MANAGEMENT OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA.ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ PREVALENT ROWDINESS

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MANAGEMENT OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA.ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ PREVALENT ROWDINESS

ABSTRACT

The study assessed the Students’ Prevailing Indiscipline and Management of Indiscipline in Public Senior Secondary Schools in Kano State, Nigeira. The study was carried out with five objectives among which are to: determine the Prevailing Indiscipline behaviours in the Classroom among Students in Secondary Schools in Kano State, determine the Prevailing Indiscipline behaviours in the School Premises among Students in Secondary Schools in Kano State and to investigate the Techniques for Management of Indiscipline behaviours among Students in Secondary Schools in Kano State, Nigeria. Also, five corresponding research questions and five null hypotheses were formulated and tested for the study. Related literatures was reviewed in relation to the objectives the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of 545 principals, 7513 teachers and 2180 PTA officials in public senior secondary schools in Kano state. A sample size of 29 principals, 310 teachers and 56 Parents Teachers Association (PTA) officials was used for the study. These sample size was arrived at using stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques. A researcher-made instrument titled

“Questionnaire on Indiscipline and Management of Indiscipline in Secondary Schools” was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was validated by the researcher’s supervisors. Data collected were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The five null hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that examination malpractice, noise making, lateness to class and moving around the class for no reason were the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the classroom among students in secondary schools in Kano state. The findings also revealed that wastage of water, possession and use of cell phones, writing graffiti on school buildings and poor response to bells were the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the school premises among students in secondary schools in Kano state. The findings revealed that absenteeism, fighting, cheating, lateness to class and bullying were prevailing indiscipline behaviours among male students in secondary school in Kano state.  The findings also revealed that coming to class with facial make-up,  profanity, lying, backbiting, reading love story books during lessons and chewing gum in class were prevailing indiscipline behaviours among female students in secondary schools in Kano state. The findings revealed that suspension, corporal punishment, discussion with parents, guidance and counseling, grass cutting and writing undertaking to be of good character by student, provision and maintenance of health and welfare facilities and provision and maintenance of games and recreational facilities were techniques for management of indiscipline among students in secondary schools in Kano state, Nigeria. Recommendations were made among which are Teachers should work together with other staff to supervise students during examinations to reduce examination malpractice. They should also make the classroom more interesting so that the students attend class punctually and avoid unnecessary movement in class, School administrators should work together with teachers, prefects and non academic staff to supervise the activities of students in the school premises in an effort to ensure that students do not waste water, write graffiti on walls and respond to bell promptly. School should work with other staff in searching and ceasing of cell phones from students, and all techniques used in managing indiscipline in schools are in order but must be used with caution, consideration to due process and legal regions. These will enhance more commitment and interest in maintaining discipline in secondary schools in Kano state, Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION 1.1   Background to the Study

Children are often described both as the wealth and pride of a nation. The future of any nation therefore depends on the young ones who constitute the potential human resources needed for the continuity of the society. Thus, to achieve sustainable development of a society, the young population must not only be preserved but also disciplined. School indiscipline has been over time an issue of concern for educators, policy makers and public opinion in general, owing to the outbreak of aggressiveness among peers, violence within teacher – student relationship and vandalism as well, leading to perpetual existence of problem of dropout, deviant behaviours, examination malpractice, lateness and poor academic performance among students.

Indiscipline is a multifaceted phenomenon regarding its displays and causes as well as its meanings and functions in the social, psychosocial and pedagogical fields. Concerning its displays, Amado and Freire (2009) believed that the major situations are framed in what they point out as the first level of indiscipline and which are those incidents of disruptive nature whose disturbance affects the good classroom functioning. The incidents that might be framed in the second and third levels are conflicts among peers and conflicts within teacher – student relationship which might be taken on proportions of violence and even delinquency.

Many educators and scholars view indiscipline as a major problem affecting mankind. The problem of indiscipline according to Yaroson (2004) permeates all facets of the life of man and has brought man down to the knees. School discipline according to Gaustard (2005) has two main objectives. The first is to ensure the safety of staff and students and the second to create an environment conducive for learning. Acts of indiscipline occasioned by students’ misconducts involving violent and criminal behaviour defeat the goals of education. Acts of indiscipline if allowed to incubate under current favourable conditions by education providers and consumers could hatch a monster that will be difficult to exterminate (Idu & Ojedapo 2011).

Minor samples of the envisioned problems are already being encountered in the nation’s economic front. Many indeed believe that current economic woes arising from corruption, robbery, assassination, smuggling and pipeline vandalisation are progenies of school indiscipline. Court injunctions and orders are indiscriminately flouted not only by those who make or interpret the law, but also by those who took the oath to defend the law (Ali, Dada, Isiaka and Salmon 2014). These acts of indiscipline in our national life likely began as a mustard seed of disobedience in the school.

The above foregoing and current issues make school indiscipline a very important matter in our educational life. It is therefore pertinent at this juncture to provide therapeutic measures to students’ involvement in armed robbery, rape, cultism, examination fraud and much other unruly behaviour which make headlines in our print and electronic media (Vanguard, 2006; Ogwuda 2006; Komolafe and Ajao 2006). Other misdemeanors may not be so widely reported yet their occurrences are at higher frequencies in our schools.

