THE ROLE OF DISCIPLINE IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF GSS STUDENTS IN KAURA LGA OF KADUNA STATE

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THE ROLE OF DISCIPLINE IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF GSS STUDENTS IN KAURA LGA OF KADUNA STATE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to establish the school factors which influence secondary school students’ discipline in Kaura LGA, Nigeria. The study was guided by five objectives which included; identification of major discipline problems in public secondary schools; establishing the extent to which the head teachers work experience influence students discipline; investigating the influence of peer group pressure on discipline among secondary school students, establishing the influence of school size on students’ discipline and determining the influence of teachers’ supervisory role on students’ discipline.

The researcher developed research questions to gather information in order to meet the objectives of the study. Related literature of the study was reviewed. The study was based on the Erikson theory on psychological stages of development which argues that at adolescence stage, life gets more complex as one attempts to find his own identity, struggles with social interactions and grapples with moral issues. The researcher applied descriptive survey research design. Data were collected by use of self administered questionnaires and analyzed based on descriptive statistical method. A pilot study was conducted to test the reliability of the instrument and was found suitable.

The study findings revealed that there were major discipline problems among students in Kaura LGA, such as truancy, theft, defiance, lateness and immoral relations. In the study, it was revealed that head teachers with long experience were capable of handling discipline problems with ease unlike the less experienced ones. The findings further revealed that peer pressure influence was deeply entrenched among students and largely contributed to students’ indiscipline. The sizes of the schools as well as the involvement of teachers were found to have direct relationship with the students’ discipline in Kaura LGA.

In view of the above, there is need to strengthen and enforce the school rules and regulations, strengthen guidance and counselling department, train the head teachers, deputy head teachers, teachers and prefects and arm them with news skills of countering new trends of student’s indiscipline. This would go a long way in reducing occurrence of indiscipline cases hence creating a conducive learning environment for the students. The study further concludes that the school administrators and the teachers on duty should remain vigilant all the time and seal all the loop holes that can be exploited by sly students. This helps a lot in curbing indiscipline problems long before they occur. It also enables the teachers to handle discipline issues consistently. Further there is need to deploy well qualified head teachers to secondary schools because experienced head teachers consults widely and have developed ability to foresee discipline problems before they emerge. They also put in place administrative structures that would deter them. Peer counsellors are crucial because they teach others the positive aspects of behaviour. They enlighten their fellow peers on the dangers of negative peer influence and how to choose friends wisely. School size also is an important factor that contributes to students’ indiscipline in schools. Thus proper administrative mechanisms need to be put in place to check indiscipline irrespective of the school size.

Taking the limitations and delimitations of the study, the researcher made the following suggestions for further research: a research should be done on whether there are any other factors that influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools. There is also need for research to be carried out on how discipline in private secondary schools compares with discipline in public secondary schools. A research also needs to be conducted on how supervision can be enhanced to counter the ever rising indiscipline cases in secondary schools.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Discipline is an important component of a human behavior as it directly defines the character of a human being. It is a product of acceptable values in the human society that one subscribes to and quite often it regulates human conduct and his/her relations with others. Some school’s success growth and development is largely determined by the discipline standards of its stakeholders. According to Otieno (2012) discipline is a system of guiding the learners to make reasonable decisions. He further observes that good management of discipline saves substantial resources and time for the stakeholders. Wango (2010) defines discipline as the training especially of the mind and character aimed at producing self control, ordered behavior and

skillfulness.

Koutseline (2002) defines student indiscipline as any student behavior that deviates from school expectations. These expectations may vary from school to school and also depend on societal perceptions of ideal behavior as understood in different cultures. In a school situation, indiscipline can be a serious obstacle to learning, and this has become a major concern of the educators and the public. Tattum (1989) observed that American public educators, parents and students regard a school as successful when discipline prevails. Sound discipline is necessary if the school has to implement the curriculum effectively and achieve maximum performance. This attitude has been evident in public opinion polls that consistently rank school discipline as one of the biggest problem facing America public schools.

Recent data from the National Centre for Educational Statistics in America indicate that students twelve to eighteen years of age were victims of about 1.4 million nonfatal crimes at schools, including about 863,000 thefts and 583,000 violent crimes of which 107,000 were considered serious. According to the Institute of Education Sciences (2004) more than one – quarter of public schools reported various forms of indiscipline either on daily or weekly basis. These indiscipline cases included bullying, acts of disrespect for teachers, verbal abuse for teachers, racial tension, widespread disorder in classrooms, undesirable gang activities and undesirable cult or extremist activities.

