Abstract
This study evaluates the Psychological Effects of Black Soot Pollution on Children's Health and Academic Performance in Rural Schools of Rivers State, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, the researcher developed three objectives of the study, three research questions and three hypotheses that guided the conduct of the study. The research design used for the study was a descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 277,948, gotten from which comprises children attending rural schools in Rivers State, Nigeria, who are exposed to varying levels of black soot pollution. The sample size for this study will be. 400, derived from the Taro yamane sample size calculator. A stratified random sampling technique will be used to select schools and participants across different pollution exposure zones. The instrument used for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire titled "Evaluating the Psychological Effects of Black Soot Pollution on Children's Health and Academic Performance in Rural Schools Questionnaire”. The instrument was rated using four-point rating scale. The data collected was analyzed using frequency table, weighted mean score and standard deviation for the research questions while the null hypotheses were tested using z-test statistical tool at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data analysis, the finding of the study revealed that exposure to black soot pollution affect the respiratory health, immune response, and overall well-being of children attending rural schools to a high extent and black soot pollution exposure influence the academic performance and cognitive abilities of children in rural educational settings to a high extent. Based on the findings, the study recommends that: Government authorities should enforce stricter environmental regulations to control sources of black soot such as illegal oil refining, gas flaring, and industrial emissions and schools should introduce remedial programmes and individualized learning support for children whose academic performance is affected by pollution-related health issues.