The problem of indiscipline affects all schools irrespective of gender and school type though the degree and magnitude vary from school to school. Cases of violence though less common, occur more often outside than on school premises.

The measures taken to deal with indiscipline are barely adequate given the fact that there exist no administrative or legal guidelines which could be referred to in such cases. Actions taken are often ad-hoc and uncoordinated both within and across schools of the same type. Teachers feel disempowered to deal with cases of indiscipline because of lack of support from relevant authorities, political interference and an incapacitated school administration.

School institutions remain a preparatory ground to empower and certify the requirement for human development. The teacher is faced with the challenges of educating, socializing, empowering and certifying students, but with the help of good teaching atmosphere (Fafunwa, 2004; Farrant, 2004; Wasagu, 2009). By implication, the task of a teacher, which includes sustaining education system, do not rest on his or her professional competency alone, but on the entire features of the school climate (Loukas, 2007). The school is a type of service organization vested with primary function of educating the child and the control is a problem faced by all organizations especially learning institution, which work with people. For the efficient functioning of the school, school managements reserve power to control the conduct of students through reasonable rules and regulations. Once these rules and regulations are made, they must be enforced on the students, which beset secondary schools, indiscipline comes first. Indiscipline dominates the issues of the day in both large and small schools both in towns and villages. Students disobey school rules and regulations with impunity. They have little or no respect for their teachers and even the school administration.

Students’ misbehavior is a prevailing problem affecting schools not only in Nigeria but also across many nations around the world. Students’ misconduct in the classroom interferes with teaching and learning and is thought to be a precursor to school dropout and similar negative social outcomes. Students’ behavioral problems are also thought to be a leading contributor to teachers’ stress and attrition.

The indiscipline problem in schools is ranked as a major problem among students of secondary schools in Nigeria. Disruptive behavior is a concern to schools and parents and to fellow students, whose education may be adversely affected. Therefore, disruptive behavior cannot be ignored, and schools must tailor a wellunderstood sound behavior and discipline policy. In secondary school, the situation is worse because the learners as adolescents, now become aware of their rights namely; to privacy, to freedom of religion, belief, opinion, and expression, among others. According to Pager (1994), educators at one school in the Southwest Nigeria reported high levels of absenteeism, truancy, laziness, substance abuse, and subversion of assessments of achievements by learners. Another author (Ferguson and Johnson, 2010) also found that the lack of a supportive and friendly school environment influences educators’ disciplinary attempt and may cause them to remain cold.

However, Petersen and Rosser (2008) contend that serious breaches of school discipline policy include assault by students on teachers and other students, verbal abuse, offensive language against teachers and other students, sexual and other forms of harassment, threat and intimidation of teachers and other students, possessing offensive weapons, supplying or using illegal drugs, and intrusions into the school or classrooms by adults with the intention of confronting teachers. The problem now is rather alarming and jeopardizing the administration of the secondary school. It is against this background that indiscipline in secondary schools need urgent attention. This study therefore, concentrates on assessment of students’ prevailing indiscipline and management of indiscipline in secondary schools in Kano state.

1.2   Statement of the Problem

The problem of indiscipline in schools has persisted over the years. These acts have either been carried out individually by the students or as a group, in the classroom or within the school premises which result to rioting or revolts. There is no doubt that students’ indiscipline generally militates against effective teaching and learning and the production of useful acceptable members of the society. It is therefore, observed that some parents appear to have denied their parental roles or responsibilities towards children. Edem (1982), opines that indiscipline as a violation of school rules and regulations is capable of obstructing the smooth and orderly functioning of the schools system and should be consequently avoided through perfect orientation of students and imposition of positive sanction in case of obvious violation of the order. Anchored on the fact that indiscipline among secondary school students in Kano state has a number of problems such as cruelty, rioting, bullying, lateness to school, truancy, alcoholism, smoking, sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancy/abortion, cultism, drug abuse, vandalism, exam malpractice, reading/watching pornography, hooliganism, gangsterism, cheating etc. The existence of indiscipline among secondary school students is an educational problem that needs to be solved. It is quite a common sight for students misbehaving in one way or the other. The problem inherent in indiscipline cannot be over-emphasized.

Students in secondary schools in Kano state display various forms of

indiscipline in the classroom like noise making, sleeping in the class, lateness, truancy, exam malpractice among others, which make the classroom unconducive for effective teaching and learning. According to DiGiulio (2000) a chaotic classroom distracts the learners, preventing them from attending, focusing and concentrating, wastes time and hinders the learners from achieving their educational potential. In the disruptive classroom environment, it is unlikely that the learners can learn much about how to treat others respectfully. Furthermore, Finn, Fish and Scott (2008) and Oliver (2011) are of the view that when students misbehave they learn less and keep their peers from learning. Teaching contact time is reduced as more time is devoted to managing misbehavior rather than teaching. Finn et al (2008) assert that this creates stress for teachers when they are detracted from academic time. The students also exhibit other forms of indiscipline in the school premises such as improper dressing, violence against teachers and peers, hooliganism, bullying, gangsterism, vandalism etc. these may endanger the life of other students and the educators as well and also defeat the purpose of the school which is to train the students to become good members of the society and prepare them for higher education.