Alongside this, the issue of school size has become of great interest to educators and policy makers (State Board of Education, 2000). The demand for safer schools and the need to help all students reach high achievement standards have increased. Therefore, school size appears to have considerable impact on both students’ achievements and discipline in the school. Hence smaller size schools seems to invite more personal attention, less anonymity for students, better attention to individual needs and a more caring environment (Endya ,2007).

Evidence from various studies reveals that a common pattern of discipline problems prevail in schools both in developed and developing countries. In many African countries, studies attribute discipline problems in schools to unconducive home environment, negative peer pressure, lack of parental guidance, mass media, weak school leadership and of late, championing of child rights by human rights activists (Magana, 2009). Indisciplined students pose a great challenge for teachers in their fundamental bid to educate children effectively. This consequently undermines the role of school as a socializing agent (Koutseline, 2002).

According to Jordan (1995) noisiness, vandalism, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol were the most prevalent forms of indiscipline in Zimbabwean schools. However it was found that there are more tardiness, truancy and vandalism in schools dominated by whites while more noisiness, marijuana smoking and drinking of alcohol is quite common in schools dominated by children of the black people. Mukama (2005) attributed this widespread disorder in schools to peer influence. He argued that when a child begins school, he or she moves from the family environment and begins to relate more to his or her peer group. This is the phase where the young people feel accepted and where they feel free to speak of things that are important to them. Such groups have a considerable influence on the behaviour and

attitudes of the individual, since they participate in their activities in order not to be rejected. Thus peer group is a source of great influence during the time of adolescence.

According to Zindi (1995) parents in Zimbabwe seem to be in favour of schools using corporal punishment to instill discipline amongst students. The school administrators are empowered to use the cane (Statutory instruments 65 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 1992). Once they do so, they should keep a record of the type of offence and how the punishment was administered (Zindi 1995). To date, this has not changed much. According to Chemhuru (2010) the modes of punishment have not changed despite the growing consensus that punishment breaks children’s fundamental human rights. It is permissible to punish students through the use of the whip, labour or suspension in a way that is compatible with societal norms and values.

Despite such measures, Bell and Bolam (2003) observe that there is a consensus between scholars and policy makers that there has to be education reforms that would result to substantial changes in the roles of head teachers  in enhancing discipline. They further observed that school leadership and management as vested in the senior staff in the schools and especially head teachers is regarded by policy-makers and practitioners alike as a key factor in ensuring a schools’ success. Thus head teachers should be supported and trained to raise educational standards as well as the students’ behavior.

Nigeria has faced cases of indiscipline as documented by Mbiti (2007). Some of the discipline problems experienced by Nigeria secondary schools include truancy, bullying, destruction of school property, physical violence by students on teachers and other students, alcoholism, abuse of drugs and substances, absenteeism among others. Therefore, there needs to be a very close monitoring and supervision of students’ activities in schools by both administrators and teachers to curb the negative behaviours. According to Too, Kimutai and Kosgei (2012) the school principals have a responsibility of removing administrative constraints that may prevent teachers from maximizing their efforts in rendering services to students. This is because teachers play a crucial role in ascertaining whether or not the desired educational results are achieved as well as maintaining high standards of students’ discipline. Hence teachers are key stakeholders in the management of schools.

Where there is supervisory gap, chaos and anarchy descend. This can be attested by the fact that young promising and innocent lives have been lost in Nigerian schools when arsonists who are highly suspected to be fellow students burnt down school facilities as it happened in Le-Pic Secondary School Riruta in Nairobi where four lives were lost (Olick, 2012).   In Kirinyaga County, more than one thousand students from three secondary schools were ordered out of the learning institutions after they destroyed property worth millions of shillings. According to the area District Education Officers (DEO), the students were protesting against the decision by the government to extend the third term to recover the time lost when the teachers were on strike (Marete, 2012).

