academic 
performance through her school attendance issue and the association between street hawking 
and her academic performance as a result of her lateness to school. Cognitive child development 
theory served as the theoretical underpinning for the investigation. 200 respondents were 
chosen using a simple random sampling technique via the balloting process. A 20-item survey 
titled "street hawking and academic performance of girl child (SHAPOGC)" was used to gather 
data. For statistical analysis, the chi-square was employed, with a degree of freedom of 1. 
According to the study's findings, street hawking has a detrimental impact on girls' academic 
performance. And a significance level of 0.05 were applied to the testing of two hypotheses.
The findings demonstrated a substantial correlation between street hawking and a girl child's academic performance as measured by her attendance at school, as well as a significant 
association between street hawking and a girl child's academic performance as a result of 
arriving late to school. Based on the findings, it was suggested that the government enact and 
enforce laws prohibiting child hawking during school hours, that religious and traditional 
leaders, non-governmental organizations, and educators educate and raise awareness among 
parents about the risks of enlisting their children in child labor through street hawking, and that 
the government work with school principals to address the issues of late arrivals, poor academic 
performance, and non-attendance among girls in order to improve their academic performance.