Male students in secondary schools in Kano state exhibit various kinds of indiscipline behaviors such as drug abuse, possession of weapons, fighting with teachers, rioting, drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual immorality etc, which may leads to dropout and the production of boys who can be used as political thugs, terrorism, kidnapping among others. Female students in secondary schools in Kano state display indiscipline behaviours like reading or watching pornography, lesbianism, drug abuse, lying, befriending teachers among others which lead to dropout, pregnancy/abortion, involvement of girls in terrorism, kidnapping and prostitution etc.

Many schools in Kano state experience a growing level of indiscipline even though several strategies have been proposed by educators as well as by various other experts in the field in order to curb the prevailing indiscipline among students in our secondary schools. Additionally, each school has fashioned its own approach to dealing with this issue. In spite of this, however, teachers continue to express frustration about the growing level of indiscipline in their classrooms and the school premises. It is very important that the school management should play a dominant role to ensure all the students perform well not only in academic but also in good behavior to avoid any negative impact.

Many parents complain about the behaviour of their children. Schools also experience unusual behaviour from their students. The society at large witnesses instances of unruly behaviours among both male and female students and youths in urban and rural areas. Considering the prevalence of unruly behavior, manifested by our students and the apparent after effects of such behaviours, not only the students but also the society at large. This problems and much more motivate the researcher to embark on this research. The concern of this study therefore is to assess the students’ prevailing indiscipline and management of indiscipline in secondary schools in Kano state.

1.3   Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is assessment of students’ prevailing indiscipline and management of indiscipline in secondary schools in Kano state. The specific objectives are to:-

  1. Determine the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the classroom among students in secondary schools in Kano State;
  2. Determine the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the school premises among students in secondary schools in Kano State.
  3. Examine the prevailing indiscipline behaviours among male students in secondary schools in Kano State;
  4. Evaluate the prevailing indiscipline behaviours among female students in secondary schools in Kano State; and
  5. Investigate the techniques for the management of indiscipline among students in secondary schools in Kano State.

1.4   Research Questions

Based on the objectives given above, the study intends to answer the following questions:

  1. What are the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the classrooms among students in secondary schools in Kano State?
  2. What are the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the school premises among students in secondary schools in Kano State?
  3. What are the prevailing indiscipline behaviours among male students in secondary schools in Kano State?
  4. What are the prevailing indiscipline behaviours among female students in secondary schools in Kano State?
  5. What are the techniques used in managing indiscipline among students in secondary schools in Kano State?

 

 

1.5   Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated for testing in this study:

Ho1. There is no significant difference in the opinions of principals, teachers and officials of PTA (respondents) on the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the classroom among students in secondary schools in Kano State;

Ho2. There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the prevailing indiscipline behaviours in the school premises among students in secondary schools in Kano State;

Ho3. There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the prevailing indiscipline behaviours among male students in secondary schools in Kano State; Ho4. There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the prevailing indiscipline behaviours among female students in secondary schools in Kano State; and Ho5There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the techniques in the management of indiscipline among students in secondary schools in Kano State.

1.6   Basic Assumptions

The study is on the assumptions that:

  1. Controlling indiscipline behaviours in the classrooms among students would enable teachers to deliver instructions efficiently in secondary schools in Kano State;
  2. Curbing indiscipline behaviours in the school premises among students in secondary schools would help promote the standard of secondary education in

Kano State;

  1. Managing indiscipline among male students in secondary schools would help in the production of well cultured boys in Kano State;
  2. Controlling indiscipline among female students in secondary schools would help in the production of well cultured girls in Kano State; and
  3. Use of effective management techniques in managing indiscipline among students would have a significant impact on the administration of secondary schools in Kano State.

1.7   Significance of the Study

The study is of significance to many categories of people viz: the students, teachers, government, school authority, parents and the society at large. For students, the study would help them to understand some ills of indiscipline behavior. Also they would know it pays to be well disciplined.

Teachers and principals will be well equipped on how best to manage undisciplined students in order to carry them along to achieve a better standard academic excellence. Again, the school authority will be able to introduce some additional rules and regulations that will improve the governance of school. Parents will be better informed on their primary assignment which is to grow and train their children to be able to conform to rules and regulations wherever they find themselves. The society would also benefit at the end of this research in the sense that the study will provide the government with the idea of forming action group for the curbing of indiscipline and also for inculcating acceptable code of conducts in the youth generally.

 

 

1.8   Scope of the Study

The study is only concerned with assessment of students’ prevailing indiscipline and management of indiscipline in secondary schools in Kano state. The study is not concerned with assessment of students’ prevailing indiscipline and management of indiscipline in any other sector.The research is therefore limited to the sample population from principals, officials of PTA and teachers of the public senior secondary schools in Kano State.

MANAGEMENT OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA.ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ PREVALENT ROWDINESS

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