Mwalala (2008) in his study in Taita Taveta District, found out that ineffective curriculum supervision by headteachers, mass media and negative community influences were the causes of  indiscipline in secondary schools. However, these studies have mentioned little aboutsschool factors that influence discipline. Therefore, this study intends to investigate school based factors that influence discipline among students in public secondary schools in Kinangop

District.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Despite the efforts by the stakeholders to instil discipline in schools, such as strengthening of Board of Management to deal decisively with this problem and training of administers and teachers through workshops, indiscipline has persistently remained a big problem. Information from the DEO’s office Kaura LGA (2012) shows that three dorms in Njabini Boys and one dorm in Njabini Girls secondary schools were burned down. Students were highly suspected to have been involved. In Mt. Kinangop Secondary School, 19 students had been suspended for organizing a night walk-out and harassment of junior students. An investigation shows that scanty studies have been done on discipline, based in this region. This study intends to bridge this gap by focusing on the school factors that influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA, Nigeria.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study was to investigate the school factors influencing students discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA.

1.4 Objectives of the study

The research confined itself to the following objectives:

  1. To identify the major discipline problems in the public secondary schools in Kaura LGA.
  2. To establish the extent to which the head teachers’ work experience influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kinangop

district.

  1. To investigate the influence of peer group pressure on discipline among public secondary schools students in Kaura LGA.
  2. To establish the influence of school size on students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA.
  3. To determine the influence of teachers’ involvement on students’ discipline in Kaura LGA.

 

1.5 Research questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

  1. What are the major discipline problems in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA?
  2. To what extent does the head teacher’s work experience influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA?
  • What is the influence of peer pressure on students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA?
  1. What is the influence of the school size on students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA?
  2. To what extent does the teachers’ involvement influence students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Kaura LGA?

 

  • Significance of the study

The findings would provide valuable information to the Ministry of Education as well as to the Teachers Service Commission. The Ministry of Education may use the findings to influence management of discipline in secondary schools while the TSC may use the findings to influence deployment of head teachers in the country. Also, the findings may be used in teacher training institutions to provide the trainees with a bearing on what should be done to enhance discipline of learners who come from different backgrounds. Specialists working with the KIE may find the findings useful while formulating the syllabi for the learners in secondary schools. The findings may also stimulate the need to strengthen guidance and counselling departments in secondary schools to help the students cope with challenges of adolescence.

  • Limitations of the Study

School administrators may not be ready to divulge full information about their schools freely for fear of exposing weaknesses that might impact negatively on their image. The researcher was not in a position to control the attitudes of the respondents and this might have affected the research findings since they might have given socially accepted answers in order to avoid offending the researcher.

  • Delimitation of the Study

Delimitation refers to the act of deciding what the limit of the study is. It addresses how the study can be narrowed in scope. The study was carried out in Kaura LGA and covered only public secondary schools. The area has 8 private secondary schools which were not sampled and would otherwise give a clear comparison on how they deal with indiscipline cases. The study considered views from the headteachers, teachers and students since they are the ones who are directly involved in discipline matters.

  • Assumptions of the study

In this study the researcher had the following basic assumptions:-

  1. The headteachers and teachers would provide reliable information on indiscipline issues in their schools. ii. The teachers were trained and committed to identify and deal with indiscipline problems in schools. iii. The head teachers were faced by discipline challenges in running public secondary schools.

 

1.10 Definition of significant terms

The following terms have been given operational meaning for the purpose of this study:

An administrator refers to a person charged with the responsibility of coordinating people in an organization towards the achievement of common goals.

Curriculum refers to a course of study offered in a school.

Discipline refers to the state of physical or mental orderliness in a learner as a result of desirable learning externally imposed by rules punishment and rewards.

Indiscipline refers to a situation whereby a student behavioral pattern is contrary to the laid down conduct in a school. This behavior is manifested by boycotting classes, bullying, drug abuse, sneaking out of school and rioting.

Involvement refers to cause somebody to take part in an activity.

Influence refers to the ability of something to have an effect over something else so that a change is seen or felt.

Peer refers to a person who is equal to another in rank, status, class, village or age.

Peer Pressure refers to the external demand to accept group discussion and behavior which interferes with individual thought and reasoning in order to identify with the group.

School factors refer to attributes that influence students’ discipline in school.

School size  refers to degree of largeness or smallness of o school.  Teacher  refers to a male or female with the relevant academic or professional qualification employed by the TSC to teach on full time basis.

Work experience refers to knowledge or skill acquired from doing things.

 

THE ROLE OF DISCIPLINE IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF GSS STUDENTS IN KAURA LGA OF KADUNA STATE

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